Olive Press Newspaper – Issue 253

s ar ! e y ay 10 tod

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Vol. 10 Issue 253 www.theolivepress.es November 23rd - December 6th 2016

HEALY MAC S ESTEPONA PORT Irish Bar & Restaurant

Awarded by Diageo & The Irish Times Tel: 951 517 015 www.healymacs-estepona.com

The storms blow in 10 Olive Press commandments WE’VE exposed crooks, fingered most wanted criminals and fought for expat and environmental rights across Spain for a decade now.

As we reach our 10th anniversary we continue to stick to our principles of proper journalism, leaving no stone unturned while asking awkward questions that others shy away from.

It has not always been easy, but at no point have we let our standards drop.

As Moses would say...

...Thou shalt:

II

Stand up for l issues environmenta Expose conmen and fraudsters

by Not be intimidatedwer politicians and po

III IV V

Broaden readers’ VI thr views ou

VII VIII

Honour thy expats and advertisers Seek to cut out all corruption

gh supplements

Entertain and inf orm Seek top eateries restaurant reviewin s

IX

Integrate readers’ culture and historyinto

X

Remember deadlin day, book no holid e ays

Decade of success Pages 19-30

Happy anniversary

I would like to send my congratulations to the Olive Press team, who have been keeping Brits in Andalucia informed for the past ten years.

Simon Manley, British Ambassador to Spain

Collared

WINTER IS COMING: Clouds gather over the Sierra de Grazalema as Andalucia is finally battered by heavy rainfall

EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan

AN embattled animal shelter is the subject of yet another abuse investigation.

Kim’s Animal Rescue is being probed, just 10 weeks after moving to Almeria from Mijas, it can be revealed.

It comes after the new shelter in Gador was denounced by neighbours over claims that up to 100 dogs on its premises were ‘starving’.

Officers from the Guardia Civil’s Seprona animal welfare arm have allowed owner Kim Halliwell to keep around 75 dogs at the site, while an investigation proceeds.

Last night, the Mancunian confirmed the raid and admitted she is still waiting for a licence for the new centre.

She claimed she had to leave her old premises in Mijas - where she still

Controversial pet shelter probed again after moving headquarters

has 25 dogs - after being forced to sell up and demolish the buildings.

“I know the new centre here is not ready,” Halliwell told the Olive Press. “And Seprona have told me I cannot move my remaining dogs because of paperwork issues.”

She added: “I really had no choice.

As part of the sale agreement I had to demolish the kennels and so I had nowhere else to take the dogs.

“We are currently in the process of getting a licence.”

Her old centre, which was on the market for €180,000, has been recently sold to northern European buyers.

Halliwell had been forced to sell up after running into financial difficulties, when she was ordered by Mijas Town Hall to repay €20,000 after missing several payments on a loan initially taken out to build kennels.

A further €12,000 is due over the next five years.

Critics of the shelter claimed Kim and her daughter Kelly were ‘not capable of running a centre’.

In an Olive Press investigation in 2014, dozens of former volunteers slammed the treatment of animals.

President of Estepona animal shelter Adana Mary Page, 71, told the Olive Press that the latest investigation comes as ‘no surprise’.

“Kim always had problems in Mijas and it looks like she is doing the same thing again in Almeria.”

She added: “She never had the correct licences while she was in Mijas.

It gives us all a bad name.”

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GRAZALEMA is receiving its infamous heavy winter rains, that allegedly make it one of Spain’s wettest places.

It comes as forecasters warned that Andalucia is receiving the brunt of the wet weather that is wreaking havoc across Spain.

While 36 provinces have been placed on high wind and heavy rainfall alerts, the worst of the rain will fall in the south, with Andalucia having the heaviest, most persistent downpours, according to weather agency AEMET.

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CRIME

www.theolivepress.es

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

‘Pet twisted Tattoo ‘killer’ nailed killer’ in the dock A GERMAN man wanted for murder has been caught in Spain because of his tattoo.

Dominik R. was arrested by Catalan police after the body of his 20-year-old girlfriend,

A WOMAN first exposed by the Olive Press is accused of slaughtering more than 2,100 cats and dogs at a Costa Del Sol animal shelter.

Carmen Marin’s animal shelter in Torremolinos was meant to be a haven for unwanted pets.

But a court has heard that between 2008 and 2010 Marin and assistant Felipe Barco injected the animals with drugs that caused a slow, agonising death.

In 2012, the Olive Press first revealed a police probe into Marin, as well as a close relationship between her and Torremolinos Town Hall.

Court documents showed she made a series of unexplained payments totalling over €50,000 to ex-mayor Pedro Fernandez Montes’ brother.

Lisa, was discovered in Freyung.

But Spanish cops tracked him down after a tattoo on his arm showing Lisa’s name, date of birth, the date she died and ‘Thanks For

Everything’ was identified. Prior to his arrest, he posted a photo at the Eiffel Tower, withdrew cash in Valladolid and was seen driving along the Mediterranean coast.

Mozart for marijuana

EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

CULTURED marijuana farmers have been playing classical music to enhance the growth of their crops.

In a scene, worthy of hit TV show Breaking Bad, the music-loving criminals played a permanent loop of Mozart and Vivaldi to en-

Cultured drug gang utilised classical music to enhance growth of crops

courage faster growth.

Police in Almeria were left amazed when they raided their warehouse in Almeria.

The gang had utilised the

method, it emerged, at various isolated farmhouses they rented in the province.

Each farm was protected

by CCTV and armed guards were employed to watch over the entrances.

The music is believed to have alleviate any potential ‘stress’ the plants could have been feeling.

Elias Tempton, a weed grower at the legal medical marijuana dispensary in Denver in the US, said the that the melodies of Chopin and Beethoven have also been seen to increase the drug’s potency.

“You can notice a difference,” he said, “They don’t need it to be loud, they just need it to be audible.”

‘Sick’ Amy impersonators on Facebook Congratulations on your anniversary!

We look forward to the party invite!

Alex Radford, My Lawyer in Spain:

THE mother of missing Amy Fitzpatrick has slammed ‘sick’ people using images of her daughter for fake Facebook profiles.

Audrey Fitzpatrick said she is ‘disgusted’ over profiles impersonating her daughter and herself.

The profiles for a ‘Chloe Ville Anckarstrom’ and ‘Kelly Harrison’ include pictures of Amy, who went missing at the age of 15, in La Cala, in 2008.

Facebook is currently investigating after Audrey submitted a formal complaint.

“I'm disgusted how people can do this,” she said.

“I am here to defend myself but Amy is not. And for someone to use Amy's face as their own makes my blood boil.” Audrey’s partner Dave Mahon is currently in jail for the killing Amy’s brother.

Lawyers target ‘black’ economy MORE than 50 international lawyers are demanding the creation of an International Anti-Corruption Court.

The group from 25 countries, led by top Spanish lawyer Javier Cremades, want the court to deal with global money laundering and terrorist financing.

“We have a problem of political governance. The law creates artificial barriers that harms consumers and that complicates national and international lawsuits,” said Cremades.

Since 2007, the percentage of Spain’s GDP run by the black market is estimated to have grown from 11.2% to up to 22%.

NE WS

www.theolivepress.es

Road to Marbs BRENDAN SHEERIN has begun filming his new series Coach Trip: Road to Marbella.

The show follows famed tour leader Brendan, who lives in Malaga, and a group of teenagers as they travel through seaside towns across Spain on the way to Marbs.

The 14 youths stop off at several towns on the way to discover and learn about local cultures.

They most recently stopped off in Aguilas, in Murcia, where they were welcomed by the councillor for culture Lucia Hernandez before taking in the sights.

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

Aero-vederci Spain!

SPAIN has been included as a stop off for Aerosmith’s farewell tour.

The massive US rockers, led by Steve Tyler, will be playing in Madrid and Barcelona as part of their Aero-vederci Baby tour.

The four-time Grammy winners are set to play 15 countries in three months including Madrid on June 29 and Barcelona’s huge Rock Fest on July 2.

Bieber-lona

Peeved

QUEEN Letizia has been criticised for looking ‘furious’ at the official opening of parliament.

The former journalist looked decidedly peeved, as she sat beside her two daughters Leonor and Sofia for the session.

Her ‘attitude’ provoked a backlash on social media, with some observers speculating that she was unhappy with the victory of Mariano Rajoy.

Others insisted she was unhappy that her daughters had to miss a day of school and be placed in the limelight - something she tries hard to avoid for them.

Global superstar kicks about with Barca’s finest

JUSTIN Bieber has had a kickabout with the Barcelona football team during his world tour.

The 22-year-old heartthrob also showed off his ball skills in a kick around with midfielder Rafinha and Brazilian Neymar, who tweeted a pic of their on-pitch encounter.

“Impossible to dribble PAZ VEGA has made a permanent this defender,” Neyreturn to her homeland after pursumar said. ing her dreams in Los Angeles for the He later posed for selfpast ten years. The 40-year-old Spanies with the footballing ish actress - best known for her role idols, also including in ‘Spanglish’ - has Lionel Messi and Luis moved back to the Suarez, before heading Spanish capital of back to his Barcelona Madrid with her hotel ahead of his conVenezuelan huscert. band Orson SalaMeanwhile, hundreds zar. of Beliebers have been Paz, from Sevilla, queuing for almost wants to raise the a month in Madrid three children she to ensure they got as has with Orson in close as possible to the her home country.

Paz back to pais

CLOCKING ‘UN: Burgess

Rock on!

THE secret links of punk icon Sid Vicious and author Anthony Burgess to Gibraltar are laid bare in the latest edition of Gib Rocks.

In the second installment of Gibraltar’s newest, most exciting read, Gib Rocks reveals how Burgess’s cult classic A Clockwork Orange was inspired by time spent on the Rock and in La Linea.

Meanwhile, t h e tale of Sid Vicious’s border mercy dash, after his drug-dealing mother fled from Ibiza, is revealed.

Exclusive interviews with Miss Gibraltar Kayley Mifsud and independent MP Marlene Hassan Nahon are also a must read as well as all you need to know about Christmas on the Rock.

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PALS: Bieber with footie friends

star when he performed at the Palacio de Deportes.

Strictly beaten A SPANISH Strictly Come Dancing star has lost two teeth after being beaten up in Blackpool.

Gorka Marquez, 26, was attacked by a group of youths while he was making his way to the Flamingo nightclub.

He had to have emergency dental surgery in a bid to save his Hollywood smile.

Marquez, from Bilbao, was enjoying a night out with the cast and crew just hours after performing in the live show at the Tower Ballroom.

He was targeted by the gang who planned the attack and ambushed him as he made his way to the club with his BBC colleagues Aljaz Skorjanec and Neil Jones.

Nadal’s net gain RAFAEL Nadal has spent €9,000 on a hair transplant.

The Spanish tennis star spent 10 hours undergoing the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) procedure at a specialist clinic in Madrid.

Nadal had 4,500 follicles transplanted.

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Happy anniversary ‘Stayingpower’ for any business on the Costa del Sol is an achivement in itself. Reaching 10 years has to be a testament to the quality journalism and a happy readership. The Olive Press definitely ticks both boxes. Sunset beach club are delighted to have been a part of this success so offer a big congratulatons to Jon and his team and here’s looking forward to another 10 years of entertaining and informative news.

Mark Wardell, manager Sunset Beach Club

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Happy anniversary

The Butterfly Children Charity, DEBRA, would like to congratulate you on your 10th anniversary. It is a great journey you have had to date and we very much value that you’re always beside the charities and the causes they represent.

Thank you for giving us wings!

Evanina Makow, DEBRA director

Mango migrants TEN Kurdish migrants have been found sealed in a container belonging to fashion retailer Mango in Spain.

Staff were shocked to discover four children, five men and a woman bundled inside the container when they opened it at the company’s logistics centre in Barcelona.

One of the group was vomiting and all ten were sent to hospital as a precaution, but they were described as being in ‘generally good health.’

They had paid a large sum of money and expected to be taken to Britain from their initial departure in Istanbul.

Mango has said it will pay for their upkeep while their status is being ascertained.

A NEW coastal walkway bridge is finally linking Sabinillas and Casares after a 13-year wait.

The 33-metre long wooden structure has been hoisted into place over the mouth of the Rio Manilva to connect the two communities.

Until now, people have had to walk across the beach and get their feet wet during the winter months. Or they have had to cross over the busy motorway bridge.

It is the latest stage in the ambitious La Senda Litoral project, which aims to create a giant walkway stretching 160km from Manilva to Nerja.

The mayors of both towns told the Olive Press they were ‘delighted’ that it had finally been installed.

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

Bridging the gap

AN expat couple have been left ‘devastated’ after their town hall carried out a dramatic lastminute U-turn on plans to build a one-way system through their home.

Disabled Brit John Gray and his wife Deborah’s home in Alhaurin el Grande is to be demolished to make way for the road.

This is despite the town hall promising that the road would be diverted around their home, following an Olive Press story in April.

“It is absolutely heartbreaking,” telesales worker Deborah, 57, told the Olive Press. “We were promised that the plans would be altered to avoid our home but the town hall have gone back on their word and there is nothing we can do.”

The adjoining houses have already been demolished, leaving a ‘gateway’ into their home

A Estepona Big clean-up

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ll about

Vol. 10 Issue 238 www.theolivepress.es

April 27th - May 10th 2016

From its potted geraniums and cultivated orchids to its seafaring virgin and its Banksystyle outdoor art gallery, it’s sweet to live in Estepona, writes Iona Napier

BIGGEST and BEST Estepona

I

COULD have sworn I saw the huge, ornate effigy of the Virgin Mary wink at me as she was hoisted down to the sea on the shoulders of a bunch of strapping sailors last summer.

As the sun dipped below the horizon on the most electric night of the year, she was launched out to sea in a dinghy to be greeted by a flotilla of lamp-lit boats laden to their plimsoll lines with revellers, while others waded into the water to get a better look.

This was Estepona on the night of the Virgen del Carmen, a festival that brings expats, Spanish families and holidaymakers down to the water’s edge en masse to watch the proceedings agog.

It’s surely Malaga’s answer to the Oxford-Cambridge boat race, as feisty and Spanish as the UK event is uptight and British.

For many, Estepona is the last bastion of ‘big resort’ charm on the Costa del Sol. The town has ramped up its appeal with a ‘hanging garden’ of geraniums sprouting from multicoloured pots on every wall of every street, not to mention the colourful murals which can be spotted across town.

And it has gone one better than the plantpots with its exotic glass-domed orchidarium.

The futuristic greenhouse with more than 8,000 species of orchids and three waterfalls has welcomed more than 250,000 people over the last 12 months and they continue to arrive by the coach load.

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STILL MISSING: Amy

Amy’s stepdad ‘gutted’ brother

supplement ever - From

olive press

street art and (top left) geranium-lined streets IMPRESSIVE: Estepona has cleaned up its act with beautiful The two busiest axes are the beachfront strip for everyone. old First, grab a fistful of maps from the Plaza de (Avenida Espana) and the road through the Flores tourist office in the old town’s prettiest town (Calle Terraza), while horseshoe-shaped Avenida de Andalucia curves protectively around square (or the other office in the marina).

With two walking tours, an art walk and a poetry Continued Page 20 route, the best way to see Estepona is on foot.

Sandwiched between the ocean and the high sierras of Bermeja, Estepona does surf and turf in style. And just like the old ditty about Jack Sprat and his wife, between the traditional old town and the bustling modern port which prop up either end of the promenade, there’s something

FREE

Vol. 10 Issue 238

www.theolivepress.es

April 27th - May 10th

its bumper radio auction event on November 25 from 10am to 7pm in aid of Cudeca Cancer Care Hospice.

The station, which has hosted numerous telethons for the charity, wants to double the €50,000 raised last year.

Tickets for the X Factor tour, beauty treatments, hotel stays and restaurant meals are among the many items up for grabs.

Money raised last year financed a home visit team to help terminally ill people spend their last days at home.

Visit www.tretelethon.com for more information.

P19

2016

GETTING A GRILLING

the good life

Now in Andalucía!

Follow us: Holland & Barrett Andalucía

Olive Press meets world’s best chefs including Ferran Adria (left), and Daniel Humm Turn to Page 7

One-way injustice

THE stepfather of Amy Fitzpatrick hasmissing finally gone on trial for murder.

Former Mijas estate agent Dave Mahon is accused of killing the missing teenager’s brother in a savage stabbing incident.

A court in Dublin heard how Mahon, 46, literally his stepson Dean, 23,‘gutted’ fish in the attack in May like a The jury heard how a row2013. had broken out over the tampering of Mahon’s bicycle outside a gym.

The pair squared up over incident at Mahon’s home the lat- A DISABLED er that evening, after expat is being been drinking heavily. he had forced out of his home so a Expats slam ‘insulting’ compulsory one-way system can be “Mahon arrived back built. had a carving knife,”in and Retired bricklayer John Gray, purchase of their home said 76, and his prosecution barrister Remy been given wife Deborah have Farrell. just two months EXCLUSIVE condition. vacate their dream home to

By Rob Horgan Plans for a one-way receiving a compulsory after system were first mooted in 1994 pur- property for miles Suicidal chase order from Alhaurin beel that sort of money.”around for fore being put on hold.

“The prosecution case Grande Town Hall.

However, the Grays were The couple had bought Mahon stabbed Dean is that The couple have only the rick in the abdomen. Fitzpat- lawyers after theybrought in two-bedroom, two-bathroom notified that the work was fiwere of- home for nally going ahead last “There was a piece of intes- fered an ‘insulting’ €35,000 ing from€66,000 after mov- They were initially year. tine protruding,” he said. told that for their property, Hertfordshire in they could stay in their home common terms, he had “In them three times which cost 2003. They were later forced as much af- to spend been gutted.” a further €30,000 but would need to demolish ter renovations.

Dean’s “It is completely heart-break- on renovations after John suf- their extension. girlfriend However, in March the fered from a stroke in O’Rourke told the courtSarah ing,” telesales worker plans 2014, that Mahon threatened to rah, 57, told the Olive Debo- leaving him with limited mo- were changed and the new CRUEL: Couple’s fight knife into my head or ‘stick a am going crazy at the Press. “I bility and the need of a mobil- road will mean knocking for justice moment, ity scooter. down the entire home.

The jury heard that neck’. but I have not given up anyway,” Deborah added hope.

The town hall has given He also suffers from attempted to flee the Mahon “I have to keep going last the night. a lung couple the option later claiming Dean scene, life, but I have started with my disease called COPD and to take the what “We simply don’t know had acis €35,000 or packing currently undergoing to do but hope that juscidentally walked onto in case the worst happens.” tests for owned plot move to a co- tice will prevail.” suspected ‘twice the size’, knife, then changing his the She added: “To A spokesman offer us As well ascancer. where to say Dean was suicidal.story €35,000 is an insult. looking after her ning they will have plan- hall confirmed for the town It is a husband, Deborah permission to build two that plans for a Fitzpatrick’s sister, third of what we have spent cares for houses. one-way system were on her 77-year-old went missing in SpainAmy, it and you cannot in place mother Chrisbut buy another tina, who New Year’s Day 2008, on suffers from a heart “It is all so vague and we have workwould not confirm when not got the money to would continuing questions with build further on begin or comment the case. about her relationshipraised her mother and Mahon. with Mahon and his partner, drey Fitzpatrick, moved AuAmy and Dean to Spainwith in 2004.

The Olive Press revealed she had been unhappy, that drinking and was living semi-rough For all your in the Calahonda area, with before glasses insurance needs! she went missing.

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for opportunistic burglars, who have raided their home a number of times.

So far around £600 worth of the Grays’ possessions have been stolen, including a power washer, kitchen appliances and tools.

Retired bricklayer John Gray, 76, from Hertfordshire, uses a wheelchair due to a lung disease called COPD and is currently undergoing tests for suspected cancer.

The couple are now being forced to take the €35,000 originally offered by the town hall, despite paying €66,000 for the two-bed, two-bathroom property in 2003.

A town hall spokesman said that they had looked into alternatives but no written agreement was ever agreed.

Present and correct

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EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan

News IN BRIEF

LA Linea homeless charity Hogar Betania has launched its Christmas Toy campaign to ensure underprivileged children receive a gift. For Information email: c_moya_ langston@hotmail.com

Broken promise One-way street to be built through disabled expat’s living room, despite town hall promise

5

CHARGED: Mahon and Audrey

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ANGER: The Grays

‘King of Marbella’ thrown in jail over Bentley’s flash number plate Page 3

Priors: ‘We’ve been dumped on by Spanish politicians who are the dregs of the earth’ Page 6

Pixies and Pete head to Spain for best-ever summer festival lineup Page 16

GIBRALTARIANS could be forced to pay €5 to enter Spain under new EU proposals.

Various European chiefs reacted positively to the plan to make non-EU residents pay to enter EU countries at a Brussels meeting.

The EU Travel Information and Authorization System (Etias) could be activated by 2020 as part of new anti-terrorism policies. It wants non EU-residents over 18, including British people, to pay the current rate of £4.30 before entering Spain or any of the other 25 Schengen states. A register would record their personal details and those signed up will be able to make multiple trips over a five-year period.

SPAIN’S trade deficit has fallen by 29% to €13.2 billion between January and September this year.

Fan stabbed A JUVENTUS football fan has been stabbed in an altercation ahead of his team’s away game against Sevilla, he remains in a stable condition.

Weeded out FOUR Britons have been arrested in Murcia over a ‘mail-order’ cannabis service in which they sold the drug to the UK and Ireland.

6

fe at u re

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

CLOSE CALL: Elena nearly got sucked in

by Acklom (below)

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

OPINION Catch him!

IT seems we will never know how many women or people Mark Acklom has tried to defraud across Spain and the UK, and his lies seem to know no bounds!

His arrogance must be through the roof if he thinks he can get women like Elena Escuverra to believe his ridiculous MI6 fantasies.

Luckily she could see through his tall tales and hopefully he won’t be able to prey on more vulnerable women.

He clearly has maternal issues and needs to get some help!

Let’s hope he is caught sooner than later so he can face justice for his lies and betrayals that have left so many people’s lives in tatters!

EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

E

LENA Escuverra was anything but happy when she joined the dating website Match.com in early 2011.

She hated her job, had just been diagnosed with diabetes and was single and alone at 39, looking for love in an image-obsessed Marbella.

So when the tall brunette began exchanging messages with a dashing ‘British lawyer’ named George, her heart naturally fluttered.

An attorney for the Saudi Royal family, George, who was based in London, seemed to know all the right people and had even dated the daughter of former prime minister Adolfo Suarez.

Claiming to have property in Zagaleta, Spain’s most exclusive enclave, and other investments in Marbella, she understandably believed he could be her knight in shining armour.

Manhunt

On the pulse THE latest raid at Kim’s Animal Rescue Centre is as unsurprising as it is important.

Since our initial investigation two years ago, dozens of former employees and rattled animal activists have contacted us with worrying tales of abuse and mistreatment at the shelter.

And, in our 10th anniversary edition, it is fitting to splash on a story that combines animal rights and expats under investigation: two issues that we have time and again covered over the last decade.

On top of that it is testament to our sources for keeping us on the pulse with important, breaking stories that go unnoticed, ignored and unreported in other newspapers on the coast.

Keep them coming!

Publisher/ Editor

Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es

Newsdesk newsdesk@theolivepress.es Tel: (+34) 665 798 618

Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@theolivepress.es Admin and account assistant

Rob Horgan rob@theolivepress.es Joe Duggan joe@theolivepress.es Laurence Dollimore laurence@theolivepress.es Admin & Accounts (+34) 951 273 575 Maria González admin@theolivepress.es Admin and accounts coordinator

Designer James Partington design@theolivepress.es Distribution Graham Warters distribution@theolivepress.es SALES TEAM: sales@theolivepress.es Chris Birkett - Head of Sales chris@theolivepress.es (+34) 652 512 956

Head office

Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5 Calle Espinosa 1 Edificio centro comercial El Duque, planta primera, 29692 San Luis de Sabinilla, Manilva

AWARDS

2015/2016 Best expat paper in Spain and the second best in the world. The Expat Survey Consumer Awards.

2012 - 2016

Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.

However the handsome ‘George’ was in fact Mark Acklom, one of Britain’s most prolific fraudsters and now a famous face on Crimestoppers top ten Most Wanted fugitives list.

W

HEN Leonard Cohen broke into Save the Last Dance for Me at his final Spanish concert, it was a love song to the country that shaped his music and lyrics.

At 78, his 2012 farewell at Madrid’s Palacio de Deportes marked the climax to almost 40 years of performances in the country, which began in Barcelona in 1974.

But far beyond being one of his favourite places to tour Cohen, who died on November 7 aged 82, credited Spanish culture for influencing his entire musical career.

The true extent of Spain’s importance to Cohen was not widely known until 2011, when he received the prestigious Prince of Asturias award in Oviedo, conferred for his achievements in the arts with hits like Hallelujah and Suzanne.

In his acceptance speech, he revealed how he learned to play classical guitar from a Spanish musician, after their chance meeting in his hometown of Montreal.

“He was playing a flamenco guitar, and he was surrounded by two or three girls and boys who were listening to him”, Cohen recalled.

“I loved the way he played. There was something about the way he played that captured me.”

Cohen asked him for lessons and the two met at his mother’s house. “He took the guitar and he produced a sound from that guitar that I’d never heard... a six chord progression that many, many flamenco songs are based on,” explained the artist.

“It was those six chords... it was that guitar pattern that has been the basis of all my songs and all my music.”

The young Spaniard never returned to the house to give Cohen further lessons. Tragically, he committed suicide the following day.

“I knew nothing about the man. I did not know what part of Spain he came from…. I was deeply saddened, of course,” said Cohen who, from that moment on, switched from acoustic to classical guitar.

The Spanish chord pattern that imprinted on Cohen’s mind melded seamlessly with his penchant for other aspects of Latin culture.

In the same acceptance speech he told the audience: “I have a Conde guitar, which was made in Spain in the great workshop at Number 7 Gravina Street (Madrid); a beautiful instrument that I acquired over 40 years ago.”

But the musician’s love affair with Spain runs deeper than guitars and chords. As many Cohen fans will know, it was celebrated Spanish poet Federico García Lorca who gave him his ‘tongue’.

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

In

M a r k’s

Elena Escuverra thought she had found the man of her dreams - a charming, well-dressed British lawyer with links to Spain’s upper echelons of power and the Saudi royal family...

Sought in various countries, Acklom - who also uses the names Mark Ros, Ros Marc Rodriguez, Mark Desmond, Zack Moss among others - has spent ten years behind bars in Britain and Spain and defrauded dozens, if not hundreds, of people around the world.

One of these, British divorcee Carolyn Woods, 55, lost nearly one million euros to the conman, while various others have since come forward.

Indeed, it was only during a recent manhunt for Acklom - who the Olive Press traced to Murcia last month that the ‘scary and seedy’ episode in Elena’s life came back to haunt her.

The attractive estate agent, based in Marbella, revealed this week that she had been pursued relentless-

ON BOARD: Acklom on boat and by sports car ly by Acklom, who claimed to have numerous business interests on the Costa del Sol. “We were soon having a love affair via phone, email and text,” she recalled.

“He told me he had a building plot in Zagaleta and that we could start a life there when he sold all of his invest-

The last dance After nearly four decades touring in Spain, Leonard Cohen’s love affair with his ‘second home’ ran as deep as his musical poetry, writes Chloe Glover

“I studied the English poets and I copied their styles, but I could not find a voice,” Cohen said.

“It was only when I read, even in translation, the works of Lorca that I understood that there was a voice.

“It is not that I copied his voice; I would not dare.

But he gave me permission to find a voice.”

Cohen adapted Lorca’s Pequeño Vals Vienés for his single, Take This Waltz, from his 1986 Lorca tribute album Poets in New York.

The accompanying video was shot in Granada, Lorca’s home, featuring sweeping vistas of the Alhambra. Cohen used the occasion to visit Lorca’s birthplace, Fuente Vaqueros, where the author’s Casa Museo had just opened.

And to consolidate his admiration for the poet’s

work, Cohen named his daughter Lorca.

Recently, political group Vamos Granada launched a bid to have the Canadian officially recognised due to the special relationship he had with the city.

“Leonard Cohen is the history of our music and lyrics,” it said.

Famed flamenco singer Enrique Morente also made a lasting impression on Cohen.

The two were introduced in one of Lorca’s favourite Madrid bars in 1993. They went on to release Morente’s Omega album in 1996, a homage to Lorca containing some of Cohen’s lyrics.

Cohen struck up another notable relationship with Aragon multi-instrumentalist Javier Mas while staging a musical comeback after a long

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olive press online October 2015

w eb

...But what seemed too good to be true, soon dissolved into a terrifying obsession and a toxic web of lies, all spun by Britain’s most wanted fraudster Mark Acklom

ments in Spain.

“He said he had owned a massive ice cream business in Alicante, which had failed and almost left him bankrupt, but he was now making a recovery.

“He insisted that he lived in Mayfair and had many other

SORELY MISSED: Leonard Cohen struggle with depression.

He first rang Mas in 2007 to ask about his arrangements on an album that used the 12- string bandurria.

The relationship reached its peak when Mas accepted an invitation to play in Cohen’s band on his final world tour, Old Ideas.

Cohen’s love affair with Spain is far from unrequited. Spaniards, too, have embraced his hauntingly dark and powerful voice.

He has been well-known here since his 1967 debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen, as three of the tracks were used on the soundtrack for the film Mccabe and Mrs Miller, released in Spain as Los Vividores.

