Olive Press Newspaper - Issue 335

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Vol. 13 Issue 335 www.theolivepress.es January 22th - February 4th 2020

Fire Questions raised as long-time expat dies in quadruple-locked ground floor flat TRAGIC: Expat Aust died hours later

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It seems me to to have 4th 2020 been a January 22th - February about you and your terrible We will be thinking tragic actime (Paws for thought, Check out our family at this sad You will all miss him tercident; issues Issue 334, pg 30). if but ribly. online at 103 Edinburgh t h e r e to the news that Kenda Robson, Readers react opening h a v e www.theolivepress.es are banned from b e e n Malaga streets Gibraltar due to noise p r o b Issue 113 new bars and restaurants lems with January 10) Dr Dolittle the pool OLIVE complaints (Online, the PRESS animals back to then they I brought seven life, Issue 334, pg should be Stoic sacrifice UK (a dog is forand five cats. That FINALLY! exposed.

10). Two dogsago now. I still have big city life people who live in the heart of the LEAVERS: Trio B u t was ten years and two of the cats.

I never understand If you want to of Brits in Spain please, peace and quiet. the two dogs 14 years old. There’s city, wanting perfect the campo! Otherwise just unis this They’re now all have left them. to live in silence move least it’s not 300 certainly no way I would why a city dweller. At Wales the streets. time derstand you are Dear Olive Press, watched many reports about a Susan Hargreaves, sewage running down Malaga 334).

I have read and years ago, with raw when a Brown, (Diving in, Issue Alex every occurred Benahavis this tragedy communal pool in as warning a political our the EU, essentially, of pg our communiThe I swim in sees s h o u l d 952 147 834 Issue 325, 7).the pool is Rose Moore year and as president Not pedantic day of the go out to to ensure thatstates, Mallorca (Leave and proud, years.

Fine balance want dictatorship There are 28 sovereign in Brussels for three ear plugs because you may (Air ty have the responsibility all those to become Issue 71 I lived above a bar reality is the opposite.

I mention this only pair of voluntarily chose you concede water temperature would safe. w h o a bit much, but a UK, which is that the UKEve time of year the our pool to correct it, if indeed cafes including theat this Sometimes it got Dunne believes pg 10), 95 klms square OLIVE Christmas HoweverSteve come on JUST for bars and going to 334, on not not Issue and are I’m heads, Cities 11°C so.

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P helped. out because it was 95 square klms. and is now down holiday on WTO still, exceptionally you drive residents a vast area. I suspect it’s much more than quoting chapter water at fair better – this is in the page byto though, and when swimming letters was at 13°C to Spain, you get a dead city. yourpersons SWORN IN used looks intogoing into I’m not being pedantic, weigh down that Steve do enjoy your crossword, of noise and overcrowding, I think the council are contemplate Only those that just I recommendshould That Trump a Freudian slip. I a cryptic one. This is not knows. verse, buttemperatures if you look planning. that he warmer, andshould these of any industry Balance. Careful because UK why don’t you do a friendly note. Others actually specifics the sea at sea isdeal with an EU-free in deals and should be supported. Galicia the a poolto–get a tradeof we have trying to do that worthy of print, just trade people swimming temHeath Savage, is trying the sea to know: Trump’s evenspeaks for theallnumbers wantwill notice. atyou that a bright will you realise Mahler person. tell average Finally, Brentto the force into William Carr, Malaga Christmas younot sunny day EU armed enjoyable have US-first labels. jumping are wary of an ideasshock to anyone it a rest peratures – the waof UK citizens these are Caña giveswamped a number that can occur cause serious with bars and restaurants.