His songs have been covered by numerous artists, from Espaldamaceta y Maria Rodés’ El Partisano to Russian Red’s So Long, Marianne.

Writer Alberto Manzano cemented Cohen’s place in Spaniards’ contemporary cultural canon when he created the 2007 tribute album, According to Leonard Cohen, with half a dozen Latin acts. He went on to scribe his biography in 2010.

Returning to the final remarks of Cohen’s Prince of Asturias speech, the dapper maestro described how Spanish culture had left him humbled.

“It was the base of all my songs and all my music so now you begin to understand the dimensions of gratitude I have for this soil,” he said.

“Everything you have found favourable comes from this place and is inspired from this soil.

“It’s really your work, you have allowed me to sign my name at the bottom of the page.”

Spain and Gibraltar’s best English Page views:xxxxxxxxx daily news website Visitors: xxxxxxxx

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- MISSING: 17-year-old British expat missing fortnight on (23,270) from Costa del Sol since Friday www.theolivepress.es

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SUAVE: Acklom in London

had worked in the security detail of two prime ministers, started to realise something was up.

“My uncle knew the family of former leader Adolfo Suarez, whose daughter Mark claimed to have dated, and he told me one had died of business interests in the UK.” cancer and one was happily married.

She continued: “He was emailing me four or five “When I put it to Mark, he shrugged it off nertimes a day and ringing me at least three times, vously and failed to give me an answer. he became obsessed,” Elena said. “Somehow “My intuition said something was not right.”

I knew to be wary, but he was very convincing While she saw him over a couple of days in Lonand forward.” don, she refused to go to bed with him, believing One thing led to another and he had soon perhe was spinning a web of lies. suaded her to fly over to meet him in London.

But that was not the end of the relationship.

Paying for a ticket on British Airways to London When she returned to Spain, Elena says Acklom Gatwick, in March 2011, he arranged to meet hounded her with texts and calls, promising her her at one of the airport hotels, where he had the earth and talking about numerous projects booked a room. on the Costa del Sol. “I was excited to actually meet him, but as soon The deceit would have come easily to Acklom, as we met he was so nervous,” she continued. who started his fraudster ways as a teenager, “He was shaking and started to cry within minstealing his mother’s mink coat to sell for a utes. It was not the image of the confident and quick buck. sure man I had been speaking to... it was very At 16, he spent £11,000 on his father’s stostrange, he seemed more like a scared child.” len American Express card before posing as When Acklom calmed down, he confessed that a stockbroker in a £1million fraud — wearing there was something he had to tell her. handmade suits, buying a £500,000 mansion, “He said he had been working undercover for and taking girlfriends to the Canary Islands on MI6 in British intelligence, infiltrating the IRA. a private jet.

“He even pulled his socks down and showed me But Elena wasn’t buying it. scars that he said he received from She contacted one of Marbelbeing tortured with electricity.” la’s top law firms, who Acklom It wouldn’t be the first time Acktold her he regularly hired. lom would spin the MI6 line. Just The firm, who we are not nama year later he would give the ing for legal reasons, agreed to same story to the then 41-yearsee Elena and in a meeting at old divorcee Carolyn Woods, the swish Golden Mile office, who he famously scammed out incredibly backed up many of of her €990,000 life savings.

Acklom’s claims.

“He said that’s why he had two “The lawyer confirmed that Ackpassports and he admitted he lom was a client and that he had given me a fake name of was worth €7 billion and that George, and that his real name he even had his own private jet,” was Mark. she explained. “He confirmed all “He begged me to move to the things that Mark had been England, he said he could give telling me - he even said he had me a job as his PA for €12,000 flown a few women to London a month and that I could be FAMILY: Acklom and paid for their expensive hodriven in a continental Bentley as a child tels, chauffeurs and meals.” and live in the house in Mayfair or Sandbanks. He showed me photos of both on emails.”

Lucky escape As she got to know him better, he told her he The lawyer claimed that the actual reason Ackdespised his mother, and blamed her for the lom couldn’t visit Spain was because he had not problems of his youth. paid in full for a rental car in Malaga and failed “He told me that his mother sent him away to a to show up in court. It led to a warrant for his boarding school and he hated it,” she said, “He arrest, which they were dealing with. then started working at 16 and bought a house “However, luckily he eventually warned me to by lying about his age, but his mother found out stay away from him, he said Acklom is a very and he was given a choice, go to jail or attend a possessive man and very jealous. strict religious school, he chose the latter, which “It’s strange when I think about it now because he said is where he got his law degree. it’s hard to believe such a highly respected law “He told me so many times that he never wantfirm could be so easily fooled like me.” ed to see his mother again and that he hated Either way, Elena took the lawyer’s advice and her, but he never once mentioned his father. began responding less and less to Acklom.

“I think he has maternal issues and issues with “At one point he was hounding me so much I female relationships. feared for my life, I did not know what this man “He told me that he was obsessed with sex and was capable of and he knew where I lived. always wanted me to wear La Perla lingerie, he Luckily for Elena he eventually stopped contactonce said to me ‘once you wear La Perla you will ing her around August, just, coincidentally as he never want to wear anything else’.” moved onto his next victim Woods.

She continued: “Clearly what he needed was to “I realise I was lucky. I was in a bad period of my be loved like a child, not like a man. I think he is life, and maybe he thought that I was vulnerable trying to make up for something he missed in and easier to manipulate.” his childhood.”

Elena believes that no matter where he is now, When Elena suggested Mark visited Spain, he almost certainly in Spain still, he will carry on his declined, saying he did not have a good relation‘game’ with women because it’s like an addicship with the then prime minister Jose Zapatero, tion for him. “I know that he will do this until the a socialist, whose election campaign he had day he dies, it’s like a sick game to him.” been openly against.

Elena, who remains single, said she hasn’t Acklom failed to mention that his reluctance been put off men by Acklom. might have had something to do with the “If anything I trust my gut more because I was €250,000 property scam he was then masright about him, I just hope no one else falls for terminding in Murcia, tricking two brothers into it.” And she joked: “I just wish now I had asked paying him for buildings he didn’t own. A scam him to dance for me since he also claimed he for which he would later spend three years in had been trained in classical ballet from the age prison. of three. Now that would have been funny.”

Elena, whose uncle worked in anti-terrorism and

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23rd - December 6th 2016 PNovember olitics

Make Spain great again PRO-FRANCO fascists have taken to the streets in Spain to salute the dictator on the 41st anniversary of his death.

Some 200 people gathered in Madrid’s Plaza Oriente as they raised their right arms and sang the fascist Cara al Sol anthem.

Organised by far-right groups, protesters were seen holding placards with phrases

Mayor toppled POLITICIANS have ousted Manilva’s mayor after a vote of no confidence.

Diego Jimenez of PSOE has been replaced by Mario Jimenez of Compromiso Manilva after gaining a mandate from politicians.

Mario criticised his rival’s actions over the last 17 months, claiming that the former mayor had abandoned street cleaning and failed to develop any new infrastructure projects.

FIRST MEET: Boris and Dastis

New priorities JOSE MARGALLO has said the idea of Gibraltar gaining special status with the EU is ‘absurd’.

The former Spanish foreign secretary made the remarks after it became clear his replacement, Alfonso Dastis, would not be making the issue a priority.

Margallo said: “Nothing would be more absurd than if Gibraltar achieved a special status within the EU while the UK remained outside of it.”

His controversial comments came after, Dastis had met with his British counterpart Boris Johnson.

But unlike Margallo - who raised the issue in his first meeting with the UK foreign secretary - Dastis failed to bring up the Rock’s future or the joint sovereignty issue.

The pair met for the first time during an EU gathering of foreign ministers in Brussels.

“They met and they had a discussion on a number of issues, but Gibraltar was not raised,” a Foreign Office spokesman confirmed.

Dastis’s omission of the topic is thought to suggest that Spain’s new government is standing down on the Gibraltar question, or at least making it less of a priority.

like ‘Make Spain Great Again’ – a play on Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.

A gay protester, Lagarder Danciu, who held up a sign ‘Franco - asesino - Franco - killer!’ was violently assaulted by a group of fascists, who kicked him repeatedly and hit him around the head until police intervened.

Corruption under spotlight Estepona mayor goes on trial THE sleaze trial of an exmayor is set to begin next week.

Ex-leader of Estepona town hall Antonio Barrientos will give evidence on December 1 over alleged crimes including money laundering, embezzlement and bribery while he was in power.

Socialist Barrientos resigned his post before spending six months in prison in 2008 and wants to use the hearing to clear his name.

Both Barrientos and various other officials were accused of illegally obtaining

funds from developers and businesses, in the Astapa investigation, launched in 2007.

The wrongdoings were committed in the early and mid 2000s.

Barrientos will be questioned alongside José Flores and other public officials in what the judge has described as the ‘final part’ of proceedings.

Barrientos insisted, this week: "After around 10 years since the operation started, I am looking forward to explaining everything to the judge."

Happy anniversary The Experience Group has followed client needs over the last 46 years, and at all times place its clients’ needs and services at the forefront of all activities. We wish the Olive Press congratulations on their 10th anniversary. The next 36 years will not get easier.

Alan James, Experience Group boss

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ON TRIAL: Jose Alba AN ex-mayor who allegedly falsely sold land is in the dock.

José Manuel Martín Alba, former PSOE party Alcaucín chief has been accused of knowing and giving consent to the buildi n g of illegal homes in Axar-

Fundraisers danced the night away at a charity ball.

Members of the Nerja Royal British Legion boosted their coffers at the glittering event at the Caves Restaurant.

They enjoyed a three course meal before a live band got everyone up and dancing.

‘Bent’ mayor in dock

By Chloe Glover

quia by prosecutors at Malaga’s Ciudad de Justicia.

Martín and his two daughters are three of 48 people who have been charged with crimes includ-

Happy anniversary

Just a note to say that on your 10th Anniversary , The British Chamber of Commerce in Spain sends you it's heartiest congratulations , for providing the local Community with many years of high quality professional journalism , and our best wishes for the future

Derek A Langley, Regional Vice-President Andalucia for British Chamber of Commerce in Spain

ing embezzlement, falsehood, bribery, money laundering and falsifying official documents as part of the Arcos Case.

Back in 2009 police found sales documents and €130,000 stashed under the bed of Martín, who is known as the flamenco mayor after attempting a new career as a singer.

If found guilty, he may face four years behind bars.

Prosecutors said homes were built on rural land not allowed to be developed “with the knowledge and consent of the mayor.” His two daughters are already serving sentences of at least six months after coming to out of court agreements.

Search for a cure A TORROX scientist is leading a project to find a cure for HIV. Oscar Jurado Ruiz’s €150,000 study hopes to genetically manipulate the virus so that it is no longer a pathogen, which would make it easier to suppress in an individual.

The goal is to make the virus unable to replicate itself and develop into AIDS. Ruiz has said he is confident his project has a ‘high chance’ of eradicating the disease, and believes treatment could be available in four to five years. The project will be carried out jointly with the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital and the Molecular Virology Service of the National Center of Microbiology of the Carlos IIIISCIII Health Institute.

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Racer jailed A RECKLESS racer has been jailed after leaving his passenger in a coma following a 120km per hour crash.

The 26-year-old man was given a two-year sentence for dangerous driving and GBH after crashing on Devil’s Tower Road during an illegal road race.

He lost control of his car, in 2014, after racing at speeds of up to 120km per hour and was allegedly racing another car which sped off following the crash.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Not happy UNITE the Union has called an emergency meeting today on the controversial proposed new ‘operating model’ at the Ministry of Defence. The union believes the MoD has not conducted a meaningful consultation on the issue.

Hearing aid THE Gibraltar Hearing Impaired Tinnitus Association has installed £4,000 worth of hearing assistance equipment in St Theresa’s Church.

Weaning off THE Junta has presented a report to the Spanish Foreign Ministry outlining how to stimulate the region’s economy and make it less reliant on the Rock post-Brexit.

Outspoken DEPUTY Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia attended Brussels for two days of Brexit meetings.

He went to ensure that Gibraltar’s point of view continues to be heard by EU decision makers.

Happy anniversary I congratulate the Olive Press on a first decade in print. I commend its journalists for their interest in Gibraltar and for the work they do. Here's to another ten years!

Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar Chief Minister

You’re making it up!

Spaniard who claims Picardo ordered his torture actually thanked police at court case

By Laurence Dollimore and Joe Duggan

A FAR-RIGHT leader who claims he was tortured by authorities in Gibraltar actually THANKED the police at a Magistrates Court hearing this summer, it can be revealed.

However, Nacho Minguez Martinez - the leader of political party Vox - now claims he was tortured on the Rock under the direct orders of chief minister Fabian Picardo.

But at a hearing in June, that the Olive Press covered, Minguez praised the RGP for its ‘excellent treatment’ after he was arrested for unfurling a huge Spanish flag on the Rock.

Spain’s Supreme Court has been probing accusations by the politician, 53, that he was subject to ‘torture and crimes against moral integrity’ following his arrest for the provocative stunt. After attracting global media attention, Minguez and several other Vox activists were cuffed on June 20 before being charged with ‘conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.’

But according to Minguez, police kept him for more than seven hours, frisked him in a ‘disproportionate manner’, stopped him from telling anyone where he was and denied him a lawyer and food.

His lawyer, Fernando Sanchez, says he was prevented from meeting Minguez ahead of a

TORTURE CLAIMS: Mingues (top) and controversial flag court appearance and that he was detained after taking pictures of the courtroom.

In the complaint that has been filed in Spain, it is alleged that police holding Sanchez told him he was being treated in such a manner for ‘political reasons’ and ‘under direct orders from the chief minister.’

An official investigation has been launched after the complaint was accepted by the National Court in Madrid, while British authorities have been asked to send copies of all police and judicial paperwork related to the arrests. Picardo has since described the proceedings as ‘frivolous and vexatious’ and a ‘clear abuse of process.’ He added that the case was a slur on the police and prison service in Gibraltar.

“I fully respect the Spanish courts and legal system and will therefore not lose a moment’s sleep over this case,” he said.

The High Court also requested Spain quickly determined whether Picardo was protected by diplomatic immunity.

Punched to his grave!

A ROYAL Gibraltar Regiment soldier was murdered by a boxer who claimed to be the ‘hardest man in town’, a court has heard.

Private Matthew Boyd, 20, was punched to death on a night out in Wales by amateur boxer Jake Vallely before his body was dumped in the road, prosecutors told Cardiff Crown Court.

While Vallely admits to punching Boyd he is pleading ‘not guilty’ to murder. His friend Aaeron Evans, 23, is also on trial for manslaughter.

Vallely, 24, allegedly launched the attack outside a bar near to the Brecon military barracks.

Just an hour before the attack, Vallely allegedly proclaimed that he was the ‘hardest man in town’ before being kicked out of a bar for ripping a cocktail menu with his teeth.

“That was how he described himself an hour or so before the attack that killed Mr Boyd,” said Prosecutor Christopher Quinlan.

He added: “Together with his friend, Aaeron, he

chased and then assaulted Mr Boyd.

“Mr Vallely then dragged and dumped his body and ran off. “He ran back to the bar where he continued his night with his friend Mr Evans.”

Boyd arrived at the Brecon barracks for a rest in May, following a tour to Northern Ireland.

Vallely’s ‘sustained assault’ was captured on CCTV, which shows the boxer driving Boyd into the ground before punching him repeatedly.

“You could see Mr Vallely’s right arm moving like a piston up and down as he punched him,” Quinlan said. “It was sustained, repeated and unlawful violence delivered with intent to cause really serious harm.” In a text message to a friend the next day, Vallely wrote: “I just ragged him on the floor a bit. Nothing serious. Wasn’t even a beating like.”

A military funeral procession took place in Gibraltar in June with six fellow RGR soldiers carrying Boyd’s coffin into Holy Trinity for the ceremony.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

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Sun, sand and sewage

National park decision close

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

13

Spain told to clean up its act

By Chloe Glover

A CAMPAIGNER behind the bid to have a Costa del Sol mountain crowned a national park is "hopeful" of success .

Maribel Marin revealed that the Junta de Andalucia is currently considering a new proposal to give Estepona'sSierra Bermeja the status in conjunction with Ronda's Sierra de las Nieves.

Maribel of Ecologistas en Acción said a decision could be made this year.

The joint bid, has received unaminous backing from the Mancomunidad de Muncipios Costa del Sol .

The Estepona mountain is very biodiverse and is the only place in the world where pinsapo (fir) trees grow on red peridotita rocks.

THE EU Commission wants the government to pay €46.5m for failing to properly process its sewage, which could cause 'serious risks to human health and the environment' in 17 communities.

Nine of these are in Andalucia, making it the worst affected region in the country.

The southern towns, all of which have more than 15,000 residents, include Estepona, Marbella (San Pedro) and Nerja alongside Coín, Alhaurin el Grande, Barbate, Tarifa, Matalascañas and Isla Cristina.

News of the fine came as the commission revealed it was taking the country to the EU Court of Justice for the sec-

GROSS: Government under fire for sewage failure ond time over the issue, five years after first condemning it for failures in 37 communi-

ties.

It also wants the court to impose a massive daily fine of €171,217.20 if Spain does not cough up by the time it reaches a ruling. down to the anticipated 2017 SnowAn EU wide diboard and Freestyle Ski Championrective was imships, which will take over the reposed in 2000 to sort’s slopes from March 7 to 19. “prevent serious Snow breaks, snow guns and halfrisks to human pipe competition lights have also health and the been installed in the resort. environment.”

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The resort will open for the season on November 26, complete with new reworking of the black run La Visera.

The opening will signal the count-

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14

LE T T E R S

www.theolivepress.es

Parking problems I HAVE received a parking ticket in Elviria, near Marbella and I am outraged.

There are absolutely no road markings or signs prohibiting parking.

I do want to obey the laws but find it very difficult without clear guidelines. I have sent photos over to my local Trafico but by the time they answer the fine will have doubled.

It seems like a ludicrous system to me.

Norma Holme, Marbella

Bleak forecast WHO will cut out the cancer?

The Olive Press asked in its opinion section last issue. Your editorial board deserves an answer and that answer is NOBODY! We are all on board the rollercoaster of shame on its way to disaster, ashen faced and screaming Brexit. Then add in the never ending political farce, the clamour for independence from Catalunya and the Basque region who will leave at the first opportunity. Gibraltar must consider its predicament and may seek independence from Britain and then deal with whatever is left of the Spanish state as best they can. Forty years of freedom, democracy, greed and theft on an industrial scale have brought this country to its knees and this story will not have a happy ending . Finally I love my life here and the warmth of the people but it breaks my heart to observe the antics of the so-called elected representatives.

Viva España!

Sean Moffett, Manilva

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

A load of old Trump Speaking up!

55 crosses were made by

Barcelona against Málaga (inc. corners) in last weekend’s match, more than in any other La Liga game since 2005/06

TRUMP’S election is good news for the USA and also for Brexit supporters.

With Trump as president, the silent majority have spoken as they did in the UK. The liberal left ‘whiners’ will never be satisfied, but with Trump, Brexit and even Mariano Rajoy taking office, the lefties need to get a grip and realise they are in a minority.

I look forward to seeing how Trump works with the UK, and Europe in the coming years.

Howard Davis, Coin

Silver lining

68%

of Spaniards would vote to remain in the EU if they had a referendum, according to a survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation.

124

Trojan horse

THROUGHOUT his campaign, Donald Trump’s message was ‘let’s make America great again’. And perhaps he will.

The Brexit message on the other hand was ‘let us go full stupid and abandon everything and see where it takes us’.

I can see why political commentators are comparing the two, however, to my mind they are very different entities.

At least with Trump, Americans can vote him out again in four years time.

TRUMP got in as a populist, but not a Republican populist. As a pragmatic deal-maker and social liberal he isn’t likely to tolerate Tea Party southern rednecks in the House and Senate. And as a grandiose narcissist he will be more focussed on his historical legacy and reputation.

Trump’s populist campaign that appealed to marginalized, mostly white working class high school educated Americans, may have got him into office using populist Trojan horse. Some speculate that that horse will be dismantled a few months after he is in office. The Campaign Horse’s simplistic rhetoric, while repugnant to many, appeal to disenfranchised provincial people across America.

Lenox Napier, Almeria

Chas Davies, La Linea

Inspired!

THE story of Jon Bonfiglio is inspiring to all Gibraltarians (Indiana Jones of Gib, issue 252). How

he and his team survived on a few nuts each every day is beyond me.

His story of survival should be taught in all schools in Gibraltar to inspire future generations to go out into the world and do what

they want.

I would love to hear more stories about his travels.

Claire Hull, Gibraltar

Has anything peeked your interest in this week’s Olive Press? Have your say on the matter by emailing letters@theolivepress.es or alternatively message us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OlivePressNewspaper or Twitter @olivepress

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November 23rd - December 6th 2016

15

15

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

+TheolivepressEs Special delivery BE ‘APPY!

what’s on

THE Game of Thrones cast dug a little deeper during filming in Sevilla to treat their loyal fans to pizza.

Some 50 followers of the blockbuster series had staked out the Download stars’ hotel andnow filmour app and ing locations, which included begin enjoying the best SpanishNEW:Theatre on London’s Southbank Las Atarazanas Royal Dockyards and the news onRoman the go. ruins of Italica.

To thank their fans for not interrupting filming, the actors delivered 10 boxes of pizza to the crowd waiting outside their hotel, on the principal that zero out-takes merit a hearty take-out.

Nathalie Emmanuel, who The Olive Press plays freed slave interpreter Missandei, posted a picture on her TOP Twitter with foraccount news in Spain! the caption: “We’ve had some dedicated fans outside our hotel in Sevilla every day! It was fun meeting some of you last night! Hope you enjoyed the LONDON’S first dedicated Spanish theatre has opened on the banks of the Thames, pizza!” within shouting distance of The Globe, The Vic and Union theatres.

The new Cervantes Theatre, based at Old Union Arches in Southwark, proves that all the world’s a stage, just as Shakespeare to deck out its interior. wrote. The long-cherished dream of ac- The achievement follows Juan’s establishclaimed Spanish actor-turned-theatre-di- ment of The Spanish Theatre Company in rector Jorge de Juan, he hopes it will open 2013, London’s first theatre company enthe eyes of English audiences to the delights tirely dedicated to promoting Spanish and of Latin drama.

Latin American arts.

The €250,000, 90-seater venue has been “We didn’t have official help from the minpart financed by Spanish literary founda- istry of culture,” said Juan. tion SGAE and Network Rail.

“At various times we were at the point of Their money helped purchase authentic throwing in the towel.

Spanish furnishings, which have been used “But I was committed to making it this year TREAT: Pizza posse

F

uengirola, November 25- December 14 Get into

the festive spirit when its Christmas market opens this week.

Cabins selling gifts and food will open on November 25 from 10.30am to 2.30pm and again from 5 to 9pm.

A

tajate, November 26 Have a first

Cervantes joins Shakespeare on the Southbank Curtain rises on new era of Spanish theatre in London

A BOOK authored by a Costa expat imagining a world without money has just hit the bookshelves.

Fuengirola-based Colin R. Turner’s Into The Open Economy sets out proposals for an economy founded on sharing.

With it, the Dublin-born writer, musician and social activist claims that most of today’s social, economic and environmental prob-

lems could be solved.

Turner’s 92 page book points out that a moneyless world would help people become less self-centred as they would act for mutual benefit.

The release follows his debut novel, The Second Dawn Of Man, which describes events leading up to a money-free world.

Into The Open Economy is available on Amazon from €2.99.

ebrate oriental culture at the town’s third Japanese Festival. It will take place at the Caseta Municipal.

ranada, December 2 to 11 A Cir-

cus of Horrors promises a bold and provocative evening. The Cabaret Maldito will take place at the Explanada Junto al Hipercor.

Tickets from €21.50.

for the 400th anniversary of Cervantes and Shakespeare and here we are.”

Cervantes Theatre’s opening was marked by a two-date production of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding.

It was performed once each in English and Spanish by 34 talented Spanish and Hispanic actors, who may have thought they would never find a home on the Thames.

Juan, who studied at the British Theatre Association before making a name for himself, said: “It has revealed to me the lack of knowledge of our theatre but the growing interest there is in it.” Work is already underway for next year’s productions, which will include Pedro Calderón’s Life is a Dream.

Pompi-doh EXPECTED visitor numbers to Malaga’s Pompidou Centre have been massively overestimated.

According to the city’s Culture Councillor, Gemma del Corral, data suggests 28% fewer people will have visited the landmark attraction by the end of this year than initially hoped for.

The city now expects only 180,000 to visit, 70,000 less than the 250,000 touted for the year by officials ahead of its opening in March 2015.

Numbers for Malaga’s Russian Art Museum, also opened in 2015, were similarly down on predictions.

Eddie’s ready EDDIE IZZARD is coming to Spain and has vowed to perform most of his comedy set in Spanish.

The British comedian has said he will add more and more Spanish into his set throughout his run in Madrid and Barcelona next month, with the aim of having an ‘almost Spanish’ set by Christmas.

It will be the third additional language the 54-year old has performed in after mastering his act in French and German.

Izzard’s comedy routines are famed for their rambling, stream-ofconsciousness style, as well for his casual cross-dressing.

He will perform in several locations in Barcelona and Madrid in December.

Visit www.eddieizzard.com for more info.

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16

la cultura

www.theolivepress.es

November 23rd - December 6th 2016 November 23rd - December 6th 2016

The big switch on begins COSTA del Sol resorts are set to sparkle as Christmas goes up in lights.

Residents of Marbella, San Pedro and Estepona will come together to celebrate the occasions next week, while Malaga’s Calle Larios remains the region’s must-see light show.

The first of the switch-ons marking the countdown to the festive season will illuminate San Pedro on November 24 at 6.30pm.

Marbella will trip the light fantastic just one hour later at 7.30pm on Avenida Nabeul, where the mayor will push the

Spain’s dark past

SUCCESS: For Nicole (middle)

TV hallmark

and the vandalised stone

SHAME: Damaged dolmen

MARBELLA NOW TV has celebrated its 100th episode.

The expat talk show, sponsored by Linea Directa, sees presenter Nicole King interview fascinating characters and businesses across Marbella.

Guests, friends and fans of the show enjoyed drinks and canapes at Joe’s Bar in the Puente Romano resort.

“It’s been a lot of hard work but so much fun and I’m very proud of what we have achieved,” Nicole told the Olive Press. “Tonight is a celebration but also a chance to say thanks to everyone who has helped with the show, so thank you!”

Police hunt Potterinspired graffitist for defacing historic dolmen A HARRY Potter fan is on Spain’s wanted list for defacing a 2,000-year-old dolmen tomb.

Police are searching for the acolyte wizard after a ‘Deathly Hallows’ symbol appeared on the La Casa dos Mouros dolmen in Vigo, Galicia.

Alongside the mark, was the word ‘always’ as spoken by Alan Rickman’s character Severus Snape in the Potter series.

Despite the dolmen being a protected site, Mayor Oscar Dominguez is seemingly not so concerned about the graffiti.

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“Maybe JK Rowling dropped by to promote her latest spin-off,” he joked, referring to the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, starring Eddie Redmayne, which premiered earlier this month. “Either way, it is clear that the graffiti was carried out by an amateur in the world of magic.”

The dolmen of La Casa dos Mouros is one

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button. But the festivities will begin in the town earlier in the evening, starting with a children’s party at 5pm in the Parque de la Alameda, followed by a parade via the main streets to the Avda Nabeul switch-on.

Several nativity scenes will also take centre stage during the festive period, with the quirkiest being made out of Playmobil. It will go on show in la Plaza de la Iglesia de Marbella, along with a Santa’s grotto and another nativity scene in La Alameda. Estepona lights up on November 25 at 7pm on the European Union roundabout.

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of the main tourist attractions of Vigo, and the best-preserved megalithic construction in the area. The Deathly Hallows motif, from the seventh Potter novel, symbolises three brothers’ desire of death: a way to escape from death; a stone to raise the dead and the most powerful wand of all, an elder wand.

SPAIN’S turbulent history comes under the microscope in a new ebook.

The Reign in Spain was written by William Kristjan Arnold to answer the repeated questions of friends and family about its modern history.

Arnold tackles the massive subjects of civil war, multiple regime changes and the role of the monarchy.

Included is an explanation of how the Bourbon dynasty survived republics, Franco’s dictatorship, assassinations and royalist plots.

It is available on Amazon’s eBook Store for €4.64.

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Deep throating

November 23rd - December 6th 2016 November 23rd - December 6th 2016

17 17

If you thought Malaga’s Caminito del Rey was exciting, try the Garganta Verde! Rob Horgan descends into the mouth of one of Andalucia’s best-kept secrets

STUNNING: Rob Horgan looks over Garganta Verde

The Walk (Time approx.

2 hrs 30 mins) The walk starts from the car park just past KM12 on the Zahara to Grazalema road.

Leaving the car park, the path is largely flat and gentle and remains that way until you reach the griffon vulture colony. From here choughs, blue rock thrush, Sardinian warblers, crag martins and the occasional short-toed eagle can be spotted.

Winding down a steep but welldefined path, steps have been put in place with hand-railings

CAPTION:

in a few particularly steep areas.

Once you reach the bottom, the floor is made up of huge boulders gradually diminishing in size as you walk northwards towards the impressive cave system.

After taking in the cave it is back the way you came. This can be particularly gruelling on weary legs and it is advisable not to do so in midday summer heat.

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STAGGERING: River bed 400metres down and surrounding views

B

EWARE - you are about to enter Andalucia’s ‘Green throat’ and it’s not a walk for beginners.

If the name doesn’t put you off, the sign at the start of the Garganta Verde trek is ominous warning enough.

It tells me only 10 people are allowed to walk the path daily and you need a permit from the park office in El Bosque, in advance.

I already have my permit. Now I’m going to find out what lies beyond the mouth of this spectacular limestone canyon, concealed in the rock face 2.3km beyond the mountain village of Zahara de la Sierra.

And within just minutes of setting off it is hard to believe that you are anywhere near civilisation.

Not another soul is in sight, the silence broken only by the buzz of

bees and insects.

The views across the cliff face, where clusters of gravity-defying trees cling on to either side of the plunging gorge, must rate among the wonders of the world.

And the deeper you go into the canyon the better it gets.

The scent of rosemary and other wild herbs intensifies in the shade as the rocky walls close in and an earthy dampness fills the air.

Griffon vultures with a wingspan of up to three metres circle above while a series of steps lead the 400-metre way down to the depths of the ravine.

It is here on the canyon floor, filled knee-high with ice-cold running water in the winter that the true spectacle awaits.

A brief scramble over the boulder-laden floor leads to La Ermita, a collapsed system of caves tinted pink and orange, ornamented with eroded stalactites and stalagmites. For a moment, it feels like I’ve stumbled onto the set of a Hollywood blockbuster themed on the planet Mars.

The roof of the cave plays host to rock doves, and bats disturbed from their daytime snooze can be seen making short tentative flights throughout the day.

It is possible to continue on through the gorge and exit via Zahara but that’s for experts and requires climbing gear.

Most people are content to head back the way they came - but not before soaking up the beauty of the Garganta Verde.

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Prime Minister 233 www.theolivepress.es a British Vol. 10 Issue emperor, drive to attract a Roman its laurels in its Manilva is... that enraptured resting on The town star is not Duggan discovers, and a flamencoIndeed as Joe new admirers.

PHOTO

(inset) baths and Roman while (left) del Sol with fishermen’s the Costa fishing village resort on the beach. along a small is the last huddled literally on is the Sierra Manilva Isla and ????????? of shacks of buildings motorway between THE LINE: nestled and the Straits de la This jumblestrip of the A7community.

END OF star Cameron cro climate mix of locals mountains a narrowa thriving expat flag flutthe smelly Bermeja there is a great are excellent flamenco home to the European Union came for legend the close-knit Gibraltar, of and there coastline, inflamencotranquilIn fact, the entrance to ULIUS Caesar symbol African springs, and tourists at a fitting with Mothe north sulphur de la Isla for the come for that tering of 6,000 is views of appeal, Spanish you feel Camaron tourists today and physi- town multinational the time cluding Ceuta. emblematic German out and Sabi’s most of ity, while English, blend of nationalities “In fact, almost reach and two convaried beaches,vibe. instant its rich and cosmopolitan stand- roccans,the easy here. you could three countries Sabihave the cousamong harmony you are marina and may not underline cally touch costa in while in from anywhere de living signs in English Brand Manilva of its brasher wine – now tinents and San Luis British feel by recognition its locally-grown of call is that keeps Street undeniably Lee’s sports bar ing.” star boost first port nillas’ – the ins but like a Michelin as Ricky Manilva’s a tourist resort Page 18 Berasateguiage. bars such in popularity. being given Turn to Sabinillas, with known by chef Martin and growing few Basque Manilva,” growing it is affectionately nitely improving the past quite like Dean town is defi ‘Sabi’, as boomed over beginnings as nowhere “There isproud expat councillor who has humble locals, has from its explains a businessman decades 18 years.unique miTyler Shelton, town for lived in the a fantastic and “We share

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Is Spain still as cruel and brutal to animals as the world has come to expect, or...

success ‘Lookalike’ freed at last!

A DUTCHMAN wrongly jailed for a rape on the Costa del Sol has been freed after 12 years in a Spanish prison.

Romano van der Dussen (above, left) was put behind bars after being found guilty of three rapes in Fuengirola.

It comes after convicted UK killer Mark Dixie (right) confessed to one of the rapes in July last year and forensic tests later linked him to another attack.

Van der Dussen was convicted because he ‘looked like’ rapist Dixie.

No DNA evidence was presented at the time but advances in technology have been able to clear Van der Dussen’s name.

The case is uncannily similar to the plot of US documentary Making a Murderer which sees Stephen Avery’s wrongful conviction for rape for which he served 18 years, overturned.

Are times a-changing?

A ess

D

OGS dragged behind cars, donkeys crushed to death, bulls driven into the sea... for a decade the Olive Press has reported on animal cruelty in Spain.

Easily the most fiercely debated issue we have confronted, the Spanish are often accused of being stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to animal rights.

It is the country, after all, where throwing a turkey out of a church tower is not a crime but an integral part of a festival and where spearing a bull on horseback is a sign of bravery, not brutality.

However, one result that slipped under the radar last year was the remarkable 220,000 votes that little-known political party PACMA received during the general elections.

A party set up to lobby for animal rights, is this a clear sign that things are changing?

“Despite all these negatives, we believe there is an encouraging future for animals in Spain,” its president told the Olive Press this week.

With support for bullfighting dropping each year and with increasing numbers of Spaniards coming out to denounce cruelty, the Olive Press decided to find out: Is the tide finally turning?

Ten years after it all started, the Olive Press is stronger than ever

DECADE ago, in November 2006, the very first Olive ue!

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28_olive_

28/08/14

1

15:02

r p e v i l o

LOCKED UP: Dogs transported

EVIL: Dog dragged behind car in Sevilla, while (above) a turkey in Jaen and a bull in Torre de la Vega

SPANISH health officials have warned there will be 200 to 250 cases of the Zika virus this year after a second pregnant woman was diagnosed.

There are now 23 cases of the virus in Spain, which many experts believe may cause head-shrinking in babies.

All of those affected had travelled to areas where the virus has been spreading, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, most commonly found in North and South America.

See our Animal Rights Focus starting on Page 4 OLIVE PRESS BRINGING YOU NOT ONE, NOT

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olive press

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January 22 - February 5 2014

Edition

The Property Queen fights back - Page 19

www.theolivepress.es

The final Countdown

the olive

HORROR: Terrible THE countdown to the ‘Big scenes at official Switch Off’ has finally begun. animal centre The clock is now ticking on free-to-air British television in southern Spain after a much-publicised satellite finally started moving into place.

Rumours emerged a couple of days ago that it was heading west towards its destination, and have since been confirmed by those in the know.

At its current velocity the satellite would arrive at its des- A SPONTANEOUS protest tination by the end of month. formed The switch off could happen shelter outside an animal this weekend after any time after that. horrific scenes of cruelty were broadcast by activists in Andalucia.

Woe The satellite has been a hot A petition has now been set topic of conversation around up to demand action against Andalucia since news of its those responsible for leaving hundreds of dogs in pitiful launch broke last year.

It has been the most com- conditions at the official ‘permented post on the Olive rera’ shelter in Mairena del Press website after it emerged Aljarafe, near Sevilla. that the BBC, and possibly During a short YouTube video ITV, will transmit via the new some animals are seen close to death, next to the dead satellite.

Expats have taken to the Ol- bodies of other dogs. ive Press site in their droves Meanwhile faeces is strewn searching for a solution to across the floor and scant food is scattered alongside it. their forthcoming woe.

SAVED: A lucky Galgo Most are keen to establish The pens, each containing dozens of dogs, had clearly Some of the animals had open not been cleaned for days, if wounds, Turn to page 3 while there were not weeks. signs of malnutrition and serious illness.

Dozens of angry protesters gathered outside the Protectora de Animales - described by activists as ‘the Spanish Auschwitz for animals’ - on Saturday afternoon demanding action.

Later that night activists

EXCLUSIVE press

Horse cruelty woman found guilty of starving 16 thoroughbreds sees more horses die in Spain

Turn to Page 6

Amy probe demand

New equine horror - Page 2

SHAMEFUL: Wrapped

Turn to Page 2

in a tarpaulin held

down by rocks is body

of a foal, while (top

left) lies a carcass

All that glitters is not Goldman - Page 6

them for defamation, as he did with a former member of staff who filmed alleged mistreatment last year.

Last night, a website eldiario. es reported that he was well connected with links to both the police, politicians and Sebroke into the shelter, which villa’s ruling classes. is funded by an estimated 11 He is also said to have close nearby towns, and set around links with Sevilla’s bullring.

Last night, however he agreed 200 dogs free.

The centre, which has been to allow local charities and denounced on ‘numerous’ oc- activists to find homes for the EXCLUSIVE casions by local animal rights hundreds of dogs in the shelgroups, is run by a business- ter.

A tribute to my man - and reportedly a vet - It is said to receive up to 250 Pedro Luis Fernández Castil- dogs a month, many of them mate Michael lo, who has a private kennels hunting dogs, with the numbers increasing as the recesJacobs next door.

According to sources, the sion has deepened.

By his best friend Chris Stewart President is paid an estimated One Olive Press reader Rena My dear friend €100,000 or more each year Turn to page 2 Michael - Page 16 by the different town halls for his ‘animal sanctuary’.

In 2012, Bormujos and Mairena actually withdrew their arrangement with the pound, after a string of denuncias against it for mistreatment.

However the president sued

EXCLUSIVE

By Jon Clarke

E

Available from many Olive Press outlets, newsagents, book shops and hotels throughout the region.

Don’t let the flies spoil your summer!

INHUMANE: Toro Jublio festival

EXCLUSIVE The life and times of a perennial fraudster

Investigation into the wicked ways of Nigel Goldman

Massive outcry after horrific scenes of animal cruelty filmed at the ‘Auschwitz for animals’

Friend’s mother insisted she was “in danger”

been AN investigation has sent demanded over a fax conto the Irish authorities Amy cerning the welfare ofbefore Fitzpatrick, two years she went missing.

EXCLUSIVE

Bouncing back after the tsunami

Interview with Marbella property tsar Kristina Zsekely

July 09 - 23 2009

Vol. 3 Issue 62, Western

Exclusive by Paul Whitelock

been TWO foreigners have brutally attacked in Ronda Spanby a gang of drunken ish youths. atIn a case similar to theMaltack on dad Stephen to his lon, who was thrown in death from a balcony a 50Competa last month, and a year-old German man from Finn, 56, were bottled the behind and kicked to ground. hapThe unprovoked attack enpened as the two men in the tered the Bar El Paso to buy San Francisco barrio hours cigarettes in the early of Sunday June 14.

Amid chants of “Foreigners, go home! Leave our country! here!”

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held rd has an e-m at landlo AN exp cedented on t who a tenan years. an unpre against protest d rent for twoLomas pai n’t vid has Da , took (left), 66streets to the ,000 over €10d rent in unpai me in at the hoos.

Campillld by Followe r chilhis fou aged dren six between - Loand 12 rched mas ma room ee-bed the thrtown hall to from the to property justice’. ugh, ‘demandfrom Middlesbro Lomas, Page 2

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uption anti-corr ucia, MASSIVEe swept Andald Exraids hav ry Islands an in at the Canara, resulting tremadu arrests. and least 30 er of politicians were A numb n hall staff other tow se arrested. the among tho came onrcedes s est The arrof Judge Me estin inv orders o has bee at the Alaya, wh ERE scandal gating the Page 4

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The cha estigation into of euros in pu of an invbezzled millions edly em

happily take in order to keep quiet.

In fact, the Olive Press is the only English-language paper in Andalucia, perhaps Spain, prepared to ask awkward questions of politicians and businessmen, investigate scams and fight for justice.

And that is why British, Irish, Dutch, American and German (to name a few) media outlets around the world British buyers are second Olive Pressdown but the coast will bounce bac k, insist leading pro Property Observatory repeatedly commission us for work pert - Inside Property mag azine, from Pag and investigation… so keep your the good life noses clean, dear readers!

Voted H EA L BEST And with Brexit, three general elecESTEPONA POR expat tions in Spain, not to mention tenpaper in sions with Gibraltar, all during 2016, Spa in FRE the Olive Press has taken an active E role in voicing expats’ political concerns and fears.

In the last year alone we have spoken to world leaders, grilled Spain’s Caught liv e foreign minister and interrogated EXPAT NOTIC British MPs. E The Olive Press pide a los We are your only true voice in Andaespañoles, en nombre de los lucia. The only real, community, cambritánicos, que apoyen la petición 80 years on para poder paigning newspaper around.

Fiercepermanecer en España ly anti-racist, anti-homophobic and 24 pro-expat and animal rights. hours at San and culWe love Spain, its food min here to ture and we are very Fer much NEE stay.

D Roll on the next 10 years!

Now in Andalucía !

in Spain - we continually break new ground, making our rivals slink back and sulk.

Over the decade we have tracked down three of the UK’s most wanted fugitives, exposed crooked conmen, animal abusers, fraudsters and bent lawyers and estate agents.

We have also frequently shone a spotlight on the insidious corruption that has became so ingrained in Andalucian life, not scared to take on the town halls and the Junta, despite missing out on the lucrative institutional advertising that our rivals so

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He added: “I stupidly didn’t check how bad the weather was outside before going down in the lift.

“As I got closer to the basement water started flowing erywhere and I couldn’tfrom evstop it.

“Within a minute my chest and I wasit was up to Luckily, neighbourspanicking.” came to his rescue when Dawson’s partner Sylina heard his screams.

However they were unable to lift the roof of the lift and it was only when he managed to rise by half a storey to get it by continually hitting the that he had a bit up button of breathing space.

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A BRITISH expat from a flooded lift was pulled in a dramatic two-hour rescue effort.

Bet365 worker Dan told the Olive Press Dawson ‘lucky to be alive’ after he feels he found himself up to his water while stuck neck in flood in a lift during Sunday’s storms.

The nightmare happened Dawson, 46, attempted when to save his five-year-old Christmas presentsson Kaled’s from their basement in Duquesa.

“It was absolutely horrific,” Dawson said. thought that was “I honestly going to be it for me.”

WROUGHT in two and owners tilting on its side, in the sible task the imposwreckage of one of sorting Costa del Sol’s of the through the wreckage. emblematic beachmost Many towns were debars clared a is a chilling reminder ‘disaster zone’ and left underwater of 48 hours of less rain which relent- with roads cut off claimed houses and two lives and left evacuated. thou- The heaviest sands more homeless. fell in Estepona,rainfall The worst flooding where for a 26-year-old 25 years saw a woman er literally carvenew riv- tragically perished in through the its way a basement brothel, middle while of Floria, in Manilva, an electrician also leaving the chiringuito drowned in La Linea. nilva Politicians a complete write rallied where and Casares ting up shop off in round, land, sea and a matter of minutes. for along of the weekend most King of Spain with the air rescue teams were With the toilet who ofresidents resignedand ripped fered out and the contents condolences, as deployed to help those their to homes, it stranded. the cost of the of its kitchen clear now, that the is only on the sand, thestrewn is estimated at tens up School was cancelled true extent of the storms of in all five ers have joined own- millions of euros. towns is the The worst Monday, while on beginning to be rethousands of desolated affected Tuesday on alised. home and business areas were Mijas, the big clear tepona, Cartama, Es- up continued.

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If you can’t and you stillread this stay in Spa want to you got somin it’s time ish lessons e Spanfor now, as ... But, we’re so nice, see Pag translation e 7 for a

cias más de cerca.

Queremos que los españoles entiendan esta situación que nos grave deja en el limbo y que impedir que siguiépodría viviendo aquí como ramos llevamos haciéndolo duran te años.

Esta no es una insólita: el Reinopetición permite la posibi Unido lidad de obtener la doble nacion alidad tras cinco años de residencia. Curiosamen el Ministro Marga te llo conoce bien esta posibi lidad ya que su hijo, reside actualmente que Reino Unido, la ha en el itado recientemen solicte.

Así que desde aquí pedimos, esperamos os e incluso suplicamos que áis a nosotros en esta os unAlgunos alcaldes causa. natarios ya se han y digunido a nuestra petici ón. Pero también necesitamo ayuda de todos vosotr s la Curiosamente los os. triados británicos expaeste llamamiento lanzan exactamente 80 años despu comienzo de la guerraés del española en la que civil de jóvenes voluntariosmiles británicos perdieron la ¿Por qué? Porque vida.

España. Y nosotroscreían en también.

Estamos convencido que nuestra aporta s de ción estructura de vuestr a la es muy importante.o país Queremos quedarnos queremos volver. aquí. No Para firmar la visitar change.org petición ‘Doble nacionaliday busca británicos con mas d para años de residencia de diez en España’

ÁS de 15.000 personas han firmado ya una petición que concedería a los dos británicos el expatriaa la doble nacion derecho alidad en España.

Necesitamos vuestr para garantizar queo apoyo permita seguir trabaj se nos viviendo en vuestr ando y Hemos elegido o país. y hacer de Españvivir aquí hogar. Muchos dea nuestro tenemos negocios,nosotros formado una famili hemos Algunos tenemos a aquí. de nacionalidad parejas y, aunque quizá no española fección, hablamos a la pervuestro struido enlace idioma. s muy fuertes con que creemos ha sido España, a Creemos que contri el resultabuimos como Paul través de escritores do de una camp en gran parte al Preston, Gerald Breaña llena de mentiras xenófoba y de la economía desarrollo nan y Laurie Lee. en nuestra país. llevada a cabo pecialmente en local, es- Y por encima de todo, nos la costa. timos europ sen- Nosotros somos Históricamente hemo s con- pletamente eos y estamos com- mos en la línea los que estaopuestos al Brexit , que sufriremos de fuego y los las consecuenEst 1984

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Opinion Page 6 OLIVE With over two decades – 70mm x 40mm in business, Cambridge FRONTPRESS provides COVER secure20th from your UK bank, givin andJuly affordable ways to mak g you the peace of mind e overseas payments you need to effectively man For information connect age the purchase of your with our Costa Del Sol offic new property. e today ! Costadelsol@ cambridgefx.co.uk I +34 952 830176

ONLINE SITES

H f f m h s L w vi fa pr “I to it nin Do cla as thr typ He thr Pres

i

9

estep

9

fueng

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www.theolivepress.es

W

th

A nniversary

It’s thanks to you

ELL somehow we made it!

After years of recession, dozens of threats and a series of lawsuits (all of them won) I am proud to be producing the tenth anniversary issue of the Olive Press.

The approach of Brexit is nothing in comparison to the labyrinthine Kafka-esquestyle environment of running a business in Andalucia.

Scandal

Add to that rivals who promised the earth, yet failed to pay their printing bills, rent and staff, and yup, we’ve had one hell of a decade.

When I launched the paper in Ronda in November 2006, I did so out of desperation for a genuine newspaper to support the huge expat population in Andalucia.

After more than a decade working in Fleet Street, travelling the world investigating injustice, scandal and corruption, I couldn’t believe what I found on my very own doorstep.

There were no real expat journalists investigating the issues that mattered to foreigners… and no newspapers giving them a voice.

The millions of expats here were being insulted with nothing more than cheap papers which (badly) translated local articles.

Whether to help expats fight injustice against fraudsters, corrupt town halls, or to highlight the numerous barbaric projects that threatened the environment, I wanted to offer a proper campaigning newspaper.

Initially the establishment tried to discredit the paper and told us to shut

up. We were threatened with legal action and described by one jealous rival (guess who?), as a ‘biased, sensationalist rag full of propaganda’ and told to go home.

Well we didn’t return - or shut up - and our stories began to get followed up in the UK and soon national Spanish press.

Our small regional paper soon started to expand and, within a few years, could be found in every town inland and on the coast, where we have many thousands of loyal readers and advertisers.

Growth continued with new websites, magazines and even a new edition last year in Gibraltar.

The march continues and we were voted this year as Spain’s best English language paper in the TESCA awards, voted by you!

Quality

We continue to employ the best young English journalists in Spain and serve up quality features, food articles, while doing everything by the books and not cutting corners.

Business is never easy in Andalucia and we continually put up with sniping - and even insidious lies from bitter rivals about our products - but we soldier on.

All of this, of course, would not have been possible without our fabulous advertisers be they local or international.

Thanks for your support.

We look forward to growing in strength over the next decade, with you alongside us.

We are your voice. For that, after all, is the point.

Jon Clarke, Publisher

From humble begins in a stables near Ronda, the Olive Press has grown yearon-year. This is how it all happened

November 23rd - December 6th 2016 November 23rd - December 6th 2016

2007

2006

Merges with Eastern edition: September

First issue: November

Website launch: January

How time flies

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Lots of love and congratulations Olive Press on your 10 year anniversary. . . .From all the Tea m at Posh Pets Spain xxx

2010

Launch of All About Andalucia Property website: October

21

www.theolivepress.es

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

21

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

All about Issue 243

C

A All about S otogrande

www.theolivepress.es

the Rob Horgan takes a ride throughtowns of sunbleached ‘fresh and natural’ de la Luz the bright and breezy Costa

S

www.theoliv epress.es the Olive Press

www.theolivepress.es

November 11th - 25th 2015

ll about

osta de la Luz

17 17

August 7 - August 20 2014

errania de Ronda

October 26th

One-stop Into , parad ise deep h the Rmivoeurntain hig light July 6th - July 19th 2016

Vol. 10

Issue 251

- Novembe

r 8th 2016

19 19

www.theolivepr

ess.es

October 26th

- November

8th 2016

HAPPY: Diners at Gigi’s and beach view from Sotogrande

Photos by Jon Clarke

Photos by Jon Clarke

Laurence Dollimore finds a down-to-earth welcome in the high society paradise

IT’S an absolute privilege to live here,” gled to end a sentence enthuses 29-year-old Georgina Taylor, than ‘dahling’, ‘sweetie’ in anything other “There’s a lot of wealth here but it’s not vul- “Sotogrande is where the wealthy come or ‘fabulous’. gar or ostentatious,” says Georgina a.k.a. to relax in peace, they’re welcoming me to her eponymous chir- You could have mistaken not here ‘Gigi’, who grew up here, at- off or be seen, it’s very low key,” to show distance inguito Gigi’s. “It’s such a beautiful, for being too posh to pass her continues lighthouse (also left) in the the tending school in nearby Mar- Gigi, whose father is from London. elegant paradise.”

La Mangueta beach with Trafalgar “That’s time of day. But within Scratch beneath bella.

TROTTING: Taking a ride along “My clients may be mil- why Soto is so special. We have it to the top, This is Sotogrande, Andalucia’s largest pri- onds of meeting her, 30 secmy personal ‘Everest’ and made a huge sigh preconmy back lionaires but they are happy to to stay under the radar and attractbeen able vately-owned residential super-estate. the traquil S the sun hitched a ride on the right ceptions melt away. And it’s lifting both arms into the air with an EU flag down walk around in flip flops and sort of money through targeted marketing.”

And super it most certainly is. and beads of sweat cascaded the same with Sotogrande, an opulence and find eat chiringuito-style.” of relief and wishing I’d brought (Yup, I was that my Sometimes described as Spain’s ‘million- uber chic urbanisation Perhaps this helps explain why the resort’s my face, I began to think to plant in the sandy pinnacle. in the sand aire’s playground’, the enclave was pur- municipality of San a community that Gigi’s has been Soto’s hap- economy has consistently outperformed plan to conquer Europe’s tallest all.

Remain). idea after pening chiringuito since it set its Costa neighbours. Throughout the views over pose-built for a wealthy cosmopolitan crowd The bluer-than-blueRoque. mountain wasn’t such a goodin my head and the last From the top of the mound, the crystal with the added bonuses of 24-hour security, stacked with gin palacemarina, welcomes visitors up awnings three years ago, crisis, while areas like Nerja saw property With Eye of the Tiger playing racing up the the dazzling white dunes fringing yachts but you won’t catch Gigi or her prices plummet by as much as well worth the are bay designer boutiques and quality restaurants and sailing boats Bolonia of the image of Sylvester StallonePhiladelphia’s waters 11%, in Soclear business partner Cristobal togrande they remained stable and My first introduction to this LA-like location the backdrop to a galore, is 72 stone steps outside even ineffort. up multi-coloured enclave boasting about their long list of regular (like almost evcame via a lifelong Soto resident who strug- of luxury apartments, roy- creased, some well into the double figures.

Museum of Art, I trudged wearily A popular watersports area of Bovillas and SOARING mansions.HIGH: al The has long visitors, stars or celebrity clients.

And while the grapevine may have you the daunting dune at the edge view sports erywhere along this coast), Bolonia up to the neighcity ‘hipper’ its believe by the from area is full of lonia’s stunning beach. the Tajo gorge been overshadowed Conil. snooty and (top) a money-makers, But in true Rocky fashion I conquered bours at Tarifa, El Palmar andbe turning, with typical town scene scratch beneath the tranHowever, the tide appears to beach-goquil opulence and you will many ‘domingueros’ (local Sunday picnic basket) find a down-to-earth, sporty ers kitted out with gazebo and the crowds. community ready to welbanking on Bolonia to escape who has come visitors with open Eddie Grannel, an Irish waiter include incredible statues years, tells me arms.

Roman remains at Baelo Claudia worked here for the last five shadows to HISTORIC: feel rather ge“There’s such a community the town has gone ‘from Tarifa’s my measly man-bun made me on the spirit here,” confirms new still has a big part to play people’s first choice’. neric for once. five years has Fish TYRE CENTER tapas festivals the established resident Sue Davies, 51, “The transformation in the last “The village Costa de la Luz, with tuna Flip-flops and swim shorts are the easy-living, still catch who relocated with husband code in a town where really been amazing,” he says. but its popu- held at the big four towns whichusing trap dress 794way, Wayne last August.

Phoenician 657 old 956 tuna thetel: itself hasn’t changed that much good-time vibe is infectious. the Moorish invaConil, Barbate and “There’s a great mix of nasea: Tarifa, out atC/Sierra larity has gone through the roof.”

Tarifa was the first point of IV El Bravo, whose Bermeja s/n, working here I nets the whole gastionalities and everyone is that kick-started He adds: “When I first started in the height the town Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro sion in 711 AD. But Sancho the battlements of de los Atunes (the Zahara132 so supportive of each othwas one of three waiters. Now, of us rushed tro fest scene,A7-KM statue still keeps vigil below the town he name). Iceland er, it makes it a wonderful clue is in the of summer, there are up to ten Opposite Guzmán Castle, wouldn’t recognise towns place to live.” in 1292.

These bleached-driftwood fishing off of our feet.” reconquered www.grupomolinodelconde.es www.grupomolinodelconde.es a fresh-andClaudio are litto Morocco is “There’s just so much to The impressive ruins of Baelofrom the beach give the Costa de la Luz more conBehind him, another fast ferrydaily traffic jam to join the do here too - golf, tennis, port thedel natural feel compared to thedel Sol, but erally a Roman stone’s throw departing Ribera Marlin, shipAntiguo Cortijo Valderrama world’s busiestBlue the Sotogrande padel tennis, sailing or the trived pleasures of the Costa something and well worth a visit. in the Straits, one ofLocal 34 to an awkward for Autovía A-7 · Km 130 · 11311 Sotogrande beach,” she adds. “You Free to EU citizens, which led as I handed you don’t have to look far ping lanes. Tel. +34 956 61Tangier which has 55 takes 35 Tel. +34 956 236 063 more sophisticated: take Vejer, encounter with the receptionist The 14-kilometre crossing to in a69 hilltop day, and it’s Turn to Page 18 day after Brexit. over my driving licence, the and ‘ahhing’, I styled itself as one of the best-kept minutes so you can do it easily chic Tarifa, out-of-north-Africa But after a lot of ‘umming’ an EU citizen pueblos blancos; and boho with kooky well worth it for the ultimate 20 YEARS the epitome of cool, rammed made my case that I am still experience. boutiques full the pace hots EXPER (for now) and was allowed through. towns in cafes, funky surf shops and If Tarifa is laid-back-cool by day, Roman AND thrill-seekers.

OLD BUILDS IENCE ON NEW One of the best-preserved to skinan impres- of wind-bronzed Continues Page 20 ON THE SERRA And with the ratio of dreadheads Andalucia, Baelo Claudia boasts and fish-salting heads set at approximately one to one, sive temple, forum, basilica, NIA Urb. Los Pinos, its wealth. factory from which it once derived Manzan

A

2008

DISCOUNT

Dining Secrets of Andalucia launch: September

2009

Rob Horgan native in the goes Serrania de Ronda and discovers backroad gemsthe the Genal Valleyof

T

HERE are few beer with an places in the world where you can army general general stands … all the rounds!and even fewer wheredrink Ronda, the Celebrating however, is one of those bar El Porton,a recent promotion with places. friends in quintessen ish Legionnair an olé away from Spain’s tial e Carlos Velo oldest bullring After introducing is eager to include - Spanme to the town’s quail eggs me in the party. signature tapa Carlos (above) Iraq, Afghanista - jamon and regales me with tales from the ‘best place n and Bosnia before tours to explaining why “I have been in the world’.

Ronda is says, taking all over the world and back into his a swig from his cana seen many things,” he and pushing face. “But Ronda been to.” his glasses is the best place I have Originally from ever ago when he Madrid, Carlos moved its two nationaljoined the Spanish to Ronda some 35 years Legion, which naires at present.bases here, counting has one of on around 800 “The quality legioncan live like of life in Ronda is like a gentleman nowhere else everyone else. here, in Madrid in Spain. I I would just “Everything be like is affordable, ing from tapas if you like in your pocket. bar to tapas bar andyou can spend the day goyou will still “And the scenery have change is breathtakin g,” he adds.