I am and The reaction will EU policy. ter temcloser union. However, and an ever products now Malaga is now clothes that temperature people and not pro- their water ofspecific in wearing peratures that sell everyday years ofout of is deswho jumped40-plus floated by Hardly any shops the water and anyone at the insidious in swimTelegraph, building being restored 952 147 834 Blanca thembyinto Costa the Mail,serious difficulty more worried of electric exist. Almost every the EEC/EU shoes who followed m i n g Sun. What did opinion, be in Issue 21 lets. Add in the hundredsto walk the in my paganda against airlines make profits? wouldand, of course, The he was so antined for holiday depth Times pools, unWhy can’t these making it difficult whythe question has to

by British GovernExpress,quickly. was asked but very say when heoccurrence scooters and segways see how everything has been OLIVE (Airline Flybe saved tax break, Online, I go intoof cold less heat“When Murdochwas you a tragic degrees the linestoof:these PRESS at along ThisSomething ment deal that includes ed, are EU.” The narrow streets, and used to the they should look they ti-EU? asked – were the family in the say: when I go January 14) Perhapsmodel. were be what Icompetent certainly do Malaga SWORN IN sacrificed for tourism. an appointment! any No. 10 theyJust how Andrew Birch, the dreaded Ryanair Fuente de Piedra he had to ask for and did they have water? is that not what they clothed? implication Were Neil Hollow, to get someone water? you would techniques knowledge of lifesaving ever see by emailing letters@ say on the matter in a UK or Twitter @olivepress Press? Have your this week’s Olive ePressNewspaper s w i m your interest in m i n g Has anything piquedor message us on at www.facebook.com/Oliv theolivepress.es pool. was GUIDE I Across brought 7 Perch (5) up in the N o r t h 8 Hug (7) East of 10 Poorly matched (7) England (5) where 11 Infectious agent our out(6) 12 Shout of discovery door pool was on 14 Mistake (4-2) the beach (6) 17 Showy and cheap at Tynemouth 19 Hue (6) and the 21 Mistaken (5) w a t e r temp was 23 Small bag (7) 10°C at (7) 24 Cap attachment the annu(5) al open25 Fertile area in a desert ing of the in pool Easter to Down a maxi1 Altercation (8) mum of 16°C in 2 D-i-y beer (4-4) the sum3 Hit (6) mer. The (4) sea tem4 Exchange for money perature (4) 5 Two identical things wo u l d (4) never rise 6 Military dining room above 9 Chamfer (5) 17°C. These 13 Some (3) are very 14 Not sweet (3) different to the lev15 Foretell (8) els that (8) 16 Render immobile we experience 18 Majestic (5) here.

20 Choice (6) John Stephen21 Small songbird (4) son, 22 Rowing levers (4) Benahavis 23 Drinks slowly (4)

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Main Man, as Pedro Sanchez The nearly man becomes the after a turbulent two year wait forms a government in Spain

SERIOUS: Fabian Picardo of GIBRALTAR will ‘make a success’ tough ‘challenges’ in 2020, the Chief Minister has said.

In his New Year’s speech Fabian Picardo mentioned details of a major the investment to be announced in next couple of weeks toPicardo said everyone must work gether with ‘stoic sacrifice’ by asking fufor less ‘to secure our children’s

cold shock

ture’. of He noted the ‘critical importance’ althe MoUs and Tax Treaty which the lowed Gibraltar to take part in transition period.

Picardo highlighted the ‘dangers and opportunities’ of leaving the EU, pointing out the agreement of a UK common that was a ‘Brexit Bonus’.

the vote RELIEVED: Pedro Sanchez after Spain's official Respect PEDRO Sanchez has become vote of minister after winning a second However, the Chief Minister prom- prime yesterday. ised to remain firm in agreements confidence country for the The PSOE leader will govern the over future relations with the EU after of next four years, after an agonizing two-year wait the expected final departure date and three general elections. the end of 2020.