“The walks Continues

on next Page

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Green Guide website and magazine launch: June

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2011 Launch of All About Andalucia travel website: January

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Steaming ahead

2012

Move offices to Costa del Sol from Ronda: September

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Property expert Mark Stucklin on how the market is suddenly gathering speed with help from the British market

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Fit for a star

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Marbella’s leading agent Chris Clover on how he started out on the Costa del Sol in 1970 HOMESELLERS REPORT

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Andalucía’s Fortnightly News Publication

Arriving late at Alhambra’s Nasrid Palace a group of tourists were set upon by three batonwielding guards who punched them to the ground

Voted top expat paper in Spain

OPINION Spiking shame WHY isn’t more being done to prevent spiking along the Costa del Sol? There is clearly a serious problem that many of the bars or venues are failing to address.

It is not a new problem. We launched a campaign two years ago!

More warning labels should be on display in bars to remind punters of the dangers of being robbed, or worse, raped in this fashion.

It is a stain on the coast and has the potential to turn away tourists who may not feel safe to go out and enjoy themselves.

B

•

Evening up the playing field

•

IT has been over a year since the Olive Press exposed the shady business practices of expat publisher Stan Israel.

While it is not easy to knock another publication, it is hard to ignore the story when multiple members of ex-staff and former printers queue up with stories of non-payment.

Particularly when staff costs at the Olive Press - not to mention the printing bill - are our two highest outlays each month.

If nothing else, business owners and readers deserve to know that the playing field is just a little askew... and if they support publishers like this, they should know what

•

IT is unbelievable that someone could be so cruel to murder an endangered bear.

If a local farmer is upset that some of his livestock has been killed, killing a bear on a nature reserve is not going to rally people around his cause or solve the problem. But what is equally as worrying is that someone was able to bring a weapon to a protected area, shoot an animal dead and get away scot-free.

Hopefully authorities at the Muniellos Nature Reserve are looking into improving their security measures!.

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la cultura The LIFE Laundry Continued on page 22

Film Keep: I would never part with my old video copy of The Enchanted April, based on the 1922 book by Elizabeth von Arnim. The film isn’t widely known but it certainly lodged deeply in my subconscious. It’s a very beautiful film, probably over-romanticised but I’m not one to complain about an excess of romance, ever!

Chuck: Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire. To my mind they are very similar. One dances, one waddles, neither can act. Also, James Bond films; unbelievable, false and stupid.

NAM BIBENDUM: ipsum sed lacinia volutpat, nulla orci gravida lectus, ut pulvinar augue pede ac tortor. Curabitur ligula tortor, aliquet sed, dapibus quis, porttitor eget, ligula.

Keep: Choral music, any of it…the human voice used in harmony. Lovely!

Why do we have the ability to sing? It fulfills no apparent biological need.

Books Keep: Certain books have significantly influenced major decisions in my life, often long after their initial reading. Like most people I read primarily for pleasure but when I consider which books I value most highly, I find that the ones I would never part with are the ones that have changed my life.

Initially I began reading the books and poetry of Laurie Lee because of his identification with Gloucestershire, my home county for over twenty years. As I Walked out One Midsummer Morning, published in 1969, first introduced me to Andalucia.

At around the same time I bought a discard from my local library for the princely sum of 10p that also took me deep into the enchanting past of Andalucia: Two Middle-aged Ladies in Andalucia, by Penelope Chetwode.

These two books, more than any others, sowed the first seeds of interest in my future home.

LOREM ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.

Aliquam turpis. Proin varius pellentesque dui. Mauris ligula metus, tempus quis, euismod ut,

THE most exciting museum to open in Andalucia since the Picasso gallery, has just got bigger.

The Thyssen museum, which is scheduled to open in Malaga next year, is expanding before the first visitors even cross the threshold.

The city council has approved the purchase of a neighbouring building to the Palacio Villalon, the proposed home to the gallery. Under new plans, the extra 2,000 square metres will become part of the museum. Work on the main site is scheduled to complete at the the end of this year, but the conversion of the new buildings won’t finish until the end of 2009.

The museum itself is scheduled to open its doors in 2009.

The city has paid 806,000 euros for the property on Calle Martires. It will form part of the museum which will house a selection from the Carmen Thyssen Col-

lection of 19th century Spanish and Andalucian art.

The 358 paintings already earmarked for the Malaga collection will include works by Zurbaran and Sorollo.

Over a third of them will have never before been on public display.

The Palacio Villalon was built in the early 16th century and was in use as commercial property until early last century.

It lies in the historic centre of Malaga just 500 metres from the Picasso museum.

It is hoped that together the two museums will make Malaga a Mecca for art-lovers and boost the city´s bid to become the European City of Culture in 2016.

A source at the museum said: “Things are coming on well... the Baroness is very enthusiastic about it and wants to make a big splash.”

Chuck: Anything by Jilly Cooper – she can’t write and all her characters are complete stereotypes. Also all of Charles Dickens; gloomy and depressing!

Continued on page 22

FOR anyone with the stamina, an eclectic taste in music and – perhaps – a certain anarchic take on life, our region boasts plenty of opportunities to kick back and join with thousands of like-minded hedonists.

Granada alone hosts two of the most famous small fests on the calendar: the Rocket Festival near Alhama de Granada; and the Dragon Fest near Órgiva.

Each has its devotees and its own appeal. If you are familiar with one or the other, or if you’ve never dreamed of going to either, the Olive Press brings you a guide to both.

The Dragon Fest

This is the real deal. It’s the kind of event that hippie-kids of the Sixties and flower-folk of the Seventies easily recognise. Technically, it’s not an organised festival but a spontaneous gathering of the alternative, the anarchic and the free-living. As it is a free festival, it attracts an eclectic mix of locals, youngsters from all over Spain and alternative life-stylers from the rest of Europe.

The Rocket festival It’s like Glastonbury in the sun, if that’s not an oxymoron. Those with any recent experience of the UK festival scene will get the idea. It’s not free, but 100 euros for three days of bands and performers is not quite a fortune (see www.rocketfestival.com).

This year’s event in May will be the third and the all-British organising team is aiming for an attendance of around 5,000 punters.

WHEN Kicks off on May 16 with the main headline acts on Saturday and Sunday. Most Spanish, who lack the Spirit of the Blitztype attitude as the Brits and will turn up for one day WHERE Near the reservoir of Bermejales, close to Alhama.

There’s loads of parking and shuttle buses run from the town.

BERTHS The cost of camping is included in the ticket price and there are no added charges for

motorhomes. Otherwise good op- ellers and aliens GRUB Festival food - veggie tions in Alhama.

MUSIC Eclectic is again the mot stuff, lots of ethnic stalls, wooddu jour. This year the big headlin- fired pizzas, Moroccan couscous ers mix flamenco rhythms with CRIME Fully-legal, unlike the dance, reggae and hip-hop. Sat- Dragon, there is professional urday will be Muchachito Bombo security plus lots of volunteer Infierno, who is shifting a lot of stewards. Some petty thefts from records at the moment. Sunday’s tents but nothing you can’t avoid stars should be Los Delinquentes. by keeping your hand on your British invitees are 80’s ska heroes ha’penny Bad Manners and dance pioneers POISON Beer, bit of dope probably and cocktails Coldcut ATMOSPHERE Less anarchic in the themed Space Bar than the Dragon, the aim is for a FACILITIES Wees with ease. chilled-out, family-friendly event. The fact that you’re paying means There’s a load of other stuff be- you can expect properly mainsides the music. Circus, comedy, tained porta-loos cabaret and street performers ADVICE “Bring a tent and exshould be enough to stave off any pect to see out the whole weekend. It’s the only way to really boredom UNIFORM Anything you like as get the full experience. If it’s your long as it’s out of this world. This first ever fest then just immerse year, Saturday night at Rocket is yourself in the vibe. It’ll blow you Space Night where everyone’s en- away,” says Marcus Clements, couraged to dress up as space trav- the festival organiser.

2008 festival round-up SEVILLA Soberao Jazz - March 6 - 8. Teatro del Centro Social, Dos Hermanas Small-scale, intimate jazz festival. No camping, just concerts including Zymad, Radio Espantoso and Pedro Cortejoso Quartet. email soberaojazz@ yahoo.es JAEN Etnosur - July 18 - 20.

Alcala la Real, Jaen Free multicultural festival of music, circus, cinema, crafts, workshops and conferences.

Free admission, cheap camping. www.etnosur.com ALMERIA Creamfields Andalucia - August 9 - 11

Playa Guardias Viejas, El Ejido Full-on festival of electronic, techno and pop Tickets: €40 until 15 March More info and ticket sales: www. creamfields-andalucia.com SEVILLA Territorios Sevilla - May 22 May - June 8.

Monasterio de la Cartuja, Sevilla 11th international festival of popular music.

2008 line-up not yet released but last year included acts such as Echo and the Bunnymen, Capercaillie, Mogwai, Carlinhos Brown.

Three stages and camping available. www.territoriossevilla.com

WHEN While beginning officially on March 20, punters start arriving usually days before. The busiest days are Saturday and Sunday, but the chilliest vibe is on Friday night WHERE In the riverbed next to Cigarones, (nearest village Tablones on the A348 near Orgiva).

Drive down into the riverbed and park wherever you can BERTHS There is a designated campsite, but most visitors tend to sleep in their cars. Staying in nearby Órgiva is the best bet for comfort.

MUSIC Music is eclectic. It ranges from punk to techno, with sitar and bongos thrown in. There are several stages, cafes, clothes shops and healing tents. Rumours abound every year that Julian Cope, of Teardrop Explodes, is going to play.

ATMOSPHERE Ambience ranges from Mad Max-style anarchism to gentle “folksey” hippy’ism.

Plenty of stuff for kids, including stone mazes for them to play in.

The Green Dragon area has the nicest ambience (including a wall of Olive Press articles). There are massage areas, stone circles and a programme of acts. “The Lux” is the main event - an extravagant theatrical display at midnight on both Saturday and Sunday nights featuring dancing dragons, fireworks and lasers.

UNIFORM Not a lot! If you wear smart clothes people will think you are in fancy dress. Nudism is big GRUB Expect not only veggie burgers and chips, but also some nice ethnic food CRIME Some skinheads turned up two years ago and stabbed a Frenchman over an argument about the price of a baked potato.

Occasional aggro from the local Guardias, but generally it is safe POISON In the main, beer and a good bit of puff. Although rumours are that you can buy other stronger substances in various spots FACILITIES You’re having a larf, inchya? Basically, pits with planks ADVICE “Wear sturdy shoes; bring water and either sun cream or waterproofs. The past two years it has rained heavily, but you could find yourself in a heat-wave,” says Jason Heppenstall, who - like Chris Stewart - lives nearby and will be manning a stall called The Citrus Press selling vodka and lemon juice - go and say hello.

22

the olive press - Western Edition - Issue 28

Music

Thyssen museum is not even open yet, but it is already expanding. By ANDREW LOWREY

Chuck: Jazz. It has no structure. It’s incomprehensible. I like melody and structure in my music. Perhaps that’s very old fashioned but you did ask.

Homely things Keep: My electric blanket.

I live above 1,000m and don’t have central heating.

Need I say more?

Chuck: Toasted sandwich maker. It one of those things that sit on the shelf and need cleaning every time you use it. It still stinks the house out with a very unappetising aroma!

Mementos Keep: The last gift I gave my mother; my children’s first teeth; Mary-Jane, my first doll.

Chuck: My childhood security blanket. At least it was once a blanket. It now measures about 3 inches by 4 through decades of overuse. I really shouldn’t need it now, should I?

Free Choice: throw out anything you like.

All forms of advertising, populist TV and radio, politicians and cats.

As a new documentary is made, TV presenter BARRY BIRCH tells the extraordinary and moving story about the life of US bullfighter John Fulton and how he adopted a gypsy from the poverty of the slums of Sevilla CHANCE encounters can change your life. Mine happened on meeting a Spanish gypsy called Federico Fulton Short.

When Steve Fishwick, director of Cut Productions, approached me with a proposal for a new television project about artists in Andalucia, I was – unsurprisingly perhaps - keen to throw myself into a subject that would have me travelling around one of my favourite parts of Spain... and also working with a small professional film crew who had shown themselves to be dedicated to producing quality programmes.

Researching for a proposed project is both fun and frustrating.

The fun part is uncovering interesting and original material suitable for your chosen subject. The frustration comes when you have to be brutal and cut out some of your hard work in the interests of making it presentable.

Daisy Caudron, our scriptwriter, had unearthed a lot of subject matter and found some interesting artists to form the core of our new series.

John Fulton Short, the American matador and artist who used bulls’ blood to create his paintings, was one of those colourful and interesting characters we would focus on.

While there were half a dozen others, including Rafael Alberti and Joaquin Peinado, one of the best things about Fulton was that there were still people living here who remembered him……great for interviews.

We were making great headway and about to start filming... until disaster struck and all the scripts were stolen from our camera car.

No scripts, no shoot!

But we had got far enough with our research to realise that the life of John Fulton was a much better story than we had at first anticipated.

A story never properly told, here was a man whose life and work had clearly touched many people. We decided to go back to the drawing board to focus entirely on him.

A young American, from Philadelphia, Fulton had the impossible dream of becoming a matador and living in Seville, capital of the bullfighting world.

Incredibly he not only went on to achieve his dream, he also left behind a legacy of fine art as well.

Our trump card was John’s adopted son, a fascinating man – and gypsy - called Federico Fulton, who still lives in Sevilla.

The interviews with him proved to be the turning point not only for our project but for me personally. I was very moved by the whole story of both John and Federico’s life.

Federico was born into a Hungarian gypsy family and lived his early life in what could only be described as child slavery.

Forced to dance he would perform with goats and monkeys in the street, getting paid a pittance to largely support his brutal father’s drinking habits. But, as we would discover, he would rise above this.

And so, inspired by an incredible story, we embarked on a journey that would take us filming all over Andalusia: in the streets of Sevilla and Ronda; in bullrings and art galleries and also with Fulton’s friends and family, both on location and in their homes.

With Federico Fulton always there to guide us, we started to unearth the real story behind this great man.

John Fulton had become obsessed with bullfighting at the age of 13 when he saw the moving film Blood and Sand with Tyrone Power. Falling in love with the bravery, colours and sounds of the bullring, he knew then that he wanted to be a bullfighter and live in Spain.

But it was only later, in the early 1950s when he won an art school scholarship to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, that he got his first taste of tussling with fighting bulls alongside professional matadors. The Mexican matador,

Pepe Ortiz, really took to Fulton and helped train him in the classic moves of the corrida. Fulton went on to kill his first full-sized bull in 1953.

But he always knew Spain was his goal and with just 400 dollars in his pocket, he bought a oneway ticket across the Atlantic on a voyage that would change his life.

Upon arriving in Seville John got his first break when the great matador Juan Belmonte took him under his wing. He would travel from his humble lodgings in the city to cape bulls on Belmonte’s ranch near Utrera.

He soon learned to master the art of bullfighting under his great mentor, who described Fulton as being “like a kid from Triana.” An amazing accolade from this bullfighting legend.

The story of John’s triumphs and failures reads almost like a fairy tale, and indeed, he had arrived in Spain at a truly magical time during a golden age for bullfighting.

His determination in the bullring was so noted that he even attracted the attention of Ernest Hemingway, who admired John’s efforts and even once helped him out of financial difficulties with a 100-dollar travellers cheque.

As well as being a budding matador, John was also, of course, an artist. With the help of some friends he set up his own art gallery in Sevilla. This helped to support him through his early days as a bullfighter.

In 1963 he graduated as a full matador in the Real Maestranza

A Scottish family who lost €30,000 renting their Estepona home to Brinkman and his wife Johanna Te Riet An English couple who lost thousands in a rental scam A team of 15 salespeople who lost around €150,000 in a Marbella luxury apartment scam Some 21 Dutch workers defrauded out of

€365,000 by a company fronted by Brinkman At least 10 people who lost tens of thousands from a dodgy property website, Wijkopenuwdroomhuis.nl

When the Olive Press broke the story of the alleged swindling of German expat stuntman Peter Wicke, 48, in March, we had no idea we that a deluge of alleged victims would contact us.

Indeed, in the last two months alone, we have been contacted by over 30 alleged victims and our reports have now featured in national newspapers and on TV in Holland.

It all started with when Marbella-based Wicke told us how he lost €2,500 in a bogus €5 million film deal with Brinkman’s investment company JE Investeringen (or JE investments).

Describing it as a ‘very clever scam, both deceptive and calculated’, the company had tried to look legitimate by getting registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under the name ‘Jan Te Riet’.

British expat Randolph Von Gans also approached JE investments about finance for a multi-million Costa Del Sol property development, but pulled out after becoming suspicious about the company and Te Riet’s demands.

But Dutch expat Toon Van De Wiel wasn’t so lucky.

The business analyst had first met Brinkman and his wife Johanna Te Riet at a barbecue organised by the Parents Teacher Association (PTA) of exclusive €15,000-a-year Aloha College,

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Up IN THE wOrLD!

EVEREST Venables veteran Stephen has swapped West Country in hilly Gaucin.home for a his pad The intrepid mountaineer, who found peditions fame leading malayas, through the exhas chosen HiAndalucian soaring mountains Somerset “It’s a countryside. over strange though I’ve irony life calling spent most ofthat my myself a taineer, mountime I’ve yet this is the first actually mountains,” lived revealed in the ables, 61.

VenVenables from Bath, and wife Rosie, bought a small, adjacent pair of es and town housthrough have knocked them to create village home. one larger “We are reliant on expat community the local are only because just learning we speak Spanish,” how to Venables he said. ing a new found fame forgKangshungroute up Everest’s first Briton Face and was the to summit out extra explored oxygen. He haswithAntarctica. also

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THE BIG PAYBACK

SOCIALMEDIA

CRIME

July 6th - July 19th 2016

Doublecrossed Dutch

Child snatching evaded

after String of victims come forward Olive Press exposes film conman

A BRITISH man has spoken of his ‘terror’ after a man tried to snatch his four-year-old son from a hotel in Almeria.

Mancunian Shaun Kennedy was left with a bloodied face, olive press EXCLUSIVE A SUSPECTED conman exa swollen hand and a twisted

By Joe Duggan posed by the Olive Press after knee after fighting off the child I fell duping a Hollywood stuntman snatcher at the Hotel Best Safor company before smelling that in a €5 million deal may be part film and pulling out of a much binal. stunt! of a crime family with hundreds a rat deal.

The man struck up conversabigger of victims. tion with Kennedy and his son have not escaped so Since the Olive Press front-page But others Chase before attempting to story on Peter Wicke’s court ‘lightly’.Marbella businessman pull the four-year-old from a battle with Jan Herman Brink- One Toon Van De Wiel is batlift as the doors closed. man, half a dozen more victims Sanneto get back €90,000 he Chase suffered carpet burns tling UNDER FIRE: Brinkman with have approached us. on his legs as the abductor our story to Brinkman, allegedly for Marbella-based Wicke, 48, gave chiringuito investment. wife Johanna and dragged him along a hotel corhanded €2,500 to Brinkman a beach documents, the Dutchridor. property deal. when seeking investors for his In police IBAN that he said was in wife in a dodgy Kennedy then grappled with the man claims he was persuaded Johanna’s name.

A signed legal document seen by man to get his son back. it was a ‘fabulous’ investment, “But afterwards they claimed the Olive Press shows Brinkman, “It has really shaken me up and but the money simply vanished they didn’t get the money. They Marbella-based, agreed to repay I’m still in shock,” he said. “He but has yet to do so. with no comeback.

Chase and saysay I didn’t send it, which is pre- Bromhaar, brother-in-law was looking at to Chase and Van De Wiel told the Olive Brinkman’s I turned that used football boots as Press: “We met Brinkman and posterous.” te Riet was the subject ing hello. if he was going to say A SUSPECTED paedophile gang has been rounded up.

Marbella police are investigat- Gert Jan asked him his wife Johanna Te Riet at our ing after their bank confirmed of a TV crime investigation by hello back and he did. presents to lure vulnerable children children’s school barbecue last the IBAN is under the name of Dutch journalist Rob Vorkink “I just thought that the man was Four men, aged 34 to 55, are suspected as September. in 2010, before moving to being nice – nothing more to it.” of taking part in the abuse of children Johanna's father, Jan Te Riet.

“They became very close to Meanwhile, another Dutchman Spain. The Brinkmans were not The police are investigating young as five years old. the me to infor comment as we Police suspect the gang videoedtaken us and he convinced Gerard Grootte Bromhaar in- available the incident. vest in this bar in Marbella. So sists Brinkman stole €42,000 went to press. abuse, which is thought to have I transferred €90,000 to an place at one of their houses in La Linea.

Name and shame LIFE OF LUXURY: Private school and Porsche cars for Brinkman EXCLUSIVE

concerned.” where their sons were classmates.

Tempted by Brinkman to invest in a Marbella Aloha College were unavailable for comment, albeach bar, Van De Wiel transferred €90,000 though it is understood Johanna has now been removed from the PTA. to an IBAN account in BrinkBut the scams did not stop man’s wife’s name, as inthere, allegedly. structed.

The Brinkmans claimed the “He pushed us and Another Brit Frank Ferris came a cropper when he rented his money didn’t arrive. A monthour six-year-old very three-bedroom Estepona house long investigation by the bank revealed the IBAN is in agressively then ran to Brinkman and Johanna Te to the bottom of the Riet before agreeing to sell it to the name of Jan Te Riet. The them. garden to escape” money has not been returned “They were very nice. They said to Van De Wiel. money was not a problem, alSince then a number of angry though sometimes Brinkman parents have resigned from the PTA, on which Johanna was conveniently a had a BMW or Range Rover and sometimes an old banger,” Scot Ferris, 59, told the Olive Press. member.

“She has been handling money for the PTA,” “Everything was fine for the first 11 months. We explained one. “All the parents at the school agreed a price and contract. But as soon as the think it is a disgrace. It’s disgusting. We are very contract was signed things changed, the deposit was not forthcoming and the rent stopped.”

Ferris took the couple to court and they were evicted, leaving the Scot with unpaid bills and legal fees of more than €30,000.

But the story became even more remarkable, when Ferris discovered that during the year they had been in the home they had been subletting to holidaymakers via website Owners Direct.

One family from Essex, Julia and Colin Reeves paid a €500 deposit via Paypal to rent the home, and were then slapped with a shock text demanding ‘damages deposit’ of €3,500 on arrival

by Johanna Te Riet.

Mrs Reeves described what happened next as ‘a horror story’.

“We ended up handing over €1,500 in cash along with my credit card,” said Mrs Reeves, a 47-year-old PA. It was no surprise that a few days later Barclaycard were in touch to inform her that the card had been used to rent a car. “Obviously I had not authorised this,” she added.

On departure, they had to wait hours for the couple to turn up with their damages deposit, alongside their bemused 12-year-old son.

ACCUSED: Brinkman (right) ‘Needs to spend next 60 years in jail’

PAGE 24

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... why Hugh is in Palma From Page 20

THE BIG PAYBACK

FLAMING: Wicke and (right) during stunt

EXCLUSIVE

By Joe Duggan

HE has set himself on fire, jumped off exploding speedboats and thrown himself out of high-rise buildings.

Now Hollywood stuntman Peter Wicke is diving headlong into a bitter Costa courtroom showdown over a dodgy multi-million film deal.

Marbella-based Wicke, who has appeared in over 400 films and TV shows, is suing a Dutch expat after claiming he was scammed in a bogus partnership deal.

The 48-year-old German is gunning for Dutchman Jan Herman Brinkman, who he claims took him for a bone-shaking ride.

In a classic costa shakedown, he insists Brinkman’s company Jene Investments owes him thousands after he entered a promised multi-million euro

Hollywood stuntman erupts after losing thousands in bogus €5 million Costa film deal to invest in his own film company.

However, he claims Brinkman had no intention of stumping up any money for him and was merely after his own.

“I am absolutely raging,” Wicke told the Olive Press. “I answered an advert in a local newspaper (not the Olive Press) offering investment in projects. Next thing I am thousands out of pocket.”

Wicke, who has lived on the Costa del Sol for two years, was hoping to find an investment partner for his com-

deal

pany, Movie Television Productions International PW. Planning to produce a couple of films in Andalucia, he was naturally interested when he spotted the offer ‘safe and secure’ investment with of ‘no results, no payment’.

After three meetings at the end of year, he claims he was offered a last €5 million investment deal from Brinkman and his mysterious ‘business partner’ Jan Te Riet, who Wicke never met.

THE Junta may be made responsible for repaying tens of millions handed out in bogus training schemes.

A judge in Huelva has filed a motion demanding that any money that cannot be recouped in the €2 billion Edu scandal will have to be paid by the Junta.

In an unprecedented case, he The plan was to set up a joint com- thorities insisted the aupany, for which he himself was asked sponsible would be refor any comto stump up €10,000 for legal and pany or individual found notary fees. guilty of taking money In the end he handed over €2,500 be- fraudulently that is defore he smelt a rat and went to police. clared bankrupt.

“It is a very clever crime system and The investigation cenhas probably taken a fair few people,” tres on funds allocated insisted Wicke last night. to training programmes “I have worked in Hollywood for years for the unemployed, that and nothing like this has ever hap- mostly did not take place. pened. If I see him in court I’m not Under the scheme, milsure I will be able to contain myself. lions were stolen in “This deception has been very con- grants for bogus acadscious and calculated.” emies, which were set up When the Olive Press confronted in disused buildings and Brinkman about the case, last night, merely furnished when he declined to answer our questions. officials were sent to inspect.

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Child abuse gang held

But oddly, after getting out the €1,500 and counting it it in front of them, Brinkman suddenly put it back in his pocket and made a run for the front door.

“He pushed us and our six-year-old out of the way very aggressively,” she said. Meanwhile, a friend was pushed to the floor, left badly bruised.

“He ended up running round the back of the villa, down the bottom of the garden and jumped through some trees to get away, leaving his son at the villa with all of us.”

Amid the chaos, in scenes reminiscent of Fawlty Towers, a new family of rental clients suddenly emerged in the front drive ready for their summer holidays.

It emerged they had also been duped into paying €4,000 to rent the house.

In their native Holland, the allegations against Brinkman are even more serious.

In 2014, Robert Jan Schoor was one of 15 Dutch salespeople who claim to have lost up to €15,000 in a fake Marbella property business fronted by Brinkman.

Schoor quit his successful sales-training business to join Van Der Meer Investments, which purported to have dozens of exclusive Costa properties to sell.

“Brinkman said I’d be a millionaire in a year and I was persuaded to pay €2,500 to join and was then given a contract for €7,500 a month to train his team,”

CAUGHT: Mayorga

One man has been named as Natalio footSolis Mayorga, who worked as a was ball coach for years in La Linea and a frequent visitor to Gibraltar’s Victoria Stadium The gang is believed to have used football chilboots and jerseys as presents to earn dren’s trust. after Police were alerted to the group he finding a 14-year-old boy told them had been abused by one of the men.

Lisa Smuggler faces extradition over Brown’s disappearA BRITISH man wanted in connection to the murder of missing expat Lisa Brown has pleaded guilty to people smuggling.

Stephen Jackson, 50, has pleaded guilty to smuggling

17 Albanians into the UK and after his trial will be extradited to Spain over his links to missing Lisa.

He is believed to have close links to her boyfriend Simon Corner, who fled Spain

DODGY: ‘It hit us very hard,’ says alleged victim

after ance.

Corner was tracked down to Denmark earlier this year and remains in custody in Algeciras after facing a grilling in San Roque court.

FLAMING: Wicke and THE Junta may be (right) during stunt made responsible for repaying olivepress tens of millions handed out in bogus training EXCLUSIVE schemes.

By Joe Duggan olivepressnews A judge in Huelva has filed a motion demandHE has set himself ing that any money jumped off explodingon fire, +TheolivepressEs speedcannot be recoupedthat boats and thrown himself in out the €2 billion Edu of high-rise buildings. scandal will have to be paid Now Hollywood stuntman by the Junta.

Peter Wicke is diving In an unprecedented long into a bitter Costa headcase, he insisted The plan was to set up room showdown over courta joint com- thorities would the aua dodgy pany, for which he himself be remulti-million film deal. was asked sponsible for any to stump up €10,000 Marbella-based Wicke, for legal and pany or individual comnotary fees. has appeared in over who deal to invest in his own guilty of taking found 400 films and However, film company. pany, In the end he handed over TV shows, is suing a Dutch Movie Television Productions he claims Brinkman had fraudulently that money €2,500 expat beafter no fore he smelt a rat and went is deInternational PW. claiming he was scammed intention of stumping to police. clared bankrupt. up any in www.diningsecretsofandalucia.com a bogusour app “It is a very clever crime partnership fornow Download himand and was merely after hismoney Planning to produce a couple of deal. system and The investigation films own. in Andalucia, The 48-year-old German cen“I am he was naturally inter- has probably taken a fair few people,” tres on funds raging,” enjoying the best absolutely Spanish isbegin gunning insisted Wicke last night. allocated for Dutchman Jan Herman the Olive Press. “I answeredWicke told ested when he spotted to training programmes the offer an advert ‘safe and Brinknews on the go. man, who he claims secure’ investment with of “I have worked in Hollywood for years for the unemployed, took him for a in a local newspaper (not the Olive results, ‘no and nothing like this bone-shaking ride. that Press) offering investment no payment’. has mostly ever hapdid not take in proj- After three pened. If I see him in In a classic costa shakedown, ects. Next court I’m not Under the scheme,place. he insists pocket.” thing I am thousands out of year, he meetings at the end of last sure I will be able Brinkman’s company claims he was to contain lions were stolen milJene Invest- Wicke, million investment deal offered a €5 “This deception has been myself. ments owes him thousands in very con- grants for bogus acadfrom Brinkafter he Sol for who has lived on the Costa del man and entered a promised multi-million two years, was hoping his mysterious ‘business scious and calculated.” emies, which were to find euro an investment When the Olive Press set up partner for his com- partner’ Jan Te Riet, who Wicke never Brinkman confronted in disused buildings met. and about the www.allaboutandalucia.com he declined to answer case, last night, merely furnished when our questions. officials were sent to inspect.