47, from Madrid, for “Any negotiation for Gibraltar Gi- Acting prime minister Sanchez, for the first time was forced to recall MPs to sit such a deal will be conducted for braltar by a team led by me or by Jo- over the weekend to confirm his victory. vote his second attempt at an investiture seph Garcia,” he said. on It was in Decem“Such negotiations must be based since the PSOE won the most seats mutual recognition, mutual respect ber's general election, but failed to win an overall and an understanding that nothing majority. The vote saw MPs in Spain's congress can ever be imposed on Gibraltar. to vote either 'yes' or 'no' to Sanchez's proposed “The Government I lead is willing do left-wing coalition government, propped up by a host of othwalk away if the terms proposed Pablo Iglesias's Podemos party and not favour Gibraltar or respect our er parties. a knifered lines.” a heated afternoon session, he won This would mean Gibraltar could opt After victory of 167 votes against 165, while 18 edge out of a deal which gave other counthe MPs, the majority from Catalunya, abstained. tries like Spain a greater say on the first coaIt means Sanchez will preside over future of the overseas territory. in Spain since 1977 after the After congratulating Pedro Sanchez lition government on forming a coalition government, death of dictator Franco. by MPs from Unidos Picardo will have breathed a huge sigha The PSOE is propped up Galego Podemos, PNV, Más País, Compromís, of relief he would not be up against more right-wing Spain.

the coalition victory Pablo Iglesias in tears after OVERWHELMED: Podemos’ men’s shared In his letter, he referred to the two and Nueva Caissue’ of soverNationalist Block, Teruel Existe desire to look beyond ‘the eternal friendship on narias. eignty and he extended the hand of the leftIt was no surprise who voted against Partido behalf of the people of Gibraltar. the promotion of wing coalition, with 165 MPs from Catalunya, He also offered his support for the per dialogue, unPopular, Vox, Ciudadanos, Junts ‘policies based on the principle of 'no'. our reNavarra Suma and others saying derstanding and co-operation between some shedThe left erupted into applause, with spective people’. that Sanchez abstention of ding tears, when it was revealed Key to Sanchez’s victory was the Left had clinched the vote. the pro-independence Catalan Republican puede!' while out the vote afRepresentatives screamed 'si, se party (ERC), which agreed to sit photographed to the poSanchez hugged Iglesias, who was ter Sanchez vowed to find a solutionsince Catawas the in tears. Spain’s most recent election failed to litical conflict that has dogged Spain tried to fourth in as many years as the country lunya’s separatist regional government form a cohesive government. secede in 2017. expat His“It’s great news for Spain,” leading Press. panist, Sir Ian Gibson told the Olive Terrorists but “There are going to be lots of compromises, Sanchez’ The government’s opponents argue beholdalso solutions.” be too man and ‘Frankenstein government’ will He added: “Sanchez is an amazing a threat to out after en to Catalan separatists and pose it’s remarkable to think he stuck it and then Spain’s national unity. being kicked out of his own party and called on While Sanchez appealed for calm, came fighting back. of irritation’, MPs to overcome the ‘atmosphere “He has the qualities of a true statesman great ashis adversaries went on the offensive. of being an and speaks very well. He will be a PP leader Pablo Casado, accused him future in set for Europe.”

Picardo ‘extremist’ who had left the country’s Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian UK BASED to Santhe hands of ‘terrorists and coup-mongers’.wrote: also sent a letter of congratulation tortuous In a tweet sent after the vote, Sanchezdialogue chez on being re-elected, after ‘a “Spain is entering a time for defending and fractious debate’. and useful politics. A government for all people that restores co-existence and fights for social justice. for Spanish Today is the dawn of a time of modresidents eration, progress and hope.” to Spain’s new coalition is expected www.globelink.co.uk See page 23 roll out a policy of raising income tax for people in Spain who earn more than €130,000.

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UK ‘failing’ abused kids

children failing British THE UK is numerous paedophiles overseas, as to travel overseas a new report are being allowed sex crimes, to commit has found. dangerous sex offenders EuDozens of to live around like Spain. are being allowed in countries rope, many hitting report, released reIn the hardBritish expats have yesterday, assistance numersex and child quested consular over child ous times offences. a pornography have been released in The findings by the Truth Project, 74-page report of Britain’s in-depth which is partInquiry into Child SexIndependent ual Abuse.