BE ‘APPY! Hollywood stuntman thousands in bogus erupts after losing €5 million Costa film deal

With over two decades in business, Cambridge provides secure and affordable ways to make overseas from your UK bank, giving payments TOPyou forthe news in Spain! peace of mind you need to effectively manage the purchase of your new For information connect with our property.

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OLIVE PRESS – 70mm x 40mm FRONT COVER 30th March

After revealing that a Hollywood stuntman had been conned out of thousands in a bogus €5 million film deal, countless Olive Press readers come to us with tales about notorious Marbella-based figure Jan Herman Brinkman.

Our investigation has been followed up by TV documentaries in Holland

Catch me if you can

Animal rights has long been at the forefront of the Olive Press mindset. In August 2008, we exposed a British woman for starving 16 horses and being responsible for the deaths of 26 more. More recently, in, we ran an Animal Rights special featuring articles as well as carrying out an investigation into Triple A animal sanctuary following police raids

Armageddon, ISSUE 143 The worst fires in Malaga’s history left the region a disaster zone, after 4,000 people were evacuated from their homes and 8,200 hectares of land was turned to ash

0 1Ations P TNO G T S E V

On the back of catching most wanted paedophile Matthew Sammon, the Olive Press went on the hunt of fellow most wanted fugitive Mark Acklom. Tracing his wife to a business address in Murcia we published an expose on his luxury ch Ca ch Ca me me life in Spain last issue and then this week we have tied Acklom to scams on the Costa del Sol

Animal rights

September 2012

Never knew there was so much in it

Each print issue of the Olive Press can be read in its entirety on

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Involved in a long campaign to protect Ronda’s green spaces from a golf mega-project, the boss of Greenpeace Spain joins our fight

September 14th - Septemberwww.theolivepress.es 27th 2016

VICTIM

2

December 2010

Three Kings come early, Issue 72

pr

Disgrace! Issue 28

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GIVE HIM BACK!

ve

EST ess IGAT

February 2009

October 2015

SPANISH authorities have allegedly refused to repatriate the dead body of murdered Brit Andrew Bush.

His body is currently in a tomb near to his Estepona home, where he was fatally shot three times by his ex girlfriend Mayka Kukucova in April 2014.

While she has begun a 15 year sentence after being found guilty, Bush’s ex wife, Sam Mason, former BBC TV presenter, says their daughter Ellie Mason-Bush just wants to give her father a ‘respectable funeral’.

“First we were told we could repatriate him but then the Spanish authorities changed their mind at the 11th hour and insisted on burying him, they slid him into a wall,” she said.

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August 31st - September 13th 2016

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VICTIM 2

it up when he fell in love with a beautiful Mexican girl who would sadly perish in the Mexico City earthquake.

Perhaps the most fitting end to this amazing story was John’s last corrida in Mexico. Federico was asked by his father to ceremoniously cut the small pigtail that Fulton sported to show that he was a full matador. This marked the end of an era that saw one young boy realize his dream of becoming a matador and the other becoming a gypsy of two worlds.

I think we all felt privileged to have been allowed into the world of this amazing matador/artist, and in our series John Fulton The Kid from Triana, John’s story has finally been told.

Sadly John Fulton is no longer with us but he lives on through his son Federico, and their story is currently being shown as five one hour programmes on Living in Spain TV, Sky Channel 293 and will be available on DVD. Visit www.cutproductions.com for more information.

Issue 28, February 20th 2008

THEY have defrauded hundreds of clients via a string of clever scams.

Using a number of different companies they have been making millions of euros a year in the timeshare-style frauds.

Stephen Lawrence, 46, and his business partner Toni Muldoon, 61, are closely linked to a number of businesses under investigation in the UK. Described by investigators as “timeshare crooks”, last week the High Court dissolved their empire. After a long probe the UK’s Companies Investigation Branch wound up their companies T-One, Mediterranean Leisure and Kingswood Property Management (KPM) describing them as a “rogue enterprise”.

Now the team of seasoned ‘crooks’ has been tracked down by the Olive Press to their mountain lair in Ronda.

Living in a large detached three-bedroom house outside the town, Lawrence used the guise of an apparently respectable estate agent KPM to run the classic holiday club scam.

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On the brink!

That boy was Federico, and when their paths crossed through a chance encounter both their lives would change forever.

Fulton devoted himself to parenting a child and in a way this helped him overcome his struggles to become recognized as a matador. Federico also blossomed and went on to find his own unique way of painting.

He would exhibit alongside his father and get well paid for his work. Fulton educated and raised the boy but the gypsy father had other ideas.

He arrived on Fulton’s doorstep one night and at knife point threatened to wound John, take young Federico, and put him back on the streets to make money.

But it was Federico who stepped into the fray saying he would rather die than go back to the gypsies.

So he turned his back on his old life and was adopted into a new culture. Fulton became his legal guardian and the two became as close as any father and son could ever be. Federico even went on to try bullfighting himself but gave

Green fee for Ronda

olive press online

EXCLUSIVE The astonishing trail of allegations against suspected Porschedriving fraudster Jan Herman Brinkman finally leads to an arrest, as Joe Duggan discovers

VICTIM

in Sevilla and went on to fight all over Spain.

Sadly though, he met with some fierce prejudice from the bullfighting impresarios and he was never fully accepted.

He would often have to fall back on his art and through this would befriend the writer James Michener and the photographer Robert Vavra, whose photographs of Spanish bulls has been hailed as the “finest record” of the animals ever.

After they all made a trip together to see the cave paintings in Altamira, Fulton became inspired to paint using the blood of the bulls he killed in the arena. His exhibitions at American airbases such as Rota in Cadiz would help him raise money to pursue his life in Spain.

Another inspired idea was an artistic book, photographed by Vavra, that centered on the life of a gypsy boy living close to nature, a sort of modern-day Mowgli.

It was through this project that he would meet his future adopted son. Fulton found a small gypsy boy on the streets of Sevilla and invited him to help them realize the book.

He was so moved by what he saw of gypsy life that he would later seek to take this small boy out of his apparent life of poverty, and offer him the chance to read and write and not live wild in the streets.

That boy was Federico, and when their paths crossed through this chance encounter both their lives would change forever.

So moved by the hardship of gypsy life that he sought to take one small boy out of this life of poverty, and offer him the chance to read and write and not live wild in the streets.

**Western Edition**

This week sees the launch of our exciting new arts & culture section la cultura. As well as a ‘what’s on’ guide to events around Andalucía, we give you the important entertainment news, as well as our hilarious guide to spring’s hottest festivals pages 19 - 24

EXCLUSIVE: Olive Press tracks seasoned fraud gang down to their mountain lair

FEAT UR E

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September 14th - September 27th 2016

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the olive press - Western Edition - Issue 28

From bullfighting to bulls blood paintings, the American hero who made Hemingway look like a pussy

PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Greenpeace steps into Los Merinos battle

OlivePressNewspaper

•

IF GOD had wanted us to get grimy, lose our hearing and share copious quantities of warm beer, he’d have created the Summer festival circuit, writes ANDREW LOWREY. What he also created was Andalucia: a warm, sunny and perfect place for chilling out and listening to music late into a Spring evening.

“Los Merinos must be urgently stopped,” says boss of global pressure group See page 10

Unforgivable

CAPTION

21 21

the olive press - Western Edition - Issue 28

A Tale of Two Fests

WEBSITE

F EAT U R E

ROKEN dreams, shattered lives, financial ruin.

This is the human cost of an alleged string of property scams carried out by a Dutch family gang based on the Costa del Sol, the Olive Press can reveal.

Furious British expats and Dutch nationals, back home in Holland, have accused Jan Herman (Henk) Brinkman and several family members of swindling them out of hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of euros.

Marbella-based Brinkman, 47, and his father-inlaw Jan Te Riet, 72, are alleged to be at the centre of a web of fake companies that have conned dozens of families both here and back home.

But despite a mountain of evidence - and dozens of alleged victims - Brinkman remains at large and was even spotted last week driving a luxury white Porsche Cayenne in Puerto Banus.

Today, the Olive Press can reveal just some of the accusations levelled at Brinkman and his cohorts: •

The LIFE Laundry

Early expansion

After a tip off to the paper, the Olive Press tracked down and photographed Crimestoppers Most Wanted Daniel Johnston, sought for a string of violent robberies in the UK. Despite informing the authorities, it amazingly took a month for them to pick him up

www.theolivepress.es

la cultura Is your life full of clutter you know you don’t need?

We ask Olive Press readers to take stock of their stuff and decide what they could chuck and what they couldn’t live without.

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20

the olive press - Western Edition - Issue 28

Let the festivities begin

Not Wanted, Issue 48

Beaten up at the Alhambra, ISSUE 22

19 19

the olive press - Western Edition - Issue 28

la cultura

Jesus Granada

There are over 250 of them so it’s hard to choose but here are some of our bestever covers

A nniversary

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BUR ED AT SEA?

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DAYS AND OUT

The blonde and the bald Since Agnese Klavina disappeared in September 2014, the Olive Press has been pressing hard for answers. We were the first paper to link privatelyeducated Brit Westley Capper to her disappearance, picturing him in Aqwa Mist nightclub in our November 2014 edition. Since then Capper has admitted to killing a Bolivian mother in a hit-and-run incident, but, as revealed by the Olive Press is now back at his luxury Marbella mansion having been granted bail

Busting boiler rooms

Missing Amy mystery

The Olive Press has been investigating boiler rooms in Spain from day one. In 2011 we revealed that blacklisted British businessman Terry Wright had o ve press earned millions of euros by persuading unsuspecting investors to part with GREAT ESCAPE their hard-earned cash. The following year Wright bolted and bought a huge French chateau with his ill-gotten gains

Since Irish expat Amy Fitzpatrick, 15, went missing on New Year’s Day 2008 the Olive Press has been at the forefront of the investigations. An Amy special edition in 2009 revealed the squalid life that she was living in Mijas. Since then we have repeatedly kept Amy’s disappearance in the news o ve p e

The sad ru h

o

p N w hun Am

M

22 22

The CEO of organised crime and the bent mayor Recently labeled as a mini-Gurtel, the Olive Press has covered the ongoing Majestic case long before it reached the courts. As details emerged of the Eastern European gangsters behind the Casares property scam, the Olive Press revealed all about ‘Polish Al Capone’ mob boss Ricardo Fanchini and his cohorts, Armenians Robert Mani and Robert Gaspar

Laund y FM

All that glitters is not Goldman o

To hardy Olive Press readers, Nigel Goldman will be a familiar figure. Exposing naughty Nige countless times for a string of scams including selling gold coins and stamps on eBay Goldman was finally handed a 12-month suspended sentence in January. He still has many cases to answer for, with countless victims baying for his head in Spain

p

W N

o

p

GOLDMAN GU LTY

Missing Lisa, Simon Corner and the people smuggler Holiday club conmen When Sco sh mum L sa B own wen m ss ng n Novembe o 2015 was he O ve P ess who exposed S mon Co ne s shady Co ne human affi k ng nk W dea ngs on he coas m m w We we e he fi s pape o p c u e Co ne e vea how he uses va

ous a ases and nked h m o conv c ed peop e smugg e S e ve p e phen Jackson Wh e Jackson nge s n a UK p son awa ng ques on ng Co ne … m s no be e as he wa s o hea h s a e om A gec as p son

Tracked down to a mountain lair in Ronda, the Olive Press exposed the timeshare-style cons conducted by infamous fraudsters Stephen Lawrence and Toni Muldoon and their Costa del Sol cronies way back in 2008. Put away in 2014 for running a bogus escort service Muldoon was one of the first Costa conmen to come under the OP spotlight

www.theolivepress.es

Property olive press

www.theolivepress.es

British buyers are down but the coast will bounce back, insist leading property experts in second Olive Press Property Observatory - Inside Property magazine, from Page 17

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February 2013

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Who will cut out the cancer destroying Spain? ISSUE 154

Clifford guilty A PAIR of young girls paedophile PR guru Max Clifford sexually assaulted on the Costa del Sol have led to his conviction.

Clifford - a long-time visitor to the coast and involved in charities and local events - has been found guilty of eight counts of sexual assault, mostly on minors.

At least two were groomed on the coast, after being lured in with promises of stardom.

He is pictured here with his showbiz chum Kenny Lynch at a bash in Marbella.

By Tom Powell and Jamie Micklethwaite

COSTA del Sol fraudster Nigel Goldman is hiding out in a classic English country cottage under the false name ‘Howard del Monte’.

Goldman - aka ‘Del Monte’ has also returned to the business of buying and selling coins, stamps and antiques, it can be revealed.

Renting on a six month lease in the charming Berkshire village of Kintbury, he and

As Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is dragged into the country’s biggest corruption scandal the Olive Press joined the million petitions in saying enough is enough The original and only English-language investigative newspaper in Andalucía

the

olive press

FREE

Vol. 7 Issue 154

www.theolivepress.es

It’s MORE fun in the sun

Cartel behind Putin’s mystery costa home EXCLUSIVE

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

See full story on page 3

SPANISH Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is battling to save his political career after facing increasing pressure to resign over the PP corruption scandal.

Nearly a million people have signed an online petition calling for him to step down, amid widespread protests.

Opinion polls show that 77% believe he is now no longer fit to lead the country, while 54% believe there should be a general election.

Opposition leader Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba has called for his head, demanding that Rajoy be grilled in Congress about the allegations.

The prime minister stands accused of accepting illegal cash payments made to topranking party officials over a 12-year period.

Slush fund

Rajoy however fiercely denies the claims, describing them as ‘totally false’ and has said he will publish his tax returns online.

Among the other politicians accused of taking ‘bungs’ are current General Secretary Maria Delores Cospedal, Senate President Pio Garcia Escudero and even former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

The money was allegedly taken from a €22 million slush fund hidden in a Swiss bank account controlled by former party treasurer Luis Barcenas.

Barcenas kept secret ledgers of money received between Turn to page 2

BRITS are still happier in Spain, despite reports suggesting 90,000 have abandoned the expat dream.

An exclusive Olive Press survey found that more than three quarters of our readers are happier since making the move.

For the full story, see No end to Spanish dream on page 4.

Goldman fled Spain last year amid accusations of fraud, leaving behind dozens of victims owed a total of €15 million.

While he refused to answer questions, he seems happy living with Couling, her two daughters and two cats in the modest three-bedroom property.

While the pair are Kintbury’s hottest topic of conversation, they are rarely seen and ‘keep themselves to themselves’.

Couling’s family live nearby in Hungerford.

In fact, the secretive man from Del Monte is seemingly only ever seen leaving the house to go to the post office.

When the Olive Press confronted him in his countryside retreat, Goldman refused to come to the door, instead briefly poking his head out of his bedroom window.

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Who will cut out the cancer destroying Spain?

HIDEOUT: Goldman’s UK bolthole and (top) with Suzanne “I have nothing to say to you, with a parking ticket. but I look forward to meeting “I don’t understand why he hasn’t been arrested, if a trafyou again,” he called down. fic warden can find him then surely the police can,” said Parking ticket the neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous.

His hair was disheveled, but “Everyone in the village he did not have the mous- knows he’s Goldman, whattache some have claimed he ever name he goes under.” is now sporting as part of his Goldman, who deleted his disguise.

Facebook account recently, is The previous morning, Coul- currently being investigated ing was seen leaving the for failing to return millions house at 9am to load up their of euros to investors in his fisilver Vauxhall Zafira with nancial companies. boxes and head off, possibly Various victims told the Olive to a car boot sale.

Press that they are practically One neighbour explained that destitute after losing their life the day they moved into the savings to his schemes, that house, a traffic warden arContinues on Page 4 rived and issued the couple

While millions sit on the breadline with the highest unemployment in history, and expats come into the firing line with new laws and taxes, the PM allegedly took 30,000-a-year from an 22m offshore slush fund... Enough is enough!

THUR

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FREE

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OLIVE PRESS – Earpiece Appeal for 8th & 21st January missing women

Vol. 9 Issue 204 www.theolivepress.es

We will fight them on the beaches

Property

Expat unites with green group to save iconic Trafalgar Lighthouse from privatisation

Authority is simply looking for a way to ‘relieve itself of the financial burden of maintaining the site’.

Insisting the last-ditched protest has nothing to do with his group’s own application

being turned down, he added: “We would also take over the running and costs of the lighthouse, but at the same time keep it open for everyone to enjoy.”

The Califa group’s proposal,

olive press September 14th

- September

27th 2016

September

Marbella SOS - Page 31

NAVAL HERO: Nelson which came second, guaranteed to maintain the appearance of the lighthouse, as well as add a free interpretation centre, restaurant and picnic area employing 15 to 25 staff.

By contrast, Floatel’s plan involves employing just two staff, closing the main entrance and cutting off more than 50% of the land and buildings to the public.

It also plans to charge for entry with limited opening times.

Stuart was motivated to challenge the decision after being swayed by local opinion.

In particular, green group Ecologistas en Accion has filed a complaint with the Cadiz Port Authority against Floatel’s plans.

“We are against the privatisation of public facilities such as the Trafalgar Lighthouse,” explained a spokesman.

The Cadiz Port Authority has until November 15 to respond to both appeals.

Opinion Page 6

27th 2016 Spain Property 15 Guides

14th - September

Don’t get caught out when buying in Spain

Issue 10

WIN WIN WIN... Tickets to see the UK’s hottest

Eastender house hunting

PAGE III

Andalucia’s top Roman ruins

PAGE X

Cost of mansion life

PAGE XVII

BY THE BOOK

History for € 4.5m

ALMOST 13,000 rental properties holiday have been registered since new regulations fect in May ofcame into efThe first threethis year. months of the new legislation requires properties - which to meet specific requirements, including adequate furniture, external air conditioningventilation, and first aid kits - has seen 12,591 homes register.

The Junta say ulations are the new reggive tourists designed to tee of qualitysome guaranservice and comfort.

UP FOR GRABS: Palacete de Cazulus is steeped in history

PAGE XII

Spain Property

10

years experience

Which sibling has sold a house to a president and who got the MD of Barratt Homes to sign on the dotted line?

Vol. 10 Issue 248 www.theolivepress.es September 14th - September 27th 2016

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Vol. 8 Issue 191 www.theolivepress.es

July 10 - July 23 2014

Full Moon festival comes under

fire

AN ‘irresponsible’ beach party is nilva the release of hundreds of ‘illegal’set to see lease, Town Hall for not banning the re- Costa, in Mijas.

Chinese with the coast on high fire alert lanterns, despite a clear fire risk, The Costa del Sol firewatch group claim after an extremely dry Spring. campaigners. slammed the event, while local has It comes after the coast saw three bookinferThe Sabinillas Full Moon party will see nos last week - with Competa, Casares shop Sabinillas bookshop has withthe launch of the candle-lit lanterns at and Torremolinos all experiencing seri- drawn the lanterns from sale. midnight, watched by an estimated Manilva Town Hall however insisted 5,000 ous fires. revellers. the free event will go ahead on July At the weekend, more than 1,200 12 guests However opponents have criticised Ma- also had to be evacuated from el Club La as planned.

SPIKED!

continues on Page 3

the IN Oli VE ve ST Pr IG ess AT ES

Judgement Shocking failure to police drink-spiking days ahead in Spain

SPIKING ALERT

TWO former mayors are finally being hauled before POLICE in Spain have apparthe courts over the next

By Imogen Calderwood, ently no official records for month.

Carey Camel the crime of drink-spiking.

F and Jared Garland Hospitals and town halls have also failed to give any indication of the severity of the summer season now well unproblem, despite a terrifying derway.

60% increase in sexual attacks “It is clearly becoming a bigger issue and particularly in in Spanish resorts last year. the summer,” said a source at The shocking revelation comes as assaults from spik- Marbella Town Hall. ing begin to soar, with the “The problem is we just don’t have the statistics to back it up.”

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It is this failure to keep official records of attacks that is making it hard to tackle the issue as millions of young holidaymakers descend on the costas this month.

In an exclusive investigation, the Olive Press has uncovered evidence of numerous attacks at a variety of Spanish resorts including Puerto Banus, Fuengirola and Magaluf.

At one nightclub, bosses sacked an employee for spiking a client’s drink, without even calling police, while at another, a teenage expat revealed how a man had brazenly ‘added a powder’ to her drink.

Magaluf, in Mallorca, hit international headlines this

CAmpaigns

Stars come out to play

We meet Starlite founder Sandra Garcia Sanjuan See Page 20

OUCH?: Let the annual carnage begin in Pamplona, with the police on watch for sex assaults. See Page 8

week after a video of a British teenager performing oral sex on 24 men on a dance-floor went viral.

The two minute clip shows the young blonde led on by a Police stations in Marbella, cheering, cat-calling crowd.

The 18-year-old from North- Malaga, Mijas, Fuengirola ern Ireland has since claimed and Mallorca were shockingly her drinks were spiked and unable to provide any statistics about drink-spiking. she was later raped.

The incident has led many Malaga National Police came concerned tourists - and ex- back insisting our request pats - to question the ability was ‘unauthorised’ – with no of the authorities in Spain to explanation why - before directing questions to its headtake drink-spiking seriously. quarters in Madrid.

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If you can’t read this and you still want to stay in Spain it’s time you got some Spanish lessons... But, for now, as we’re so nice, see Page 7 for a translation

cias más de cerca.

Queremos que los españoles entiendan esta grave situación que nos deja en el limbo y que podría impedir que siguiéramos viviendo aquí como llevamos haciéndolo durante años.

Esta no es una petición insólita: el Reino Unido permite la posibilidad de obtener la doble nacionalidad tras cinco años de residencia. Curiosamente el Ministro Margallo conoce bien esta posibilidad ya que su hijo, que reside actualmente en el Reino Unido, la ha solicitado recientemente.

Así que desde aquí os pedimos, esperamos e incluso suplicamos que os unáis a nosotros en esta causa.

Algunos alcaldes y dignatarios ya se han unido a nuestra petición. Pero también necesitamos la ayuda de todos vosotros.

Curiosamente los expatriados británicos lanzan este llamamiento exactamente 80 años después del comienzo de la guerra civil española en la que miles de jóvenes voluntarios británicos perdieron la vida. ¿Por qué? Porque creían en España. Y nosotros también.

Estamos convencidos de que nuestra aportación a la estructura de vuestro país es muy importante. Queremos quedarnos aquí. No queremos volver.

Para firmar la petición visitar change.org y busca ‘Doble nacionalidad para británicos con mas de diez años de residencia en España’

Translated by Mirian Moreno

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Ask the right questions Avoid losing money

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Avoid the legal pitfalls Move in successfully

Download your FREE copy at: www.propertyguides.com/op Call our expert team on: +34 800 099 551 Or e-mail us on: op@propertyguides.com

October 2016

FIND HIM!

Gotcha! ISSUE 251

EXCLUSIVE AN arrest warrant has been issued for notorious Costa del Sol conman Nigel Goldman.

Goldman, 58, who changed his name to Howard del Monte, was summoned to Fuengirola court in January over the defrauding of four expats to the tune of €750,000.

However, he failed to show and a judge has now ordered police to bring him in.

Within hours of the National Crime Agency releasing its latest list of most wanted British fugitives, the Olive Press had tracked down, staked out and called in police to arrest suspect paedophile Matthew Sammon

Fraud

He was found guilty of fraud in the UK last year for the THIRD time and must wear a tag during his 12-month suspended sentence.

Lawyer Antonio Flores, who is representing the victims, said he could face up to a decade in prison, if found guilty.

“It has taken us two years to get to this stage and it is still just the beginning,” he added.

Dozens of expat victims claim to have lost as much as €3 million to Goldman through a series of ponzitype schemes.

He was first exposed through a series of Olive Press investigations.

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See our round-up of the year, starting on Page 15

In the wake of the Brexit referendum, the Olive Press published its first-ever Spanish front page in an unprecedented move to appeal to Spaniards to join expats pleas for joint nationality in Spain

Chateau Putin EXCLUSIVE

By Tom Powell

Three wine cellars and a crop of Spain’s most-exclusive Pingus vines for Russian president’s luxury Marbella hideaway

GRAPE ESCAPE: Putin is to grow his own wine in this incredible Benahavis mansion

lars at the 10-bedroom palace in the exclusive enclave of Zagaleta - complete with private helipad and 22-car garage.

A series of French oak barrels will store the wine.

The climatised cellars cost an estimated €1 million to install and also include a separate champagne room with its very own fingerprint code entry system.

“It is an amazing project and

no expense is being spared,” said the source.

A spokesman for the small five hectare Pingus holding in Burgos - whose wines are Spain’s most expensive at €1,000 a bottle - was unable to confirm the purchase.

“I am not able to give out any information about grapevines being sold, only about the bottles we sell and distribute,” she said.

In October 2012, the Olive Press was able to link the ExKGB boss Putin to a consortium of six wealthy businessmen behind the €19 million Zagaleta project.

The epitome of extravagance, his 18,000m² plot boasts its own spa and gym, a cinema, piano bar, and two swimming pools.

Putin has long been a big Hispanophile having visited

Spain on many occasions, with a recent book claiming he came in ‘illegally’ 37 times on false documents in the 1990s alone.

He has also been linked to a Spanish construction company.

It is also clear that Putin appreciates his wine, as his South of France mansion was revealed to have expansive wine cellars too, back in 2001.

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up unethical Campaign to clean agents and carve up between estate lawyers gathers speed

In 2009, the Olive Press turned the spotlight on the legal system as thousands of expats were fined after paying for what they believed were legal houses

Caged

1) VIDEO SPECIAL: Hell and high water as shocking floods leave deaths in Andalucia, 7 Sep 2015, 123,263 views 2) Are you ready for the ‘Big TV Switch Off’ in Spain?, 7

Los Merinos golfing madness years and nearly a dozen front pages later and the plans were finally scrapped in April 2015

Bin the bags In 2008, long before Tesco or Mercadona began charging for plastic bags, the Olive Press was on the case to get the bags shelved

Feb 2013, 115,784 views 3) Brit expats in Spain lose all BBC channels with ITV and C4 to follow soon, 6 Feb 2014 - 100, 578 views 4) EXCLUSIVE: Baron Rothschild indicted in France over fraud case, 18 Jun 2015 - 107,058 views 5) British tourist claims Gibraltar’s apes sexually assaulted her, 30 May 2015, 102,438 views 6) Man in hospital after 1,500 litres dropped on him by plane for Ice Bucket Challenge 27 August 2014, 75,637 views 7) Margaret Thatcher

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That’s why if you You can contact Winkworth Winkworth Team.

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for a lot of people, the cautious a p p ro a c h that would be adopted at home often disappears under the buying abroad. time constraints of- whether acquiring But it is essential property - to know modern or older you are buywhat potential problems ing in to. this it is essential In order to achieve conducted to have a professionally to the pursurvey prior to committing chase. of Chartered The Royal Institution internationally recSurveyors is an ensures that its ognised body which of carrying out Appeal members are capable apthis function.

While we are still to Surveyors has Gibson Gale Chartered working indepealing for lawyers are experienced surveyorsagents, banks step forward, we appendently to estate the best unnow extending our ensure and owners to peal to gain the supconflicted advice. where real barport of clean estate In the current marketand where buildagents. gains can be foundnot always as high Agents already supare ing standards buyers must porting the campaign as in northern Europe, Panorama include beware. look fine on the Properties, Cluttons Houses which may problems which and Terra Meridiana. surface often have lurk unseen. peace of mind and A survey ensures turning into a monTo add your support stops a purchase newsdesk@ email ey pit. call theolivepress.es or Chartered SurCall Gibson Gale2007551 951 273 575 veyors on 00350

practice of to expose the unethical using them has AN Olive Press campaign agents ‘kickbacks’ for firms. lawyers giving estate of a number of legal aims to stop the gained the support our ongoing probe Launched this month, paying estate agents unethical comprofessional against our ethical bent practice of lawyersfor awarding work.

“Apart from being Spanish lawyers. forward has already added: such practices spoil the reputation of missions of up to 20% and rewards clean lawyers to step rules, in the Spanish economy about their And the appeal for generates mistrust concerned gained momentum. that someone is finally exposing this,” “It agents who are more quality service: “I am very pleasedMartos Gross from Gutierrez del Alamo unprofessional providing an independent commission than in everybody’s interest that the practice said lawyer Adolfo in Marbella. is in absolutely & Martos Abogados, 70% of the top firms offer commissions “It ends.” to our campaign include “I believe that up to also adding weight be stopped.” should it My Lawyer in Spain, Fuengirola Other law firms and in to agencies Anderson Lopez from MT Lawyers Lawbird, Fellow lawyer Javier PCL, Temple CamAsbria, Poveda & and sociates Lawyers Paradigm Family Law.

y Our 180th birthda

certainly the PROPERTY is almost anyone will make biggest purchase country. And yet, outside their home

4

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF

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

Ryanscare

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

Not wanted

SPAIN is on alert for Soufiane Mezroui, 23, a suspected

Belgian terrorist thought to have fled to Spain following a stint fighting in Syria.

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

NEWS

Stamping down!

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

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

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

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

Israeli PM on wanted list

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

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

TOS P 10 tories

square vandalised 24 hours after being unveiled, 17 September 2016, 50,493 views 8) Costa del Sol town mayor sends heart-warming message to expats in Spain following Brexit vote, 26 June 2016, 49,391 9) Spanish property prices to fall by a further 50%, 14 January 2013, 47,959 views 10) Powerful earthquake strikes southern Spain, June 12 2016, 42,487 views

ESTEPONA PORT Irish Bar & Restaurant

BANGED UP: Sammon bundled into police car and (inset) his campervan

PAGE 8

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

A Vol. 10

S

www.theolivepress.es

ll about

Issue 251

October 26th -

errania de Ronda

November 8th

2016

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October 26th -

November 8th

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deep,high River mountain

Rob Horgan goes native in the Serrania de Ronda and discovers the backroad gems of the Genal Valley

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SOARING HIGH: The

view up to the city

from the Tajo gorge

and (top) a typical

town scene

HERE are few places in the world where beer with an army you can drink general stands all general … and even fewer where the Ronda, however, the rounds!

Celebrating a recent is one of those places. bar El Porton, an olé promotion with friends in quintessential away from Spain’s ish Legionnaire Carlos oldest bullring After introducing me Velo is eager to include me in - Spanthe party. quail eggs - Carlos to the town’s signature tapa - jamon and Iraq, Afghanistan (above) regales me with tales from the ‘best place in and Bosnia before explaining why tours to Ronda is “I have been all the world’. over the world and says, taking a swig seen many things,” he back into his face. from his cana and pushing his glasses “But Ronda is the been to.” best place I have ever Originally from Madrid, ago when he joined Carlos moved to Ronda some its two national basesthe Spanish Legion, which has35 years one of here, counting on naires at present. around 800 legion“The quality of life in Ronda is like nowhere can live like a gentleman here, in Madrid I else in Spain. I everyone else. would just be like “Everything is affordable, if you like you ing from tapas bar to tapas bar and youcan spend the day goin your pocket. will still have change “And the scenery is breathtaking,” he adds. “The walks Continues on

next Page

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EAGLE-EYED Olive Press readers helped snag one of Britain’s most wanted fugitives in Spain, just hours after he had been named.

Following a tip off to the paper, suspected paedophile Matthew Sammon was dragged from his campervan in a dramatic nighttime raid and whisked away in an unmarked police car.

Working closely with informant Daniel Reid, we were able to firstly track down Sammon to Fuengirola, then call in the Guardia Civil to arrest him.

On the run for two years, Sammon - a blackbelt in Jujitsu was wanted in the UK for sharing indecent images of children.

His seizure came just 10 hours after he was named in Operation Captura and is the quickest recorded arrest in the joint UK and Spanish police operation.

“It was a fantastic result,” said Steve Reynolds, from the Nation-

WORDS AND PICS

By Rob Horgan and Laurence Dollimore

al Crime Agency, who arrived at the scene after the arrest.

“Well done Olive Press and thanks to the expat community for tipping us off, this is the reason we run these campaigns.”

The dramatic day had started when Crimestoppers issued its annual list of most wanted fugitives in Torremolinos on Thursday morning.

Leading to hundreds of press stories around the world and on national television, the hunt was immediately on.

But, it was to popular local newspaper the Olive Press that expat plasterer Reid, 40, reached out to, trusting us to ‘do the job properly’.

In a series of Facebook messages, he announced that Sammon, 45, had worked for him

SUCCESS: Reid, Horgan, Reynolds and Brunt as a labourer and was currently living in a campervan around the Mijas and Fuengirola area.

Within an hour, the Olive Press team scrambled to Fuengirola, learning from another builder that he was currently camped out at the feria ground.

After a day working nearby, the Londoner duly arrived in his English-plated cream Moncayo campervan.

Parking up, he looked relaxed as he took his dog for a walk around the feria ground and spoke with neighbours.

Once identified, we called the Guardia Civil and Crimestoppers and so began a tense threehour waiting game, with Reid sitting in the car beside us.

Sky News crime reporter Martin Brunt was soon there too.

Eventually, as night had well and truly fell, an unmarked black BMW arrived and two plain clothes detectives swiftly moved in for the arrest, confiscating his passport and phone.

Frisking him at the side of the

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ACCUSED: Martinez-Echevarria in Marbella and (inset) legal letter insist any firm offering them will ‘be penalised’.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

K.O the kickbacks

car, Sammon covered his face and remained silent when questioned by the Olive Press.

He was then bundled into the BMW and taken to Madrid to be fingerprinted and prepared for extradition.

Following the arrest, father-oftwo Reid said he was ‘relieved’ to see Sammon taken away.

“As soon as I saw his face among the most wanted I felt sick,” said Reid, from Blackpool.

“I let him hang around my children, we took him in with open arms and at first were none the wiser.

“But we always thought he was a bit weird, he’s a real loner and never talks about his family.

“He creeped my family out so much that I fired him.”

Incredibly, police did not take any evidence from his campervan including his computer and other

Ten years ANTHONYS of the O ve Press a ready It on y seems ke yesterday I p cked up one of my first cop es and thought WOW! F na y a Costa de So newspaper that s not afra d to d g deep nto ssues that so many others wou d find too taboo and hot to touch Here s to a fantast c and prosperous first ten years and hop ng for ust as fabu ous and successfu fu ture PAGE 19

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

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

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

The Olive Press understands at least two other major legal firms and up to complaint against the director for a dozen smaller ones have allegedly misappropriating €600,000 and been taking backhanders.

This is despite a national code of practice stating that ‘a lawyer may never pay, demand or accept, commissions, or other monies from another lawyer, or any other person for having sent a client or The flotilla was attempting to break recommending future customers’. an Israeli blockade and reach the Despite the law, no legal firm has yet war-stricken Palestinian city of Gaza been found guilty of paying backwith humanitarian aid and construchanders. tion materials.

However, both the Malaga Bar AssociHowever, the Israeli Defence Force ation and the Andalucian lawyers asstormed the main civilian vessel and ten sociation (CADECA) have now ruled of the activists on board died in the melee. that kickbacks are ‘absolutely forbidAt the time, Netanyahu defended the den’ by Spanish and European rules. killings on grounds of self-defence.

In a landmark joint statement, they

EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan

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

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

Martinez-Echevarria’s attorney Antonio Torrecillas has filed a criminal

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How the CEO of organized crime corrupted a town hall

Don’t miss our 12-Page Ronda supplement

An Olive Press probe to stop the bent practice of agents giving work to lawyers if they agree to kickbacks resulted in various law firms being investigated by the Malaga bar association

An exposee by the Olive Press revealed how a trio of sick game hunters used a Cordoba estate to shoot tigers bought from nearby zoos and circuses

Since day one, the Olive Press campaigned against the plans to rip up 100s of oak trees for a golf course in Ronda. Nine

1331

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October 26th - November 8th 2016

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When the pound slumped against the euro the Olive Press launched a campaign in conjunction with Age Concern to assist expat pensioners make up the difference lost in their monthly payouts

- April 1st 2015 2015 19th April 1st 19th- - March press

March ress.esthe olive

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It’s a true city of culture, but Malaga has so much more PAGE 16

KICKING ON! beware Property

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Foxes star Louisa bitten by monkey on a trip to Gibraltar

Secret Malaga

Help the pensioners

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The good, the bad and the ugly of 2014

HE is one of the richest, most controversial men in the world and – it seems – somewhat the wine buff.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is planting his very own vineyard at the multimillion euro home he is developing in the hills above Marbella, it can be revealed.

Olive Press sources insist that the Russian gourmet, 62, has dug 25 plants from Spain’s top bodega Pingus into a series of terraces around the mansion, in Benahavis.

In a huge mega-deal he has also contracted the vineyard’s owner Danish oenologist Peter Sisseck to oversee production of the wine.

The wine will be produced in two huge underground cel-

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body experience, I have never been in a state like that, which is how I knew something was wrong,” said Darren, 49, from Birmingham, who was on holiday with eight pals.

“I then got separated from my friends somehow, which has never happened to me before.”

The account director suspects he was targeted because he was holding on to the group’s kitty, which was being used to buy rounds of drinks.

While the cash, around €150, was stolen in the attack, oddly they didn’t take his wallet or phone.

“I did fear for my life a little because I had no idea what was going on,” he said, “I remember a British voice saying ‘don’t move!’ before I passed out cold.”

Darren woke up the next morning in Malaga A&E, with four stitches in his head and a bad headache.

“I was left unconscious in the street and very lucky some anopeople were there to help.”

“It has definitely put us off coming back to the Costa del Sol and I would advise anyone going

Queen Letizia gives Spanish businesses a helping hand

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SPAIN has seen its biggest anti-bullfighting protest in history.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Madrid, with placards reading: ‘Bullfighting, the school of cruelty’.

The event organised by charity PACMA, described bullfighting as a ‘bygone tradition’ and called for it to be banned.

It has already been banned completely in Catalonia.

AN expat security boss is warning people to be vigilant of a ‘shocking level’ of drink-spiking on the Costa del Sol. In just six months since setting up his private security firm CP Marbella, he claims to have heard of at least 15 victims of the crime.

In addition to the use of GHB to drug and sexually assault women, he warns of an increasing trend of gangs using women to drug male tourists with ketamine, a horse tranquiliser, that makes them powerless and easy to rob.

James Hickey, 36, says he is so shocked at the increasingly brazen approach of the criminals, that he felt he had to speak out.

“It’s very worrying as it seems that anyone is a target,” the former Royal Green Jacket soldier,

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Search for tuna on the Costa de la Luz

MISSING: Amy and Agnese MISSING Amy Fitzpatrick’s family have joined the campaign to find a second missing Costa girl, Agnese Klavina.

Amy’s aunt Christine Kenny offered her support to Agnese’s family to mark Amy’s disappearance on New Year’s Day 2007.

Meanwhile Agnese, 30, has not been seen since leaving a Marbella nightclub last September.Kenny said: “Agnese went missing not too far from where Amy did.

“We are trying to help each other.

“There are said to be eight other women who have gone missing on the Costa del Sol since 2005 and too little is being done to help find them.”

More than 80 expats, including Amy’s mother Audrey Fitzpatrick and partner Dave Mahon - who is currently on bail for murdering Amy’s brother Dean - also attended a service in Fuengirola.

On Monday, the body of a young woman was rumoured to have been found by police in Istan lake.

However, Guardia Civil told the Olive Press yesterday that no such find has been made.

SPANIARDS

ÁS de 15.000 personas han firmado ya una petición que concedería a los expatriados británicos el derecho a la doble nacionalidad en España.

Necesitamos vuestro apoyo para garantizar que se nos permita seguir trabajando y viviendo en vuestro país.

Hemos elegido vivir aquí y hacer de España nuestro hogar. Muchos de nosotros tenemos negocios, hemos formado una familia aquí.

Algunos tenemos parejas de nacionalidad española y, aunque quizá no a la perfección, hablamos vuestro struido enlaces muy fuertes con España, a través de escritores idioma.

Creemos que contribuimos como Paul Preston, Gerald Breen gran parte al desarrollo nan y Laurie Lee. de la economía local, es- Y por encima de todo, nos senpecialmente en la costa. timos europeos y estamos comHistóricamente hemos con- pletamente opuestos al Brexit,

Andalucia uncovered

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olivepress

James Cracknell tells Olive Press how he vows to save the Rock

known expat Police probe fire that gutted well in 20 years emporium - for the second time

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MARBELLA is in shock after its 2010 urban plan was scrapped, leaving 16,500 houses in legal limbo.

All properties built since 1986 could be illegal.

“It brings great uncertainty to potential investors, who could recoil as a result of the ensuing chaos,” Marbella lawyer Antonio Flores told the Olive Press.

Page 3

Tuna trawl

BAcK?

Est 1984

November 12th - 25th 2015

Meet the 15-year-old Brit pulling trucks, flipping tyres and smashing world records

EXCLUSIVE

By Tom Powell

Page 14

Issue 9

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Pamplona Bull-run madness

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EXPAT NOTICE

The Olive Press pide a los españoles, en nombre de los británicos, que apoyen la petición para poder permanecer en España

ANTHONYS

PROPERTY BOMBSHELL

A DESPERATE battle is being waged to stop the iconic Trafalgar lighthouse being privatised and lost as a public monument.

The historic landmark, close to where Admiral Nelson’s British navy defeated an allied French and Spanish fleet in 1805, is loved and cherished by many expats.

The emblematic lighthouse, built in 1860, is also in a spot of serene natural beauty, located near Caños de Meca, on the Costa de la Luz. But now, 200 years after Nelson died in a heroic victory, a second battle of Trafalgar is being fought.

For a German firm has been awarded a contract to convert the stunning landmark into three luxury holiday apartments, and in the process cut it off from the public.

Under the controversial agreement, company Floatel is to take control of the 34-metre lighthouse for the next 30 years, with the option to renew for another 10.

However, a group of Cadiz businessmen including longestablished expat James Stuart is taking up arms against BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR: The the project. lighthouse is being converted into private Joined by local environmenwhile (right) Stuart is fighting apartments talists, Stuart, boss of the to stop it Califa Hotel group in Vejer, has now filed an official complaint with the Cadiz port au- has united with a group of key art told the Olive Press. thority over ‘irregularities’ in Spanish businesses in a bid “It should have the same to keep it entirely open to the Floatel’s application. status as the Roman ruins at The businessman, who runs public.

Baelo Claudia, near Tarifa, a string of hotels and restau- “We firmly believe the light- where there is a museum and rants on the Costa de la Luz, house and its environs should the site is free to the public.” be in the public domain,” StuHis group believes the Port

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As German investors aimed to privatise one of Spain’s most historic sites, the Olive Press joined the campaign to keep Trafalgar lighthouse open to the public

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Battle for Trafalgar

Caught live

In the hills overlooking Marbella, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s chateau at the luxury Zagaleta enclave fit with 22-car garage and a vineyard began to take shape, as revealed in the Olive Press

Hot on the heels of Costa conman Nigel Goldman, the Olive Press revealed how he was up to his old tricks under the new guise of Howard del Monte

POINTING THE FINGER: But Rajoy and many of his cabinet are said to have received black money from a Swiss bank account

Follow us: Holland & Barrett Andalucía

Pages 3 and 16

The man from Del Monte, ISSUE 186

Don’t let the Don’t thein bankslet cash banks cash in www.hifx.co.uk www.hifx.co.uk see page 13

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Chateau Putin, ISSUE 204

April 2014

1

AS A MILLION PEOPLE DEMAND THAT RAJOY MUST RESIGN OVER BUNGS SCANDAL...

By James Bryce

his partner Suzanne Couling are peddling their wares via a joint Ebay account called ‘Bensons Emporium’.

Village post office staff told the Olive Press that he regularly collects parcels addressed to ‘Del Monte’, and also ‘sends many packages’.

January 2015

Spain Property Guides

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When money talks

From €29m to €2,900, we found a Spanish property to suit every budget

Brexit Bounce

An Olive Press of seven expertspanel While Brits make gathered to discuss has large amount of the up a marthe ket, others impact of Brexit like the Spanish propertyon the dinavians and new Scanarrivmar- als like ket. the Polish are filling in the gap While, they confirm left by the the market has suffered But drop in British sales. from initial knee-jerk the lull is widely actions, they remain re- seen as temporary, with timistic, expecting op- the think tank insisting market to bounce the once the exchange rate back stabilises, once the dust settles things will reon turn to normal. the political landscape Read the full in the uK and europe. tory, Part II fromObserva- OPTIMISTIC: page 14 Panel

Spain Property Guides

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FROM ENGLISH VILLAGE

EXCLUSIVE: The Olive Press can reveal that convicted fraudster Nigel Goldman is back in business using the false name ‘Howard Del Monte’

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April 30 - May 14 2014

The man from Del Monte

See full story on page 2

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EXPOSED: COSTA CONMAN FOUND PEDDLING COINS

GO GIRL: ‘Home-saver’ awarded MBE

Celebrity comings and goings

Fight to save Mijas’ oldest farmhouse

Bilbao’s most powerful tower

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Congrats to the Olive Press for giving a voice to things that matter for the last 10 years Maura Hillen, OBE, SOHA president

Happy anniversary

Thanks so much for consistently providing the best read in English in Andalucia every fortnight - we even get it in Tarifa and along the Costa de la Luz Peter Whaley, owner Hurricane Hotel, Tarifa

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Roman ruins, pristine beaches, cool kitesurfers ... a winter trip to Tarifa takes some beating, writes Jon Clarke

THERE are few places in the world as magical as Tarifa.

Where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean and where Africa meets Europe, its lay lines couldn’t be more auspicious.

A historic spot used as the bridgehead for the Moors when they first arrived in Europe in the 8th century, it is crammed full of history and, wonderful architecture.

But best of all is its location, beside the famous Straits of Gibraltar with its views to Africa and inland to the soaring Alcornocales Natural Park.

The trip here from the Costa del Sol is worth the journey alone, the hour drive transporting you to a completely different world, far from the glitzy man-made resorts along the Malaga coast.

Everything from the atmosphere to the people and from the food to the weather is a contrast, and it is the latter specifically - its celebrated Levante and Poniente winds - that have saved it from the concrete overdevelopment that has pockmarked much of its near neighbours.

Boasting the best, most consistent winds in Europe, it has long been a Mecca for wind and kite surfers and thousands of enthusiasts head here every week from around the continent.

The best place to watch them is at Valdevaqueros, a cool hangout five minutes outside the town, where you can hire all the equipment and take a cocktail, lunch and even stay.

But it is not just the wind that attracts tourists to Tarifa. There are whale watch-

November 23rd - December 6th 2016 November 23rd - December 6th 2016

Tarif-ic!

HIGH AS A KITE: Tarifa is famous for its high winds and watersports ing and scuba diving trips and oodles of opportunities for retail therapy.

Indeed, Tarifa has an abundance of quirky shops selling handicrafts, leather bags, jewellery and musical instruments, as well as pavement cafes touting freshly-baked treats.

There’s a small town beach, Playa Chi-

ca, lapped by the Med (and great if the Poniente is blowing a hooley). But the focal point is Calle Alameda, a lively Spanish walkway lined with good restaurants.

Across the road the castle, overlooking the bustling harbour, is fascinating and provides wonderful views of the Straits.

This little fishing town was the first

P 1E0S TBO EST DRIV

By Christine Fleischer, from Helle Hollis

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•

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•

•

•

The round trip to Ronda is breathtaking, particularly if you drive home towards the sunset via Gaucin and Casares The coast road from Nerja to La Herradura, where the Sierra Nevada tumbles down to the sea - now with much less traffic since the motorway was finished The route from Zahara de la Sierra to Grazalema travels through some of the most stunning scenery in Andalucia, ending in one of its most emblematic towns Head inland on the sleepy single track road from Estepona, up the soaring Sierra Bermeja and then down into the villages of Jubrique and Genalguacil in the Genal Valley The drive along the Costa de la Luz from Zahara to Canos de Meca, via Barbate, offers wonderful umbrella pine forests and views of the famous Trafalgar lighthouse Cabo de Gata is one of Andalucia’s most beautiful places. But at its best

Get on the road

the lane from El Pozo de los Frailes to Las Negras, via La Isleta, is a dream The vertiginous route from Granada city to Pradollano skiing resort just gets higher and higher, with scenery to die for Within ten minutes of taking the tiny A-6103 out of Malaga city you will be in the stunning Montes de Malaga natural park. Keep going to all the way to pretty village of Comares The oldest highway in Spain, first built by the Romans to link Sevilla and Cordoba, offers up the wonderful undiscovered gems of the Campina area, including Ecija and Carmona Turn off the motorway north of Antequera at Lucena and visit the stunning Subbetica region of south Cordoba, the wonderful towns of Priego de Cordoba and, eventually, Alcala la Real in south Jaen www.hellehollis.com

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TOP 10

WHERE TO STAY AND EAT IN TARIFA

g in Vejer about livin best things

Bright, friendly town

EVOCATIVE: Tarifa gateway point of the Moorish invasion of southern Spain in AD711, when the Berber chief landed from Ceuta with 400 foot soldiers and 100 horsemen. They built the fort later, in 960AD and stayed for an incredible seven centuries.

No trip to Tarifa would be complete without taking the lovely ride from here to the village of Bolonia, through stunning undeveloped countryside and pinefringed beaches.

Along the way there is a great selection of fantastic hotels, including the legendary Hurricane and its sister hotel the Punta Sur across the road.

Bolonia takes a very casual, dresseddown approach to tourism. It doesn’t sneer or look down on the increasing number of visitors but neither does it pander to their every whim like a certain neighbouring Costa.

Its iconic, giant sand dune, the biggest in Europe, is the texture of icing sugar, alongside its waters of Caribbean blue.

Add the spectacular ruins of the Iberian Peninsula’s biggest Roman city Baelo Claudia – complete with walls, aqueducts, baths, temples, forums, villas and more, and you are in for a treat.

27 27

What I like about living in Vejer, by James Stuart of Califa restaurant and otel

VIEW TO AFRICA: Hurricane’s terrace

Hurricane happy

ONE of Andalucia’s most emblematic hotels, the Hurricane (www.hotelhurricane.com) is to Tarifa, what the Alhambra is to Granada.

A long-time institution, it sits pole position right on the beach beside umbrella pines

SERVING UP: Hurricane restaurant

and with incredible views in all directions.

With charming landscaped gardens, lovely pool and a horseriding centre, gym and spa, you will find few better places to relax on a winter’s break. And best of all, it has an amazing chiringuito buffet, perfect for lunch, and a wonderful candle-lit restaurant for night times.

Across the road, its sister hotel Punta Sur (www.hotelpuntasur.com) is perhaps better for families, with its own tennis court, massive oval pool and a restaurant with a pizza oven.

Finally, Valdevaqueros (book via www.hotelhurricane.com), a mile up the coast is the coolest hangout of all, a great place to eat, watch all the action and even sleep the night.

- Walking to work with bright light and big views - The nearby fabulous beaches for surfing and hills for mountain biking - The friendly Vejer locals, hard-working and smiley - Living amid history helps one appreciate the past - Great local produce - seasonal, fresh and healthy - A real community where kids can play safely on the streets - Interesting local friends - loyal, interested and interesting - Pace of life means rushing is rarely an option - Vejer is well placed for the great cities of Cádiz, Jerez and Seville - Enjoying winter, and sometimes, Christmas day lunch on my terrace! www.califavejer.com

Congratulations to the Olive Press on your 10th anniversary!

It’s been consistently the best read in Andalucia for years... and thanks for all your campaigning!

James Stuart, Califa Group, Vejer

Tel: 956 451 848 c/. Corredera 55, Vejer de la Frontera, Cádiz CalifaVejer.com

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Top Ten tips For the best place to buy 1.

www.oaklandfurniturespain.com 2.

Congratulations to everyone at the Olive Press on their 10th year!

Such a great read as well as a fantastic medium to use to ensure our customers know where they can purchase the finest solid oak furniture in Spain whilst reading good solid news!

3.

4.

5.

6.

Chose the right location – it’s the principal item that adds value to your property. Its relationship to surrounding land and buildings is vitally important. And remember having golf frontage means the occasional golf ball and front line beach means more damp.

Protect your assets – the view, access and environment (noise, smells, damp, etc). Choosing your relationship with your neighbours is more difficult!

Check the financial status of the town hall and could there be a development next door that will harm your home?

Check the financial status of the community you are in – can they afford to keep the gardens and the community areas in good condition?

Is the property served by fibre optic cables? – the speed of internet access is more and more important.

Make sure that the Title AND

By Campbell Ferguson, Survey Spain

Catastral descriptions are up-to-date.

– valuers are obliged to value according to these so that if the description is smaller than it actually is, the value for the mortgage will be smaller.

7. Is the property suitable for tourist rental – Even if you don't intend to rent, obtain a licence. This will add value.

8. Get an energy certificate for the property. A good energy rating means lower local property tax (IBI).

9. Increase the security of your property, but not by looking like a prison. It looks better to have strengthened glass and internally lockable shutters than iron bars on the windows.

10. Be kind and helpful to Survey Spain’s building surveyor/valuer.

They are also impressionable, so have the house clean and tidy.

10 reasons why your dog’s hair cut at Posh Pets Spain SHOULD cost more than yours 10.Your hairdresser doesn't wash and clean your rear end.

9. You don't go for eight weeks without washing or brushing your hair.

8. Your hairdresser doesn't have to give you a sanitary trim.

7. Your hairdresser doesn't have to clean your ears.

6. Your hairdresser doesn't have to clean bogies from eyes. slim! your is extremely 5. You sit still for your hair

TPROP 10 OJECTS

With 46 years and 17 companies on the coast, Experience Group in Estepona pick out their top 10 projects: 1.

dresser.

4. Your haircut doesn't include a manicure or pedicure.

3. Your hairdresser only washes and cuts the hair on your head.

2. You don't bite or scratch your hairdresser.

(I hope not anyway).

1. And the Number 1 reason your dog's haircut should cost more than yours... The likelihood of you pooping or peeing while your hair is being cut

2.

3.

4.

5.

Centro Comercial Bena Vista – 50 Shops and offices and the footbridge over the main road. Developed, designed and constructed 1985 Urbanisation Bena Vista, 100 Apartments and Townhouses. Developed, designed and constructed - opened 1983 Las Palmeras de Bena Vista, 400 Apartments and Townhouses. Developed, designed and constructed - opened 1985 Benamara Pueblo, 100 Apartments and Townhouses. Marketed and designed -opened in 1974 Jasmin Villas, 15 Villas.

Lots of love and congratulations Olive Press on your 10year anniversary.

From all the team at Posh Pets Spain

• • • • • • • • • •

Top 10 reasons why we have been around for over 30 years

We are a family run business Our office is still in the same location since opening in 1984 Committed staff who have been with us many years Faith in the service we offer Keeping our management plans and rental prices at an affordable price Looking after the clients who buy a property from us, even after completion Our wonderful regular holidaymakers who visit us year in, year out Staying open six days a week when no one was around to see us open during the recession!

Having great working relationships with other companies nearby The beauty of Estepona and its surroundings

Marketed and designed opened in 1981 6. Benamara Gardens, 80 Apartments.

Marketed and designed - opened in 1979 7. Dos Hermanas, 300 Apartments Townhouses and villas and Commercial Zone Marketed and designed - opened in 1983 8. Rincon Del Paraiso, Exclusive villas.

Developed, constructed and designed - opened 1985 9. El Paraiso Golf Club.

Purchased 1983 - now owned by the members.

10. Bena Vista Lawn Tennis Club. One of the best facilities on the coast. Developed, constructed and opened in 1984 For more info call 617403103 or visit www. experiencegroupspain.com

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Congratulations!

On reaching this fabulous milestone.

Congratulations!

Congratulation to Jon Clarke Happy anniversary and the team at the Olive and investigative journalism.

Press for reaching the landOn reaching this fabulous milestone.

After a decade of investigative reporting Congratulations!

They do not shirk from takmark of 10 years in loing on the establishment, cal publishing! Over the on reaching this fabulous milestone, after After a knowing decade ofwhat investigative in Andalucia and goes onreporting exposing villains and con years the newspaper decade of investigative reporting artists, having helped to has grown to become a inaAndalucia andyou knowing whatand goes on it is remarkable that have right many here, wrongs in the household name, parinforming all your readers what goes on here. process, and the coast is a ticularly respected for its here, it is remarkable that you have better place for it. in depth news coverage survived.

Well done from Well Survey done Spain from Survey Spain.

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

survived. Well done from Survey Spain

Iain Blackwell, Publisher, Essential Magazine

Building Surveys • Market Valuations

By Tancrede de Pola, at The Finance Bureau

Top ten tips on finding a mortgage in Spain

Building Surveys ­ Market Valuations Building Surveys •­ Building Market Valuations Inspections Surveys StructuralStructural Surveys ­ Building Inspections Structural Surveys ­ Building Inspections InvestmentInvestment &Investment Development & Development Development &

Chosen by an independent industry panel from a large number of companies across the world, Survey Spain was highlighted for its AIPP Logo & Blurb technical know-how, AIPP Logo & Blurbmarket knowledge and longstanding reputation for integrity – all factors that allow it to provide a first-class 1. Better deals are to be had ments through your broker than the in- 7. Improve your credit scoreOPP by putservice and help it save its clients’ money.

Logo & BlurbOPPprofessional Logo & Blurb ternet ting all expenditure on a credit 2. Avoid flashy advertising which is card and paying it off in full each often misleading month AIPP Awards 2011 Blurb Expert Witness Expert Blurb 3. Quotes can only be compared 8. In the 12 weeks before you ap- Witness WINNER Most Outstanding Example of Customer Service (Associate) OPP Awards for Excellence 2011 on the same day due to market ply for a loan, run your bank ac(Association of International Best Overseas Property Business changes count as if you already have a Property Professionals) (Overseas Property Professionals) 4. Watch out for incomplete Ts & Cs mortgage 5. Don’t rush: if you are offered 9. Make sure you are registered on a quote without giving over all the Electoral Roll (padron) your details, be aware!