Shocking ‘figure UK offenders It found thatnumbers of sex crimes highly’ in the children abroad. from March against British the report, the According to around 0.2% of in 31, 2018, only sex offendersfortheir 58,637 registered Wales had England and restricted. eign travel the disclosure and barIt says that is ‘confusing, inconsisring serviceneed of reform’. sex tent and in 361 suspected child A shocking were recorded between in abuse cases2017 alone. In 2018, Brits were 2013 and around five Spain alone,child sex offences, accordarrested for the Foreign & Commonin ing to data by Up to five more Brits porn chargwealth Office. held for child Spain were year, although the exact es in the same given. figures are not

The nearly man becomes the Main Man, as Pedro Sanchez forms a government a in Spain after two turbulent year wait

Handshake SEALED: confirms from King leader Sanchez as

for the his support on the based He also offered of ‘policies party and a promotion dialogue, understanding reIglesias’s Podemos principle of be Pablo other parties. between our majority of are going to and co-operation 18 MPs, the “While there there will also host people’. the abIt helped that abstained.

The Press: victory was over spective Catalunya, and painless. told lots of compromises, will preside Key to Sanchez’s has from Felipe the pro-independence “QUICK, simple Sanwriter, who add- It means Sanchez government in later,” King Pedro San- be solutions.” stention of the ERC, afterto the Madrid-based pain comes Minister the death of the first coalition yes- The in Spain for half a century, Catalan party, 1977 after to find a solution incoming Prime in ceremony lived He’s an amazing Spain since chez vowed has dogged Spain since Franco. chez at a swearing to think he that ed: “I’m delighted. government remarkable includes Podemos, of dictator separatist certainly hope terday.

Galego conflict man and it’safter being kicked out The coalition, leader will Catalunya’s País, Compromís, in 2017.

The PSOE had to endure an agonizargue stuck it out and then fighting back.

PNV, Más Block, Teruel Existe and tried to secede opponents not, having wait and three general his own partyqualities of a true statesgovernment’s Nationalist government’ year the The caught after ing two to get this far.

“He has the Nueva Canarias. very well.

Sanchez’ ‘Frankenstein to Catalan sepahas been opposing included attempt at man and speaks A THIEF shoes behind at a crime elections to Spain’s The parties Junts per Catasecond recent will be too beholden Socialists It was his pose a threatPablo Casaleaving his since the PP, Vox, Ciudadanos, Suma. ratists and of Pal- an investiture seats in December’s PP leader and Navarra election was the scene.

Frankenstein an ‘extreman national unity. after a resident recent for Europe,” lunya won the most but failed to win him of being It happenedrumbling in his garage great asset has penned Spain’s mostmany years as the country do accused left the country’s future election, he He will be a who ma heard went to investigate the general majority. and coupfourth in as a cohesive government. who had the Hispanist,Spain. out all the overall Fabian ist’the hands of ‘terrorists to form on – when he in a pile by 47, pulled at a mam- added in Zarzuela failed Chief Minister numerous books to And Sanchez, heads congratulafound his valuables sworn in at of Gibraltar’s is expectedtax to be taken. a letter of re-elected, mongers’. session in a pair of stops as he cracked Sanchez waswinning a second vote new coalition door ready Picardo sent he also found on being two-day weekend de- Spain’s a policy of raising income Palace after he finally won Mysteriously, shoes next to them.to moth earn more tion to Sanchez and fractious roll out after which confidence. by a knife-edge 167 votes in Spain who someone else'scalled and arrived the Madrid, by two seats. after ‘a tortuous for people it is ‘great MPs voted the vote Sanchez’s left-wing Police were by bate’.