10. Ensure you have a good estate 6. Make sure you keep up with all agent, a good mortgage broker existing mortgage and loan payand a good lawyer Tel: 00 34 952 923 520 To contact Tancrede for all your mortgaging needs call: 666 709 743 or Email: info@surveyspain.com for insurance queries call: 951 203 540 Email: tdp@thefinanacebureau.com Web: www.surveyspain.com The Finance Bureau Centro Commercial Guadalmina, MOST OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

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Don’t miss our bimonthly Property magazine

Booming July predicted following ‘pause’ in run-up to EU referendum Special report by Iona Napier

BOSSES: Cox and Wells

IN COME THE BIG BUCKS! A HUGE US property fund is splashing €45 million on three new Costa del Sol developments.

The American bosses behind Real Capital Solutions have snapped up sizeable plots in Estepona, Mijas and Benahavis and continue to look at further opportunities along the coast.

The company, based in Marbella since 2013, already has five other developments, including The Retreat, in Elviria.

“We have spent around €86 million here so far and have a fund of €100 million to spend,” explained Managing Partner Peter Wells, based in Colorado.

“We are one of the largest developers on the Costa del Sol and our emphasis is on distressed properties.”

He added: “Also we do things transparently and always try and deliver on price and quality.”

The company - which made hundreds of millions buying and selling distressed properties in the US - has 16 staff working out of its office at Centro Plaza.

Local boss Taylor Cox, added: “The coast is really starting to come alive and it’s a pleasure to live in such a beautiful part of the world.”

Currency Exchange

& Money Transfers

May 25th - June 7th 2016

ESTATE agents in Spain and Gibraltar are lining themselves up for the busiest July on record.

It comes as some British buyers put purchases on hold due to the forthcoming EU referendum on June 23.

Most agents the Olive Press spoke to confirmed they had various sales currently ‘paused’ awaiting the result, despite the British market remaining strong.

The majority believe that the expected result - to stay in Europe - will lead to the pound strengthening with a red hot summer of sales to follow.

Ben Bateman, at Holmes Sotogrande, described the referendum lead up as a ‘pause for thought for British buyers’ due to concerns over the weak pound.

“After a remain vote however, we expect to see a strong finish to the year - and a sudden wave of bids from British buyers,” he told the Olive Press.

One agent in Gibraltar has gone one step further actually employing extra staff for July. Savills director Sammy Cruz-Armstrong said: “Everything is on hold due to Brexit, but I am convinced we will stay in Europe and am taking on extra staff in July to deal with the expected deluge of business.”

Benahavis agent Scott Marshall of Proper-

Roll on Remain tieSpain, meanwhile, described the pause as ‘very psychological’.

He said: “It’s a combination of the uncertainty of the vote and the exchange rate right now.”

While many agents have a couple of sales currently on hold, some have seen more.

“We have up to ten sales currently on hold until after the referendum,” said Victor Witkowski, boss of Castles, in Manilva.

“Buyers are not necessarily pulling out, but they are biding their time to see what happens.”

Fellow Manilva agent, Shani Hamilton, also confirmed a slowdown, but added: “We are predicting a huge influx of business as soon as a decision is made.”

www.spanishpropertyinsight.com Source: Registradores Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016

RANKED No.1 for Currency Exchange

& Money Transfers

Either way, official statistics out this month confirm the British market remains strong and tens of thousands continue to look for their dream home.

Respected analyst Mark Stucklin insists that foreign demand for Spanish property was up 16% in the first quarter with Brits the biggest group of foreign buyers at 22% of the market share.

“The British still dominate the foreign market for property and there is no evidence of a noticeable decline in demand as yet,” he said.

And certainly not everyone is suffering.

One agent, Graham Govier of Inland Andalucia has seen ‘no negative impact’ at all during the referendum lead-up.

“In fact it is the opposite. Prices are extremely cheap right now and we are selling two times as many properties as we were last year,” he said.

He added: “My salesman Paul - already a bit of a local celebrity - has just completed his seventh consecutive sale and people are buying because they can see that the incredible deals won’t wait around for them forever,” he added.

Paul made headlines in the Olive Press last year when he sold an impressive nine properties in a row.

Jon and his team were extremely responsive and worked with us to put together a media plan that met our budget and addressed our key goals of raising brand awareness and generating leads. So far, the combination of advertising alongside their well-written editorial has generated a great response from qualified buyers living on the coast.

Ailse Warriner-MacFarlane, Marketing Director, Palo Alto Marbella

687 838 263

Ta r i fa I n m o b i l i a r i a @t ta fain mo bilia winwfo w. a rriifa inm ob i l i aria r i a.c . coomm

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ONE of the world’s most exclusive private members’ clubs has opened a new outpost in Spain.

The new Soho House is located within a 19th-century apartment building in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.

Its 57 bedrooms range from small and cosy to the spacious corner rooms which overlook the Port Vell marina, and which can be booked by the public.

All have been individually styled to incorporate rustic features and authentic Spanish textiles.

As well as a fifthfloor bar and restaurant, the basement features a speakeasy-style drinking den, while the rooftop — complete with pool — holds another bar and restaurant.

It is the only one of Soho House’s 11 hotels worldwide - from Istanbul to Chicago - to have its own indoor pool, located in the basement alongside the massive gym and Cowshed spa.

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Progressive future for fascist monument

Casa Barca

Where is Gillian buying?

Deals

Spanish property sales by nationality and quarter

Memorial movement

We approached The Olive Press to promote Palo Alto, Marbella’s fastest selling luxury development situated in Ojén just 5 minutes from La Canada Shopping Centre.

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WORLD BEST: Madrid Download our app now and begin enjoying the best Spanish A WAR memorial faces a fresh future after remains of Spanish fasnews on the go. cists were exhumed.

The controversial Monumento a los Caidos in Pamplona could become a A SPANISH city has been ‘historical memory centre’ now that named in the top three best the bones of nine military leaders expat destinations in the have been removed.

Generals Emilio Mola and José world.

Madrid beat Toronto, Vi- Sansurjo, whose forces were responenna and Sydney into the sible for the deaths of thousands of The third spot on Olive the 2016Press list, people, were amongst those recently compiled by networking dug out from the building’s crypts.

The Navarra city’s town hall took the service InterNations.

TOP for news in Spain!

Expats raved about the action at the building, which is offigreat quality of life in the cially named Navarra a sus Muertos capital despite the country’s en la Cruzada, to meet requirements from a 2007 law. economic struggles.

Barcelona made it to num- It called for the removal of monuments, street and place names that ber 11 on the 35 strong list.

It was compiled by ask- glorify the Francoist 1936 rebellion ing 14,000 people who live against the democratically elected abroad about the quality of Republican government. life, ease of settling in, work The controversial edifice, which lies opportunities and personal in Plaza de la Libertad, was constructed in 1942 to remember fallen finance..

Melbourne topped the list, fascists from the area and contains with Houston taking second lists of the war dead.

The remains of the military personplace.

London, the only British nel were given back to their families city on the list, ranked at 27. for private burial.

EXHUMED: Fascist remains

Top expat destination

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Steadying the ship REAL estate investment in Spain has dropped by €4 billion yearon-year, signalling a stabilising market.

Last year’s high of €13 billion is expected to calm down to €9 billion in 2016, but despite the drop, experts say the country’s property and construction scenes are both in good health and that the market THE Ukrainian president and his allies have come under fire for keeping their Costa del Sol pads secret from the authorities.

Petro Poroshenko, who has ruled the eastern European state since 2014, failed to declare his €4 million villa in Estepona when updating his searchable asset declarations.

xxxx

The publicly available records are part of a new drive by the International Monetary Fund to improve transparency and root out corruption.

But an investigation by Ukrainian TV network RFE/RL has discovered his Spanish-registered company Feruvita S.L. bought the 1,254sqm villa when he was head of the Council of Ukraine’s National Bank in the summer of 2008, allowing him to keep it off official records.

Within a short drive of Poroshenko’s pad are

is levelling out.

Foreign money has continued to contribute to Spain’s successes, with the country having one of the world’s largest proportions of foreign investment into its real estate market.

Madrid has pulled in the largest investment, receiving more than €5 billion.

Hidden gems Ukraine president slammed over undeclared Costa del Sol villa villas belonging to Ihor Kononenko, fellow government official and one-time business partner to Poroshenko, and Oleh Hladkovskyy, deputy secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council.

They both also used companies to effectively hide their

assets.

While it is not illegal to control assets through companies so long as they are used for purposes related to the business, anti corruption campaigners argue that failing to disclose such properties ‘makes a mockery of the duty to report’ and raises questions about how they were obtained.

Daria Kalenyuk, executive director of the Kyiv-based NGO Anti-corruption Action Centre said: “If the villa is not used for the company’s commercial activity, it should have been declared.”

Not insuring your property correctly could cost you more than €30,000

Be prepared

A

S a RICS registered valuers, we are constantly comparing properties in order to calculate the current market value.

These include ‘self-build’ properties that do not have proper ‘decennial’ structural insurance. To obtain that involves supervision of the foundations and structure by an independent third-party specialist as they are built, and 10-year insurance against failure thereafter.

This is obligatory for promoters building on behalf of others, but it is optional if one is building a house for oneself.

However, without it, there is a restriction on sale, recorded in the title register, for 10 years from completion of the building.

A house without this insurance must be worth less than a fully supervised and insured building. Banks are becoming aware of this too and so it will obviously affect the value of the property and your security for a mortgage.

Even after the 10-year period is completed, there may be a small residual detraction in value. Having said that, if a structure has stood unaffected for 10 years, it is likely to be an external force that af-

13 11+

years experience in

ALL PROPERTY RICS BUILDING SURVEYORS & MATVALUERS TERS

For peace of mind follow fects it rather than an these inherent defect, property buyingbut rules

even these could have been covered by the pre-build geological survey, which has Your Property to be taken into account inFind the approved foundation design.

So, say you want to sell four years after you’ve built the house without Instruct decennial Instruct Building Lawyer insurance. You will have toSurveyor obtain retrospective structural insurance or the sale will not be recorded in the title register.

Consultation with insurance indiBuy brokers with Knowledge & Confidence decates that the cost of a retrospective cennial insurance can be in the region of 0.3 to 0.5% of the rebuild cost (not the 520 market value), which +34 on952 a923 decent sized admin@surveyspain.com surveyspain.com house could be €30,000.

In addition, there is a flat rate cost of say €3,000 for the fees of the engineer who will study all the paperwork relating to the site and the building construction.

There is bound to be some hesitancy and a considerable number of caveats even if all the paperwork is available and the engineer has taken tests of the concrete in the foundations and upper structure. It may well be that these caveats will make the insurance effectively worthless, but it has to be there.

Contact Campbell and the team on +34 952 923 520 or email info@surveyspain.com

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Elviria

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Centre undergoes renovation

ourElviria app nowBusiand THEDownload doors to “We estimate that during 2016 the number nessbegin Centre are the open enjoying bestagain Spanish A RISE in sickness claims is leading hotels Britons face backlash in Spain to consider banning Brits. of claims may be around 10,000, reflecting after a complete renovation. news on the go. a very significant increase compared to preVery well located on the out- There has been a shocking rise in holiday- for pulling sickies vious years. skirts of Marbella, EBC is an makers making fake claims of suffering abroad to claim “We have estimated that the economic imAndalucían style five-floor from vomiting and diarrhea abroad. pact on the Spanish hotel industry will be building constructed by a A growing number of hotels in Costa del money back Sol, Costa Blanca, Benidorm and Valencia around €60million, in case the hotel indusSwedish developer in 1994.

Fully finished offices form have now warned they could be banned the ‘claims farm’ started their campaign to try has to bear the full cost.” attract British tourists coming through tour It will see the cost of holidays increase, leavpart of the recently renovated from staying there. operators. ing airlines and tour operators unimpressed. centre, which has a mixed It could cost Spain up to €60 million. community of long term Nuria Montes, from Spain’s hoteliers asso- “This is not happening only in Spain, simi- Richard Conroy, founder of travel illness lar situations are being produced in other company SickHoliday.com, worries the residents andOlive holidaymakers The Press ciation HOSBEC, said: including Brits, Irish, Dutch, “The number of claims has increased sig- European destinations such as Greece and fake cash-grabs will undermine legitimate investigations, where real holiday sickness Scandinavian, German as nificantly since the start of this year, when Cyprus, and also in the Caribbean. for news in Spain! can lead to long-term diswellTOP as Spanish citizens. ease.

There are several internationHe said: “Fraudulent holiday al schools nearby including sickness claims are on the the English International Colrise — we turn down four or lege and the German School.

LIDL has announced it is also on offer for €15. five cases we feel are bogus There are also several large bringing Serrano ham back to Lucinda Thompson, Buying each week ourselves. predominantly Scandinavian the UK for the festive period Manager and Lidl UK said: “The only thing this trend is apartment complexes nearby. following last year’s impres- “Our full size Serrano Ham going to do is push up the Just a stone’s throw from the RENFE will provide free WiFi cost of holidays by roughly sive sales. has proved a huge hit with Marriott resort, the Don Caron its high-speed trains from The budget supermarket shoppers across the UK, mak10% while punishing those los and other hotels, the EBC December 5. chain managed to sell 30,000 ing headlines and impressing who have genuine grievancis located on the side of the The Sevilla-Madrid route will full-sized Serrano ham legs in taste tests since we introes with tour operators.

Marbella highway, the N340. be first to receive the upgrade, across the festive period in duced it into stores.

“We estimate there are with all 89 high-speed routes 2015.

“We’re excited to launch around 25,000 fraudulent getting free internet access claims for holiday sickness This year it is offering a 7.5kg the mini version just in by the end of next year. Pas- per year. leg, which can fetch over time for the festive seasengers who are not part of “Criminal charges need to be €800 in upmarket son so even more people the system’s free loyalty pro- brought. Until that happens, stores, for just €34. can indulge in this tradigramme will have to pay €4.

A mini 1kg version is tional Spanish staple.” we all suffer.”

Common Jamon

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On the line

NEWS IN BRIEF

Number one

SPAIN has been named the number one holiday destination in the world in a global poll by travel agents On The Beach.

Booze hike CIGARETTES, alcohol and diesel fuel could be hit with price increases after the centre-right Ciudadanos party stated it would support the PP hiking up taxes on them in its 2017 budget.

Corruption woe THE recession has seen Spaniards’ fears of corruption rise to record levels with a CIS poll showing 37.6% of respondents feel corruption and fraud are one of Spain’s main problems.

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BUSINESS

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Nov 23rd - Dec 6th

Good business MORE than 17 million Britons will have visited Spain this year, setting a new record.

Secretary of State for Tourism Isabel Borrego says the figure is an 11% increase on last year and shows the continued importance of the UK to Spain’s tourism industry.

Spain’s popularity has seen the number of staff employed in tourism increase by 4.8% year-on-year, accounting for 13.9% of all employment in Spain in 2016.

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ESCAPING the UK’s winter freeze for a week on the Costa del Sol is almost a rite of passage for British families.

And following a bumper summer season, Torremolinos has been named as the preferred winter sun destination for holidaying Brits this year.

Tour operator giants TUI and Jet2Holidays said there had been a 10% rise in people booking package holidays to the resort this winter season.

In an interview with the town’s mayor, TUI’s Director of Tourism, Mafie Vandeplassche, said one

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A decade of litigation

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I

t’s been a busy decade for Andalucia’s bravest, most campaigning, lawyer.

Antonio Flores at Lawbird is now well established as one of the good guys not scared to take on the establishment, politicians and fraudsters on behalf of his hundreds of clients around the region.

As well as regularly getting his cases to court and securing decent, financial victories for his clients, he also has a

Special report

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

Happy anniversary

To celebrate with the Olive Press’s special tenth anniversary, Antonio Flores of Lawbird picks out his Top Ten Legal cases

strong team of lawyers working in all sectors of law.

Frequently the subject of writs and never far from controversy, he has been threatened by numerous gangsters, mayors and conmen.

“But it does not phase me,” he ex-

plains. “It is all part of the job that I love and I have no intention of stopping now.”

Here are some of Lawbirds’ key cases over the last decade and one true honour:

Taking on the mayors

Lawbird announced a damaging expose on ex-Marbella mayor Maria Angeles Munoz last year when Antonio Flores alleged her failure to declare that she and expat husband Lars Broberg took out a €3.1 million equity release mortgage with Swiss bank Nordea in 2010.

The lawyer claimed she had investments in Luxembourg and Swede Broberg allegedly bought a 98% share in Gibraltarian company Crasel Limited, in 2003.

The release led to a big battle with Marbella town hall, which accused Lawbird of ‘professional misconduct’, however the case never went to court.

Flores insisted: “I have not been disrespectful towards her. I only said that she had either deliberately not declared her investments, or that she was a victim of the bank, like many others. I never made any indication which.”

Concerns were first raised about Munoz’s foreign dealings by a group established by Lawbird, called the Equity Release Victims Association (ERVA), made up of expats who have lost millions of euros through the bank.

Lawbird has since filed a complaint with Hacienda on behalf of ERVA’s members, affected by investments with Nordea Bank.

The case continues.

Exposing the fraudsters

Going after Goldman

HE had a long and chequered history on the Costa del Sol, before being locked up in the UK three years ago for a global male escort scam that raked in millions for his Fuengirola-based organisation.

But before this, Lawbird had managed to get a victory against serial conman Toni Muldoon in the Marbella courts.

After a 10-year investigation, Lawbird proved that Muldoon extracted millions from UK timeshare owners wanting to sell their properties.

After a group action in Malaga court on behalf of 190 UK victims, Muldoon was found guilty and given a two-year suspended sentence.

“What Muldoon was doing was ripping people off once and then he would have another company call people offering them legal services to recover the sum which they had lost. It was another scam,” explained Flores, who painstakingly went through hours of documents.

“He’s a clever guy, he’s able to run a business – with a structure with offices and staff and telephones. “He’s made millions over the years, for sure. I expect he hasn’t been stupid and has stashed away a lot of money.”

Lawbird is still pursuing his clients’ money from Muldoon and is hopeful of finally getting justice now that Muldoon is reportedly back on the Costa del Sol.

HE was one of the most famous serial fraudsters the Spanish costas has even known.

With a string of dodgy investment scams Nigel Goldman - aka Howard del Monte raked in millions from unsuspecting victims, schmoozing them with champagne and promises.

The larger than life figure bought an air of respectability through his restaurant column in a downmarket coastal newspaper.

And, of course, victims had no idea that they were being wined and dined alongside a string of convicted criminals that Goldman had met during his three spells in prison for previous frauds.

Alongside the Olive Press, Lawbird quickly got involved and is currently representing a number of victims in the Spanish courts, including one expat couple who claim Goldman owes them around 640,000 euros.

Dozens of complaints have been filed with the Marbella National Police since he vanished in December 2013 and Lawbird believes he owes up to 3 million euros. The firm is currently awaiting for an arrest warrant to be served on Goldman and hopes to have him in court in Spain early next year.

Boiler room battle Antonio Flores has won his libel case against boiler room bandit Fabian Marcelo Ramirez.

The courts ruled that he had every right under freedom of expression laws to dub him a ‘swindler and ‘crook’.

The ruling came in a long fight Lawbird has been waging against legal boiler rooms, also known as recovery rooms.

Legal victory We are happy to announce that Lawbird has joined the Legal 500 index, following an invitation we have received from their staff.

Legal 500 is the world’s leading legal referral site. It offers the definitive judgement of law firm capabilities.

We are proud that the Legal 500 recognises Lawbird as a firm worth recommending in Málaga.

Off plan victory

Lawbird has been instrumental in fighting on behalf of clients who were mis sold off-plan properties in Spain.

Earlier this year, Banco Popular, BBVA, Banco Mare Nostrum and Valencian building society S.G.R. were ordered to pay over 2 million euros, plus interest, to 40 British investors represented by the legal firm.

The rulings were all received on the same day and refer to investors who had paid large deposits on off-plan properties in Alicante and Murcia.

Last year, the company won another court case against

35

“It is great to have worked with the Olive Press over all these years and I am just delighted there is, at least, one newspaper here that has the same way of thinking as me… the little guy, indeed everyone, has the right to get even.”

Antonio Flores, Lawbird

Rattling the Rothschilds Lawbird is close to getting one of Europe’s richest men, Baron David de Rothschild, to face charges over an equity release loan scheme, brought into by more than 130 pensioners.

An investigating judge in Paris is now studying reams of documents in French, before likely ordering the financier to court.

It was thanks to Lawbird, via Denia court, that the Rothschild Financial Services Group was accused of falsely advertising the scheme.

Baron David de Rothschild was indicted in France over the allegations last year, after victims – mostly expats living in Spain –

hired Lawbird in a class action.

Rothschild’s product, the Credit Select Series Mortgage Loan, was sold to pensioners as a legal means to reduce the value of their homes for inheritance tax mitigation purposes.

However, the Spanish Tax Agency ruled that such a scheme constitutes fraud, and Flores believes that Rothschild should be held accountable.

“In short, independently of what happened to the investment, Rothschild advertised a loan aimed at reducing inheritance tax, which is a breach of tax law,” he said.

The Rothschild Group has so far failed to comment.

Bashing the banks

LAWBIRD has spent years exposing and investigating banks suspicious equity release schemes.

The tax authorities confirmed to the legal firm that such schemes for Spanish property are not valid for tax mitigation purposes.

Lawbird is representing around 100 victims, mostly British, in getting money back from the banks, that include Nordea, Danske, Landsbanki, Jyske and Nykredit.

“The Tax Office’s response represents a boost for the victims demonstrating that they were victims of a scam and not accomplices to an alleged fraud,” explained Flores.

According to the victims, the strategy was to scare them with unbearable tax consequences should they not do anything with their unencumbered properties.

The schemes were mostly launched between 2004 and 2008 and Lawbird calculates that over 500 couples could be affected, most of them pensioners. The total sum of funds taken out to Luxembourg could reach 250 million euros.

Murcia magic A Court in Madrid recently ordered that Caja de Ahorros de Murcia must return over €400,000 in deposits paid by British investors after a Lawbird lawsuit.

It came after the bank took deposits to finance an off-plan development at the Urbanizadora Costa Palatinum/Proyectos Anteleresort.

Lawbird sued the developer in Murcia hoping that the Judge

Cajasol and the developer Manilva Costa in Estepona court, winning 600,000 euros for 11 British clients.

And this month a court in Madrid awarded six off-plan property buyers a total of 400,000 euros, after a bank guarantee claim was filed against BBVA bank, the second largest in Spain.

The court found against the bank as a result of the existence of a collective bank guarantee issued by the bank, despite no individual guarantees being available for each investor.

took notice of the fact that while the construction of this development was being aborted – with no mention of returning deposits - a newer project was being proposed in Venezuela.

The case was dismissed but the ruse worked as the developer made full disclosure and revealed documents that had been out of reach, including bank guarantees issued by Caja Murcia for the development.

With this document in hand, we filed a case in Madrid (avoiding Murcia) against Caja Murcia demanding the return of off-plan deposits, based on the 57/1968 Act on Off-Plan Property Down Payments.

The Court, on hearing the parties, upheld the allegations and ruled in favour of the clients, ordering Caja Murcia to make a full refund of the capital, plus interest.

36

www.theolivepress.es

BREXIT Bulletin

Sponsored by

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

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November 23rd - December 6th 2016

Members club A LUXEMBOURG MEP is calling for Remainers in the UK to be allowed to become ‘associate members’ to the EU. Charles Goerens, from the Democratic Party of Luxembourg, has argued that those in Britain who want to stay in the union should be able to pay for membership by contributing directly to the EU budget.

“An associate membership could provide all the rights of full European citizenship, for example the right to freedom of movement, access to healthcare in the EU and the right to reside in EU member states,” he said.

Unbelievable

Almost half a million euros of EU money spent by UKIP on Leave campaign

NIGEL FARAGE has denied that UKIP misspent €500,000 of EU funding on trying to win the Brexit vote and electing MPs. An external audit has found that the right-wing party broke spending rules by diverting taxpayers’ cash to its polling ahead of the EU referendum and in key target con-

stituencies for the 2015 general election, including the Thanet South seat that Farage unsuccessfully ran for.

“We’ve been expecting this for years. We are in an environment where rules are willfully interpreted as suits,” Farage said.

“I’ve understood absolutely the rules. This is pure victimisation. I am the most investigated MEP in history. Look at what the pro-EU groups were spending.”

Rules state that EU funding can only be spent on a party’s activities at a European level, not on

Brief By Charles Gomez

People power

N

ONE of us remember life before we were born but many of us should recall a time when the European Union did not exist in its present form. Millennials and those born at the end of Generation X (i.e. 1980’s 2000) can consult their history books and older people with bad memories can do so too.

The fact is that there was a time before Brussels ruled Europe when countries in our extended and highly successful family of nations traded with each other and were able to deliver to their respective populations the highest standards of living in the world.

This is not the place to enter into a one sided discussion on why it is that even as the EU has become more powerful, Europe has lost its competitive advantage not just to the US and Japan but also to China and in several respects India too.

This column is intended to look at more practical outcomes post Brexit.

Thus, Donald Trump’s victory in this month’s Presidential Election suggests that the United Kingdom may now become the US’s preferred trading partner over and above the EU. A week is indeed a long time in politics.

Closer to home, there are interesting developments in the relationship between Gibraltar which is likely to withdraw from the EU together with the UK on the one hand and staunchly grateful, pro EU Spain.

The dismissal of the aggressively anti-Gibraltarian Spanish Foreign Minister Margallo promises a return to common sense. Politicians in the Spanish areas near Gibraltar and even further afield, possibly as far away as the Castilian heartlands appear to be considering whether it might not be a good idea after all, post Brexit, to encourage good neighbourly relations.

Javier Sanchez Rojas, the president of the Cadiz Business Confederation last week highlighted the importance of “quantifying” the benefits to both sides of good commercial relationships on either side of the Frontier. He referred to the Fletcher report commissioned by the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce in 2015 which found that Gibraltar is responsible for one in four jobs in the Campo de Gibraltar and 25% of its GDP. Sanchez Rojas said that there should be a similar impact study on how much Gibraltar benefits from fluidity in business with the neighbouring region.

The knock-on effects of the Brexit vote

He is right to do so. It is as wrong headed for Gibraltarians to ignore our ties with the hinterland as it was for Mr Margallo to look down his nose at Gibraltar.

This really is a time for governments to stand back and settle for facilitating, as opposed to obstructing, free movement of ideas, people and business in a sustainable way for the benefit of the hundreds of thousands of people who live in this part of Southern Iberia.

The maximization of use of the Gibraltar airport, cooperation among the ports of Gibraltar and Algeciras, the development of a joint tourism product, coordination by the universities, schools, training centres, hospitals, clinics and a long etcetera are what politicians must now focus on.

None of these common sense aims require membership of the European Union.

In recent times there has been a groundswell of activity among trades unions, business associations and citizens’ groups on both sides of the Gibraltar / La Linea Frontier aimed at strengthening neighbourly links via the creation of European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation. At this summer’s Cadiz University seminars held in San Roque and the University of Gibraltar Campus, Dr. Martin Guillermo of the European Association of Frontier Regions, based in Berlin explained that regardless of Brexit, institutional cooperation of the kind promoted by his high powered organization would survive the UK’s withdrawal from the EU when it comes to cross-border agreements involving Gibraltar.

If by some quirk of fate the UK does remain (and with it Gibraltar) then well and good but we do not elect politicians to be professional doomsayers.

They stand for election and are voted in to provide or at least facilitate solutions to challenges. Even as they thunder about whether or not and how and when Article 50 is implemented, the powers that be must have the vision and courage to promote practical regional cooperation. Already there are some encouraging noises coming from various political leaders but more must be done or allowed to be done and the pace needs to quicken.

Readers of the Olive Press are invited to discuss this or any other legal matter with Charles Gomez by emailing charles@gomezco.gi

Sticking to his guns JOSE Garcia-Margallo has insisted Spain will still attempt to deny Gibraltar a voice in Brexit negotiations despite his replacement suggesting otherwise.

Margallo was asked to comment on his country’s position after the newly appointed foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, failed to mention the issue in his first meeting with his UK counterpart Boris Johnson, leading many to speculate that it is no longer a priority.

“I’ve spoken to him and he knows perfectly well when this match is going to be played,” Margallo said.

“No one can even contemplate a country having a colony inside the EU, no one can contemplate such a thing.”

Margallo said he was confident Spain would block any attempt by the UK to include Gibraltar within the scope of the Brexit negotiations.

“In the last five years while I’ve been minister, we have vetoed everything that related to Gibraltar, I don’t see why this wouldn’t continue to be the case.”

campaigns on a domestic level.

If the audit is confirmed, the party – currently cash strapped after moving out of its London headquarters – will have to repay €170,000 and will be barred from collecting any further funds from Brussels.

The audit discovered that the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE) – a European political grouping led by UKIP – financed polling in the UK between February and December in 2015.

The lion’s share of the polling was found to be ‘conducted in the interest of UKIP’, with €450,000 of the €500,000 being used by the party.

The audit claims the money was used to fund polling in Great Grimsby and Thurrock, Rochester and Strood and Cardiff South and Penarth, which were all UKIP target seats at the last general election in the UK. THE MAJORITY of British After the election, UKIP businesses will not reduce used the funds to contheir investment in Spain duct several EU referdespite Brexit, according endum attitude polls to a new poll. across Britain.