Spaniard on of instability, one of the message that than €130,000. propped up to 165 to support als0 sent a is a priority After years find a barefoot 15:36 Sanchez has Spain’ insisted coalition government, 16/06/2017 street nearby. was already known news for best known1expats. by keeping economic management told the Olive has now country’s Untitled-1.pdf government, (left) in the The 26-year-old Ian Gibson in his new break-ins and Montero Irish author for similar on Maria Jesus been charged. of loyalty, Treasury. a further sign poHowever, inawarded her the new of the Coalihe has also sition of ‘spokesperson UK BASED tion Executive’.

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January 9th - January 22nd 2020

EXCLUSIVE

By Joshua Parfitt

ONE of the world’s leading experts on swimming pool deaths has flown to Spain to investigate the tragic drownings of three British citizens on Christmas Eve. exAllen Wilson, a health and safety pert who has worked on numerous ardrowning cases around Europe, rived on the Costa del Sol yesterday.

He told the Olive Press last night he believed the pool, where British tourists Gabriel Diya, 52 Comfort Diya, nine, and Praise-Emmanuel was Diya, 16, died on Christmas Eve,

‘hazardous’.

He insisted the Club La Costa World (CLC) resort in Fuengirola - which he is set to visit this week - was ‘most likely to blame’ for the shock deaths of the trio.

The nearly man becomes the Main Man, as Pedro Sanchez forms a government in Spain after a turbulent two year wait

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SEALED: Handshake from King confirms Sanchez as leader

reand co-operation between our be from Catalunya, abstained.

Press: “While there are going toalso It means Sanchez will preside over spective people’. the abin Key to Sanchez’s victory was lots of compromises, there will the first coalition government of stention of the pro-independence death be solutions.” has Spain since 1977 after the Catalan party, the ERC, after SanThe Madrid-based writer, who dictator Franco. a solution to the lived in Spain for half a century, add- The coalition, includes Podemos, chez vowed to find Spain since terday.

Galego conflict that has dogged government ed: “I’m delighted. He’s an amazing separatist The PSOE leader will certainly hope man and it’s remarkable to think he PNV, Más País, Compromís, Teruel Existe and Catalunya’s in 2017. not, having had to endure an agoniz- stuck it out after being kicked out of Nationalist Block, tried to secede opponents argue ing two year wait and three general his own party and then fighting back. Nueva Canarias. included the The government’s government’ states- The parties opposing elections to get this far. at “He has the qualities of a true will be PP, Vox, Ciudadanos, Junts per Cata- Sanchez’ ‘Frankenstein It was his second recent attempt will be too beholden to Catalan sepman and speaks very well. He Suma. an investiture since the Socialists a great asset for Europe,” added the lunya and Navarra election was the aratists and pose a threat to Spain’s numer- Spain’s most recent as the country national unity. PP leader Pablo won the most seats in December’s an Hispanist, who has penned fourth in as many years of being an ‘exgeneral election, but failed to win ous books on Spain. government. Casado accused him had left the country’s Zarzuela failed to form a cohesive overall majority. the Sanchez was sworn in at vote of Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian tremist’ who hands of ‘terrorists and And Sanchez, 47, pulled out all future in the Palace after winning a second Picardo sent a letter of congratula- coup-mongers’. stops as he cracked heads at a mamin confidence. tion to Sanchez on being re-elected, coalition is expected to moth two-day weekend session MPs voted by a knife-edge 167 votes and fractious de- Spain’s new tax Madrid, after which he finally won to 165 to support Sanchez’s left-wing after ‘a tortuous roll out a policy of raising income who earn more by bate’. the vote by two seats. coalition government, propped up a He also offered his support for the for people in Spain and After years of instability, it is ‘great the than €130,000. the Pablo Iglesias’s Podemos party promotion of ‘policies based on news for Spain’ insisted one of Opinion Page 6 host of other parties. principle of dialogue, understanding country’s best known expats.