A reassuring 64% of UKThe party is reportedly based firms with Spanfurious the audit was ish interests are happy leaked before it had a to keep the status quo, chance to see it, suggestaccording to a study by ing it was leaked by the Spanish company AnalisEuropean Parliament ittas Financieros Internaself. cionales (AFI).

However, 30% said they would reduce investments because of the vote.

A further eight per cent stated they would increase BRITISH tourist spending has increased in Spain dethem, when questioned. spite Brexit.

The UK is Spain’s third UK visitors spent 15% more in the country in the three largest foreign invesmonths after the June vote than in the same period in tor and in 2014 created 2015.

160,000 jobs in the counThey were responsible for driving €1.833m into the try while adding €6.1m to economy, which accounts for 22% spent in Spain by public coffers. people from abroad.

Businesses said they inThe bumper effect was most noticeable in the most popular destinations for UK residents -Valencia, the vested in Spain due to Canaries and Andalucia. the favourable business There, spending by Brits rose by 17.6%, 12.1% and climate, expertise and its 2.8% respectively. links to South America.

Investment status quo for business

Tourist boom

Guess who’s back...

TONY BLAIR has denied claims that he is planning a political comeback to influence Brexit negotiations because he thinks the Tories are ‘screwing it up’ and that Jeremy Corbyn is a ‘nutter’.

The former Labour prime minister, who, according to a source, thinks Theresa May is a ‘lightweight’, has labelled reports that he has set up an institute near Whitehall as ‘wholly untrue.’

He has confirmed however that he is keeping his ‘options open’ over Brexit.

Eurosceptics are pleased at the thought of a Blair intervention, arguing that he will only embolden Brexiteers.

Former Conservative environment secretary Owen Paterson said: “This is glorious news. He is one of those discredited establishment figures who repels many people. For this, he must win the international prize for lack of self-awareness this year.”

Blair will make an announcement regarding his potential new role in politics in the New Year.

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Columnists

40

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

40

Nov23rd - Dec 6th 2016

Puss-onality cat

How to make millions from a moggie

and you could be putting a lot more away in the kitty than the £250 You’ve Been Framed pays.

It makes me highly pussed-off to realise that my ticket to early retirement ’M thinking of auditioning for a cat. and a dream holiday in the Maldives There are felines out there earning was sitting right in front of me ... for 16 nine figure salaries for their huyears. Alas, Greystoke is swinging on mans. It doesn’t sound fur real but door handles in heaven now – which is just ask Patricia Carlin, author of How how he opened them, single-pawed. I’d to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity: be sound asleep and after a few clunkA Guide to Financial Freedom. clicks (cat leaping at bedroom door, Your pet doesn’t even have to be talentpaws slipping off handle), he’d come ed to get onto the Furbes (sic) Rich List. flying through with a piercing yowl like Take Keyboard Cat, a video of a ginger Tarzan of the jungle. I thought it was tom dressed in a blue shirt ‘playing’ an a burglar the first time and actually it electronic keyboard that went viral in was. A cat burglar.

2007, although the cat was in fact dead If I’d had the presence of mind to video (since 1987). His pawformance was enit, we could all have been eating kobi tirely computer-manipulated. beefsteak dinners by now, like Lil Bub. Nevertheless Fatso, as he was called, The runt of a feral litter, she hit the big earned his American owner furnomtime in 2011 because of her cute, bugenal sums from his mew-sical turn – eyed perma-kitten look, the happy result over 45 million views, and counting – along with puss-thumous cameo roles There are two million cat videos circu- of a debilitating bone condition called in Hawaii Five-0 and Teenage Mutant lating on YouTube, averaging 12,000 osteopetrosis (and that is not a pun.) views each. Get the advertising right Bub produced a single for Breeders guiNinja Turtles. tarist Kelley Deal, interviewed Michelle Obama on her YouTube channel and has met Robert De Niro, hiss spit.

But for the Kim Kardashian of the kitty world, (net worth, not looks) Grumpy Cat takes the Friskies biscuit (and they endorse her). Born in 2012, GC had clawed in $100m by the time she was two. Her sourpuss face, caused by feline dwarfism and an underbite, has proved to be her fortune. And this New York magazine cover gal’s got it all – the agent, the New York Times best-seller, the Facebook page with over seven million licks (I mean likes), an animatronic waxwork at The impact of The Donald’s shock US presidential victory Madame Tussauds, even her own brand of beverage – Grumppuccino coffee.

I

The Olive Press Insider’s Guide

www.allaboutandalucia.com

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There is a whole new way to discover Andalucia @allaboutandalucia @aboutandalucia @allaboutandalucia All about Andalucia

Top Trumped

WANTED to keep this column a Trump-free zone but it’s going to be a hard ask. Because, if you are as much of a social media animal as I am, the shock of The Donald’s election has been a veritable tsunami, setting friends and family against each other in a way not seen since the American Civil War. A mate of mine was over the moon about the Trump result. Born in London, my Jewish friend grew up in Marbella and partied hard with me in the 80s. Then, in the biggest Road to Damascus conversion since Saul, he discovered God, moved to the States and became both an American citizen and a Christian preacher. Hr threw himself into Trump’s election campaign in the way that only a newly-arrived immigrant can, talking about the fact that God would vote Trump and that Donald was the only way to save ‘this great nation of ours’.

A gifted artist, he pulled off the even more miraculous task of painting a huge Donald Trump portrait, complete with Stars and Stripes flag and American Eagle, and making him look heroic. Even the toupee had zealous sheen.

Needless to say, since the election I haven’t checked out his social media. I’m scared that he might be working on a Triumphant Trump Triptych, probably featuring the family, in a bid to become painter to the Court of Donald.

Perhaps it was just me, but when Trump took to the stage to acknowledge his victory with his family, I was struck by the uncanny resemblance of his youngest son, Baron, to both Dameon from ‘The Omen’ and a young Mr Burns from ‘The Simpsons’.

Another old friend from school, now also living in the States, flew over from L.A. It had been a least a decade since she had been in Marbella, and so we organised a mini reunion in a friend’s restaurant. We were soon all catching up and reminiscing about old days, favourite teachers and events that, for various moral/legal reasons, I am unable to divulge in my column. Safe to say we were soon rolling back the years and behaving like the big kids that we are, much to the embarrassment of the pre-teens and teenagers that had been dragged to the restaurant by my friends.

It was something of a novel role reversal, with the parents misbehaving and running around the place like four-year-olds on a massive sugar rush, while their kids shook their heads or blocked out the chaos on their mobiles! + 34 675 314 678 Marbella, Spain

Talent

We do have one surviving cat. But Blue is way too long in her two remaining teeth to show any interest in the performing arts or winning a Golden Kitty at the Cat Video Festival (unless it’s made of Catisfaction cat treats from Carrefour). Last year’s festival at Minnesota State Fair outsold Depeche Mode!

So I’m talent-scouting for a male moggie with cattitude. He doesn’t need to be purrfect in the looks department; he can even be smelly, like the cat that made a fortune for Friends’ Lisa Kudrow – although as I am a cat lover I draw the line at dead, even if a passedon puss does have a certain ‘ex-factor’.

I could even get two of them and reform The Pet Shop Boys!

www.theolivepress.es

Gud news MERCEDES-BENZ has announced it will make its first ever pick-up truck in Spain.

The X-Class will be the first time a premium German automaker has entered into the pick-up market, which has become one of the most lucrative in the car industry.

The new model will be made at the Nissan plant in Barcelona for the European, Australian and South African markets.

World tour CAR manufacturers in Spain are offloading an increasing number of motors to countries outside the EU. A 176% increase since 2009 has seen Spanish manufacturers target the US, Turkey and Algeria in particular, as well as South Korea and Mexico.

A total of 455,958 cars were exported outside the EU in the last year, compared to just 164,946 seven years ago.

motors

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

Top parts

Limo crackdown ILLEGAL limousine companies are being targeted by Spain’s traffic authorities.

A rise in the number of unlicensed limo drivers has prompted official companies to complain about their illegal competitors.

As a result 40 limousines have been clamped in Madrid alone in the last two months.

A FLEET of 23 Lamborghini Miuras has rallied to Andalucia to commemorate 50 years since the creation of the first model.

Ferruccio Lamborghini launched the mid-engined masterpiece in 1966, naming it after a formidable breed of bull reared since the 19th century by the Miura family in Andalucia.

The Miura was a colourful icon of the 1960s and 70s and was loved by oil sheikhs and pop stars alike.

The 50th anniversary rally was designed to bring together the greatest selection of the sports car and return them to their ‘spiritual home’.

Simon Kidston, a Miura owner and rally organiser, said: “Nobody will deny that this event has been an opportunity for some very lucky Miura owners to enjoy their cars to the full on some great roads, but we

Rallying home

Supercars return to where they were first conceived

also wanted to capture the moment in evocative images; ones that provide a fitting new chapter in the car’s history.”

The rally visited the Miura ranch near Sevilla, where

41 41 41

thoroughbred cattle have been bred since 1842 Lamborghini himself had made the same visit many decades ago to meet the then head of the Miura family, Don Eduardo.

Kidston and his team have created an online resource for the car, and are in the final stages of creating a luxury book on the model, which is penned for release in 2017.

SCRIMPING on second-hand car parts can save you time and money in the short term but Original Equipment Manufactured (OEM) parts will last the test of time and offer you peace of mind.

That is why insurance company Linea Director only use OEM parts made by car manfacturers.

They are brand new, usually more expensive and sometimes take longer to order. But they are a no brainer.

Body shops love them because they fit perfectly and install easy.

Línea Directa is the only insurance company that guarantees the use of OEM parts in their repairer network.

The is no other insurance company in Spain that guarantees the exclusive use of OEM parts in their repairer network.

For more info call 902 123 282 or visit www.lineadirecta. com

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November 23rd - December 6th 2016

Food, drink & travel www.theolivepress.es

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November 23rd - December 6th 2016

43

with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

Not mushroom for error CHEAP: Sevilla’s coffee

Coffee index SEVILLA is the fifth cheapest city in the world to buy a coffee.

The coffee price index has ranked 75 major cities around the globe on the price of their average cup of joe.

Service Partner ONE compared how much a cup costs in the office, the local Starbucks, in the average coffee shop and how much one costs at home to work out the average for each city.

It found that an average cup in Sevilla costs just €1.51 compared to London’s €1.89 and Madrid’s €1.78, who placed 32nd and 21st.

The cheapest city to buy coffee is in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, where an average cup sets you back 98 cents, followed by Sao Paulo and the capital of Peru Lima, where average cups of coffee cost 99 cents and €1.38 respectively.

A NEW foraging booklet will help foodies avoid poisonous mushrooms.

Twenty of the most common species of fungi are identified in the publication, 10 of which are toxic. The pamphlet, soon to be released in Casares, will be complete with photographs of each, along

The five day event will showcase the region’s best gastronomy delights FOODIES better widen their belts ahead of a huge food and drink fair.

The annual Gran Feria Sabor a Malaga will return to the city from December 2 to 6 to offer people a taste of the best products from the region.

Free tastings and workshops will be on offer at the free to attend event in the Plaza del Toros from noon to 9pm each day.

Products on offer will include food such as special meats, sweets and jam.

Visitors, who last year numbered almost 40,000, will also be able to try wines and sherries crowned winners by a special panel of event judges.

Sabor a Malaga is a quality mark given to regional products that meet certain criteria.

It was created by the Diputación de Málaga in 2012, which said it has helped boost the growth of the number of agri-food companies and exports by 50%.

with descriptions of their main features.

It has been created to mark the arrival of the mushroom season. While mushrooms have not traditionally featured in Casares cuisine, collection of them by local people and tourists alike has become widespread over recent years.

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TWO Spanish cheeses narrowly missed out on top spot in the 29th annual World Cheese Championships.

Held in San Sebastian, Cala Blanc from Lacto Industrial Menorquina and Cremositos Del Zujar both scored 67 out of a possible 80 to finish as runners up.

They beat entries from 31 countries from Mexico to Mozambique, but lost to a Norwegian blue cheese called Kraftkar which managed to score 71.

Some 266 experts from 26 countries tasted, smelled and graded the entries in a single day.

They worked in teams of four and each of the 66 teams nominated one exceptional cheese for super gold status.

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GOAT owners in Malaga have been left furious after the price of their animals’ milk almost halved in the past two years.

In 2014, farmers were receiving 88 cents for every litre of goat milk, but this figure has now dropped significantly to 47 cents.

Malaga has 230,000 goats, whose milk is often seen as a more nutritional alternative to cows’ milk.

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951 560 905 / 685 218 054 Please mention The Local when responding to advertisements Page 89

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Food, drink & travel

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

Nov 23rd - Dec 6th 2016

FOOD PORN

It’s easily one of the most colourful countries in the world for dining...

Now Dining Secrets of Andalucia.com has its own Instagram feed to promote our very best original food photos from around the region.

Here are just a few:

Your word counts

Dining Secrets of Andalucia is after your own local restaurant reviews

I

tive rac p e t In ma

F you’ve tasted a steak tartar that you can’t stop thinking about or gobbled a tuna tataki that left you vomiting then Dining Secrets of Andalucia wants to know about it!

As well as our own expert reviews, Dining Secrets is keen to hear what the people of Andalucia think about their local eateries.

With an inbuilt review system, it has never been so easy to have your say.

A scoring system allows users to rate everything from food, service, price and location, as well as atmosphere and facilities.

Featured at the bottom of each ‘In Boca’ review on the website, written user reviews are gathering pace as more and more diners share their experiences.

To have your say visit www.diningsecretsofandalucia.com

For those watching the pennies, Dining secrets of Andalucia picks out its...

Top 5 for value

La Castilleria Vejer de la Frontera

Patria, Vejer de la Frontera, Cádiz THIS Danish-run gem in rural La Muela, near Vejer, is really making the most of Andalucia’s climate, using the freshest locally-sourced ingredients such as Barbate tuna, and of course, Iberico ham. Its menu is relatively small, but the fact it changes every few weeks is a guarantee that Thomas and Ase are working hard to provide their hungry customers with treats combining the season’s best ingredients.

When the weather allows it, diners can enjoy an outside meal in Patria’s garden, with fabulous views over the sea and a swing which will be popular with children. Patria’s off-season weekend lunch buffet is great for with vegetarians, with its range of fresh salads, soup, cheeses and breads – and also charcuterie and fish dishes for carnivores.

As you’d expect the wine is great quality, and all food is made completely from scratch, including the bread served with olive oil at the start of your meal.

Mesón La Molienda Benalauría, Málaga

Quercus Jimera de Líbar

Casa el Padrino Huelva

FOR some time Quercus has been the pot of gold at the end of one of the best walks in Andalucia. Dubbed Mr Henderson's Railway walk, the path follows the ancient branch line as it inches its way uphill into the Ronda mountains from Algeciras.

Built by British engineers in the 19th century, what they certainly didn't have was a stopping off point as good as this. Beautifully renovated, this former station has a roaring fire in winter, and is tastefully decorated with interesting antiques and solid oak beams.

Run by two local ladies (Maria Luisa Martin and Pepa Garcia) the place has a really healthy menu, comprising mostly local food, and many of the restaurant's vegetables from their own huerta.

AT Casa Padrino – or the Godfather's House – little has changed for centuries.

In the heart of the lovely old town of Alajar, this 16th century manor house is something of a living museum, its crooked old beams, undulating barro floors and hand-carved doors all left exactly as they were back then.

At the back an old compound and patio full of free range chickens and pigs gives the true feel of the past. There are three dining rooms, each with their own charms, especially in winter when big roaring fires are lit.

International Tapas • Wraps • Salads Cocktails • Smoothies • Pizzas

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BRING on the summer! The warm sea air floating inland towards the rolling bull-rearing plains of inland Cadiz.

But before you reach the sun parched slopes en route between Vejer and Medina Sidonia you find this hidden valley, a green oasis thanks to an ancient Roman aquaduct that has watered it for centuries. The ancient track winds up into the hills, past a local bar and a series of stylish homes until you eventually find a row of steps and a small sign for Castilleria. Up here in a shady nook you will find perhaps one of Spain's most alluring outdoor restaurants.

RESTORED olive mills might be ten to the pound in Andalucia, but few match up to the charms of La Molienda. Sitting in the heart of one of the Serrania de Ronda's prettiest white villages, the ancient Arabic settlement of Benalauria, this is a must visit for food and architecture lovers.

Well preserved with its 18th century stone walls, floorboards and much of the original milling apparatus still intact, the views go almost all the way to the Sierra Nevada. There is a charming sun trap terrace for Spring and Autumn and expect a roaring fire for winter.

Food, drink & travel

www.theolivepress.es When a new Michelinstyle dining concept popped up in Estepona for one night only, Rob Horgan was at the head of the queue

W

HEN I was invited to Healy Mac’s in Estepona Port for a night of fine dining, I thought to myself, ‘why not, they do a good chicken goujon’.

What I was not expecting was eightcourses of haute cuisine, prepared to perfection by a chef who honed his skills at some of the best Michelinstarred restaurants in the world.

Irish couple Andrew Kelly and Laura Healy chose Estepona for the global inauguration of their mobile pop-up eatery Roots, a concept they plan to take worldwide. And for one night only they were shooting for the stars with an inventive menu that piled on the wow factor.

Inspired by nature, and the origin of ingredients which ‘gives every dish a story’, their trick is in sourcing only local organic ingredients devoid of harmful chemicals for their mobile global menus.

Laura’s expertise in natural sciences comes in handy while Andrew draws on his experience at restaurants worldwide including three-Michelinstarred Alinea in Chicago and Noma in Copenhagen, voted best restaurant on the planet four times over.

The meal was like an opera in eight acts, beginning with a refreshing overture of beer-battered prawn in a

Celebrate

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November 23rd - December 6th 2016

Setting up Roots

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November 23rd - December 6th 2016

PRECISION: Serving up

KITCHEN CREW: Fine-dining at Healy Macs

pear puree with chives, accompanied by an exotic pear bellini, rising to a sweet crescendo of orange chocolate mousse smothered in greek yoghurt and orange ice.

Dish two, an unctuous but alarmingly filling Guinness bread with maple butter had me worried I’d never last the course. But the courgette, cucumber and mint gazpacho served with sea salt and a sprinkle of red onions in

Christmas

and

New

Year’s Eve at Castillo de Monda

This festive season join us for a wonderful XMas lunch or dinner with your loved ones. Or join the big party on New Year’s Eve with live music, DJ, fire works and a 12 course walking dinner!

For more information: www.castillodemonda.com

cute red pots kept everyone glued to their seats as they sampled this delicious twist on a popular Spanish dish.

The curtain then rose on salt-baked celeriac with heart of leek, whipped cream, pickled celery and leek ash.

Incredibly tender and tasty, the different components complemented one another perfectly.

As the kitchen tuned up each act, Andrew stood at the head of the table like a conductor, explaining how each course had been put together, heightening the drama.

Finally we arrived at the mains: the

salmon tartare, cured for 24 hours in lemon, grapefruit and orange juices, was the biggest hit with diners at my table. Five courses in, a citrus hit to rekindle the appetite was just what was needed.

Then came a ‘cheeky burger’ made with meltin-the-mouth pork cheek although the filling Irish potato bread bun seemed a bridge too far at this stage of the game.

Before dessert there was even a cheese course - a ball of goat’s cheese topped with a parmesan crisp, leek, shallot rings, pickled red

onion and chive oil.

And if that wasn’t enough, there were e s p r e s s o martinis all round for t h e road, winding up an amazing night of fine dining.

Andrew and Laura are returning to their own roots to run a pop-up event at the Breaffy Resort in Andrew’s native County of Mayo.

After that, who knows? The world is their organic oyster!

For more information visit www.rootspopuprestaurant.com

46

golf

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Teeing off SAN Roque’s Alvaro Quiros will be one of the most famous golfers attempting to get onto next year’s European Tour at the qualifying school.

He will battle it out with the likes of Italy’s Edoardo Molinari over a gruelling six rounds at the PGA Catalunya course.

Quiros, who has won six times on The European Tour, will have his endurance tested by playing 108 holes.

Mike Stewart, the European Tour’s qualifying school director, said: “A qualifying school final stage venue needs first-class practise facilities, excellent on-site accommodation but above all 36 holes that present a fair and demanding test. Whatever their status – and their success – we know every player in the field will respect the challenge PGA Catalunya Resort presents.

“That we have chosen PGA Catalunya Resort to host Final Qualifying since 2008, over some truly impressive options, is a measure of the regard we hold for this venue.”

On a roll

SPAIN’S Rafael Cabrera Bello is rising up the world rankings.

The 32-year-old has gone from strength to strength after finishing in a tied fifth at the summer’s Rio Olympics, just eight shots behind gold-medal-winner Justin Rose.

He has had eight top-five finishes among the European and PGA tours this season and has risen to number 26 in the World Ranking.

Speaking on his recent success, he said he has worked hard on his mental game while making a swing change that has improved his ball-striking - he now hits better than 75% of greens in regulation on the European Tour.

After playing in the Ryder Cup - and fulfilling a dream - earlier this year, Bello has said he is looking forward to claiming his first major in 2017.

IN THE SWING: Garcia

Holding out

WINNER: Ciganda’s second Tour title

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Two LGPA Tour wins in one month for Spain’s top woman golfer SPAIN’S Carlota Ciganda has won her second LPGA Tour title in Mexico.

The 26-year-old, from Pamplona, beat America’s Austin Ernst and Angela Stanford with a two-shot victory at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico City.

The vict o r y c o m e s just four w e e k s after winning her first ever LPGA Tour title in South Korea.

“I am very happy to be here and to get my second victory,” said a beaming Ciganda. “It’s wonderful to play here in Mexico and I honestly don’t have

any words.

“I love the golf course, the people, and it’s an honour to be here. I’ve been playing really good all year long and to end this year with these two victories gives me a lot of confidence, I am very happy.”

Ciganda climbed t h r e e spots to 13th on the LPGA m o n e y list and remained 23rd in the women’s world rankings.

She added: “I just have to follow this same path, same strategy, and enjoy ... I’m just excited about going back to Spain and celebrating with family and friends.”

SERGIO GARCIA has said he is refusing to give up on claiming a first elusive major.

The Spaniard has finished runner-up twice at both the British Open and PGA Championship and has had 22 top-10 finishes in the majors, but has never managed to snatch the prize.

“When you have a lot of misses there’s obviously always a little dent in the bumper in your car.

It’s just a matter of having that week where everything happens,” Garcia said.

“You feel really comfortable and you feel like it’s your week. I’m still giving myself a lot of chances in a lot of majors and the most important thing is if I keep giving myself chances, then I’ll keep getting possibilities.”

The 36-year-old, who tied for fifth at the US and British Opens this year, added: “I still believe, because I still show that I can play great golf and I still show that I have a lot of consistency.

As long as I have that, the belief is always going to be there.”

Furry invasion THE European Tour had to be halted after a 20-strong pack of mongooses ran across the green.

Players looked on in anguish, fearing their balls would be kicked out of position, but amazingly the furry creatures managed to avoid disturbing a single one.

The mongooses wouldn’t be the first animal visitors to the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa.

The 221-square mile park lies on the edge of the Pilanesberg Game Reserve, home to lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants and more.

The Early Bird

Breakfast before or after play 18 holes of golf inc buggy hire 55€ per person Tee times available every morning from 08:00 hrs to 10:30 hrs October to December 2016 Call us to book today or email information@esteponagolf.com

-final of Spanish TV talent show 3065 views

Sport

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GIBRALTAR Gaels stormed to level on four points with Costa a crushing 6-14,MayfairSportsBar 2-16 win over Gaels, who have played a game Eire Og Sevilla in the Andalu- less. cian League. play Sevilla on Tel:footballers 632 56 33 Costa 38 Gaels The Rock’s Gaelic December 3 before the top-of Calle deto Sabinillas, 22, clash between Gibraltar came from behind secureLocal table a stunning victory goingEstepona Gaels and Costa Gaels on DeUrb. Elafter Pilar 29680 behind 1-9 to 1-6. cember 10 concludes league The result puts Gibraltar Gaels fixtures before Christmas.

CRISTIANO RONALDO is to become the first billionaire footballer after increasing his yearly salary to €100 million.

His two new contracts our app now and with Download Real Madrid and enjoying the bestNike Spanish sportsbegin clothing brand will rake him in around news on the go. €29,000 a day, or €12,000 an hour.

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new manager almost took Molineux job

The five-year contract with Madrid comes with a life-long deal with Nike the first of its kind. new manager JuThe global OlivesportsPressSPAIN’S The leading len Lopetegui almost took wear brand believes that the vacant Wolves job TOP forglobal news popuin Spain! the player’s over the summer, he has larity and status as the revealed. world’s most followed sports star on social media Legendary will bring in unprecedentLopetegui, who replaced ed revenue.

The 31-year-old double the legendary Vicente Del FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Bosque in July, was workhas also said he will play ing alongside a Chinese for Madrid well into his firm aiming to buy the forties, which at €50 mil- West Midlands club this lion a year would see him summer. net €500 million by the The Spaniard was ready to turn his back on Pretime he is 41.

Dances with Wolves mier League offers to join Wolves, but the lure of the national job was too much

New deal BARCELONA’S Circuit de Catalunya has signed a five-year contract extension to host rounds of the MotoGP world championships.

The circuit has been on the calendar since 1992 and is a home race for Spain's triple world champions Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo.

Spain currently has four races on the calendar with the MotorLand Aragon track and Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit. Both also signed up until 2021 while Jerez remains on the 2017 calendar.

to resist for the former Spain U-21 manager.

“When the federation called, naturally my objective became the national team, but it’s true that before that [Wolves and I] had been working hand in hand for some time,” Lopetegui said.

“There were offers from the Premier League but their project was espe-

New balls, please

cially attractive. It was very close but in the end it wasn’t to be.

“Wolves is a great club, where there would be significant investment and a desire to grow, to shine again.”

Lopetegui has travelled extensively to England since taking the national job, with 36 Spanish players in the Premier League.

DOUBLES star Feliciano Lopez insists Spain must get used to the demise of its male singles tennis stars.

For the first time since 1999 no Spaniards played in this month’s ATP World Tour Finals singles in London.

With Rafael Nadal losing out due to ongoing injury issues and David Ferrer turning 34, Spain’s golden era could be drawing to a close, 35-yearold Lopez fears.

"It's something that we have to accept, our tennis is not going to be successful forever," he said.

"Of course we were a bit spoiled. People in our country think we are going to be there forever and we will win everything.”

What a bunch of dopes A SPANISH weightlifter who finished fourth in the London 2012 Olympics is set to win a gold medal after rivals were fingered in a doping scandal.

Lydia Valentín is in line for the top medal after the International Olympics Committee stripped six weightlifters of their medals after retrospective drugs tests.

In Valentin’s 75kg division, Russian medalists Nataliya Zabolotnaya and Belarus’ Iryna Kulesha failed retests with Kazakhstan’s original winner Svetlana Podobedova also implicated.

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JUSTICE: For Lydia Valentin

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Beautiful supermoon pictures captured in Spain

Covering Andalucia with over 200,000 papers (130,000 digital) www.theolivepress.es

November 23rd - December 6th 2016

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FINAL WORDS

A FUENGIROLA couple have lambasted the Royal Mail after new passports they needed were accidentally sent to the wrong location...3,000miles away in New York.

Cult viewing

GAME of Thrones’ cast have been spotted filming a major battle scene in Extremadura’s natural park Barrueco de Arriba for the much-awaited seventh series.

Wrong turn

A 26-YEAR-OLD woman has been arrested after driving 28km on the wrong side of the motorway in Girona with the front right wheel missing.

A STUNNING supermoon lit up the night sky in Spain.

Budding photographers took to their cameras to capture the awesome orb, which last appeared as close to the earth in 1948.

The event will not be matched until the moon makes a similar approach in 2034.

Vol. 10 Issue 253 www.theolivepress.es November 23rd - December 6th 2016

SUPER: Moon in Zaragoza

Village is to have year-round nativity scene museum with 7000 figurines

Festive in February CHRISTMAS is to come every day to an Andalucian village when the biggest nativity scene in the world finally opens its doors.

A massive 7,000 figures are to be included in the wacky exhibit in Mollina, which will be open all year round for die-hard festive fans from December 2017.

More than €3 million is being poured into the huge 5,000

ALIEN VISIT?: In Cadiz

First contact?

It’s a bit murky

metres site, which will also include exhibition halls, an art gallery, workshops, an auditorium and conference rooms.

Married couple Antonio and Ana Diaz are behind the project and have spent more than 15 years collecting the pieces.

Among their hoard are figures made by renowned nativity scene sculptors, such as Josep Traité, and José Luis Mayo.

Splendid effort chaps! Well done and keep up the fantastic work.

The Queen

STRANGE cloud formations in Cadiz have fuelled claims that UFOs conceal themselves when visiting Earth.

Despite the satisfactory scientific explanation that the formations are what are known as lenticular clouds, which usually warn of storms, die-hard ‘ufologists’ believe they are in fact masking alien visits.

Editor of ufosightingsdaily.com Scott Waring said some flying saucers can produce a cloud-like substance around them so they can hide themselves while watching us on planet Earth.

Lenticular clouds have been behind alleged UFO sightings around the world, from Indonesia to Florida.

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