It helped that 18 MPs, the majority Irish author Ian Gibson told the Olive

The “QUICK, simple and painless. told pain comes later,” King Felipe incoming Prime Minister Pedro Sanyeschez at a swearing in ceremony

Continues on Page 4

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Wilson claimed the pool’s design inwith just one floor ‘outlet’ – stead of two – could have created and an ‘excessive suction vacuum’ dragged them under water.

It flies in the face of the Guardia Civil’s official investigation, which conof cluded the three died as a result their ‘inability to swim’. was Their controversial report thrown into jeopardy, however, when mother and wife Olubunmi Diya insisted all three could swim.

Her lawyer, Fuengirola-based Javier Toro, later insisted daughter Comfort had even taken lessons a ‘week before the holiday’.

Toro told the Olive Press this week rethat ‘many lines of investigation mained open’. to Wilson, however, went further claim the report done by the police was a ‘cover up’ to protect the Spanand ish tourist industry, the resort the tour operators.

“It stinks,” Wilson, who has worked for leading European tour operators

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Good health

Vol. 13 Issue 309

drugpushing bloggers pharmaceutical SPAIN’s a warnwatchdog has issued media influing over social dodgy health encers pushing

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January 22th

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safe to drink, a believing it was may not be After decades of Spain’s tap water new study finds

is one of the SPAIN’s tap waterin Europe. dodgiest to drink study has A major Barcelonathe fourth it carries products.

Council of found risk for bladder cancer The CGCF (General Associations highest Physiotherapist a complaint on the continent. that longof Spain) has filedHealth Min- Findings suggest a group of to with the Spanish promot- term exposure tap water called istry about people for chemicals in may be the ing medicinal treatments without trihalomethanes 20 cases of of less than 0.1%,( beauty conditionsor training. cause for one in in Europe the THM count levels of THMs on Cy- followed by the Netherlands proper knowledge law, bladder cancer from the highest behind only and Germany (0.2%).

According to Spanish is each year. Scientists for Glob- continent concluded Malta with 0.1%) such medical promotion is Barcelona Institute analysed prus with 23.2%, Liffey wa- The scientists also and bathing (ISGlobal) and Ireland’s banned and advertising third that showering disease, alby industry al Health all 28 EU 17.9% strictly monitored can also trigger the the tap water ofBulgaria and ter coming a surprising enter except the chemicals to of the bottom with 17.2%. professionals. social me- countries between 2005 and fromthe opposite end of the lowing pores However Spanish the body via the At advocat- Romania horror list, Denmark’s dia ‘stars’ have been creams, 2018. tap wa- H2O was the purest, with a skin.

10.9%, Spain’s ing the use of certain in order to At came out with the fourth water tablets and wipes or obese compared issues, un- ter odds of being overweight help with cosmetic drank lower-fat varieties. the potential with their peers who aware of some of indiscrimithat whole milk causes It has been speculatedwhich reduces snacking. health risks that to feel fuller, studnate use can cause. the results of 28 are less children Martin drink full-fat milk The research combined Pharmacist Guillermo seven countries, the probCHIlDREN who than those given ies that were conducted across Melgar first noticed brand of correlation between likely to be overweight had explored the risk of lem when a certain wipe was American which drinking cow’s milk and the skimmed or semi-skimmed. published in The prescription facialout, only to The findings wereNutrition and they found that children overweight. suddenly selling recommendJournal of Clinical whole milk had 40% lower being find it was being chanchildren who drank ed by a popular Youtube for acne. nel as a treatment

Milk matters

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A BRITISH expat who died in a fire on the Costa del Sol was locked in his home from the inside.

Paul Aust, 50, died after a mystery blaze engulfed the apartment he shared with his partner of 20 years, in upmarket Alcaidesa, on December 30.

The Olive Press understands police are probing the circumstances behind the death, which came just hours after he had rowed with his partner Ben Lake.

According to the next door neighbour, Lake, in his 40s, sat in the back garden while the fire took hold.

“I watched him sitting in the garden as smoke poured out the windows,” said the Irish expat neighbour, who asked not to be named.

“He seemed not entirely there, like he was in shock or something. When I went down and asked him directly if he needed help, he just ignored me,” he added.

Other neighbours backed up the claims that the pair had had a serious row just two

GUTTED: The home (left) and partner Ben, now back in the UK

hours before the 2am blaze.

“We were woken up by a series of shouts and doors slamming soon after midnight,” said a Spanish woman, who lived upstairs.

“Then less than two hours later we were woken by a huge fire coming from their apartment.

“We were told that it is lucky we got out as the smoke could have killed us too,” she added.

Neighbours called urbanisation security who were unable to break down the front door of the house due to its four locks.

One neighbour told the Olive Press that he had also called the fire brigade who arrived 20 minutes later and rescued both men along with their dog. Aust was seen in his underpants getting into an ambulance a few minutes later.

“I didn’t see

a single burn mark on his body, he was a tall man wearing only his boxers and there wasn’t a single mark on him,” said one.

He was proclaimed dead just a few hours later, allegedly of a heart attack.

The pair, who had first arrived in Spain five years ago, lived in Frigiliana and ran a sandwich bar in Nerja.

They moved to Alcaidesa four years ago, when Aust allegedly landed a job at Gibraltar’s prestigious Rock Hotel.

They certainly appeared to have had a tempestuous relationship with neighbours frequently hearing them arguing.

“It was an almost everyday thing,” said the Irish neighbour.

When the Olive Press located boyfriend Lake, back in England this week, he insisted the fire was an accident caused by a cigarette butt and Paul was ‘never trapped’.

He insisted the pair had exited the house ‘at the same time’, while he fought the fire with a hose from the garden and shouted for the dog.

“Paul and I were both out in the garden together while the fire department fought the blaze. He was then taken to the ambulance.”

A family friend of Aust said his family in Bath were ‘inconsolable’.

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Holy fail

A TRIO has been arrested in Marbella for allegedly stealing three valuable chalices and some jamon.

The chalices, worth €1,500, were stolen from a Marbella church on January 8.

Four legs of ham had also been stolen from a charity store attached to the church.

Police took over the investigation when a priest noticed the holy drinking vessels were missing and reported the theft on January 10.

Officers quickly found the chalices in a second-hand shop, where the thieves hoped to sell them on for a profit. The jamon was found in one of the suspect’s cars.

The accused are a 35-yearold Spanish man and two others of Colombian origin.

EXCLUSIVE

By Charlie Smith

THE UK is failing British children overseas, as numerous paedophiles are being allowed to travel overseas to commit sex crimes, a new report has found.

Dozens of dangerous sex offenders are being allowed to live around Europe, many in countries like Spain.

In the hard-hitting report, it emerged that many expats have requested consular assistance over child sex offences.

The findings have been released in a 74-page report by the Truth Project,

Most Wanted caught A BRITISH fugitive wanted for two killings in the UK has been arrested in Spain.

John Kennedy, 39, was held over the Glasgow deaths of Jamie Campbell in 2006 and Kenny Reilly in 2018.

He was cuffed in Tenerife in the Canary Islands on a European Arrest Warrant, before being charged.

His arrest is believed to have taken place as he left a supermarket in the south of the island.

The UK’s National Crime Agency is believed to have informed Spanish police of Kennedy’s location.

SINGLE IMPLANT

January 22th - February 4th 2020

PAEDO ALERT

UK authorities are allowing too many paedophiles to travel and live around Europe, claims report which is part of Britain’s in-depth inquiry into child sex abuse.

It found that UK offenders

‘figure highly’ in the numbers of sex crimes against British children abroad.

According to the report,

only around 0.2% of the 58,637 registered sex offenders in England and Wales in 2018 alone had their foreign travel restricted.

It says that the barring service is ‘confusing, inconsistent and in need of reform’.

A shocking 361 suspected child sex abuse cases abroad were recorded between 2013 and 2017.

In 2018, in Spain alone, around five Brits were arrested for child sex offences, according to data by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

Up to five more Brits in Spain were held for child porn charges in the same year, although the exact figures are not given.

Killer Capper spared prison WESTLEY Capper has been spared jail after admitting to the manslaughter of Fatima Dorado.

The Olive Press exclusively revealed how the son of a British millionaire went for a curry after he and his pal Craig Porter ran over the Bolivian mother at a zebra crossing in San Pedro de Alcantara, in 2016.

But Capper, who was also tried for the kidnapping of missing waitress Agnese Klavina last year, was handed a two-year suspended sentence this week.

Judge Ignacio Navas told the Brit he would stay out of jail as long as he behaved himself for three years and attended a road

safety education course.

The ruling comes after Capper - who was high on drugs and drink - struck a deal with prosecutors by paying a large compensation to Dorado’s family.

Just seven months ago he was also cleared of the kidnapping of missing Agnese, who was last seen entering his car behind a nightclub, in Puerto Banus.

Judges believed the footage of Klavina entering the vehicle in 2014 did not amount to kidnapping, meaning Capper avoided a possible 16-year sentence.

He was given a two-year sentence for coercion for the way he made Klavina leave with him, which he is currently appealing.

IMPLANT BRIDGE

In 2016, the Olive Press, was able to snare wanted paedophile Matthew Sammon just hours after being named as one of the top 10 most wanted fugitives by Crimestoppers.

Police swarmed Sammon’s camper van in the popular Costa del Sol holiday resort of Fuengirola, after a reader tipped us off where he was living.

In the same year, serial child abuser Mark Frost was snared. He later admitted to 45 offences, spanning 25 years, until he was tracked down to Spain, after fleeing a sex abuse probe in Thailand.

Spanish and Dutch authorities charged him with 67 offences, 23 of which he pled guilty to.

Glitter

EVIL: Capper’s twofinger salute, while tragic Fatima with child (above)

He also pled guilty to 22 offences, which he was charged with under Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which extends the jurisdiction of UK courts abroad.

However it is suggested in the report that Section 72 may be underused, as since 1997, there have only been ‘eight successful such prosecutions’.

Infamous pop star Gary Glitter – aka Paul Gadd – was jailed for four months in 1999, after admitting to the possession of indecent images of children.

He later fled to Spain, where the Olive Press tracked him down in 2008 to Sotogrande port.

IMPLANT DENTURE

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

LET’s Go Mad

Woke joke OSCAR nominee Antonio Banderas has bizarrely been labelled a ‘man of colour’ ahead of the prestigious Hollywood awards.

While the Malaga-born star is olive-skinned, the people of colour (POC) category is usually reserved for black, Asian and Latin Americans.

Several US media outlets have been slammed for wrongly categorizing the 59-year-old.

He is nominated as best actor for his role as film director Salvador Mallo in Pedro Almodovar’s Dolor y Gloria, which is also up for Best Foreign Film.

It comes as Academy Awards judges have again been criticised for nominees’ lack of diversity, with only one actor out of 20 Oscar-hopefuls being non-white (Harriet actress Cynthia Erivo).

January 22th - February 4th 2020

3

From power pop to underground electro, Mad Cool Festival has music for all tastes TAYLOR Swift and Kings of Leon are among a long lineup of international artists taking to the Mad Cool Festival stage this summer.

Other headliners at the Madrid bash include Billie Eilish, Khalid, The Killers, Twenty One Pilots and the Pixies.

The event taking place from July 8 to 11 also features numerous British acts, including Indie rock band Wolf Alice, former Pulp guitarist Richard Hawley, soul singer Tom Misch, Charli XCX, Foals, Alt-J, The Struts and Jamie Cullum.

In addition, there will also be some famous Spanish acts performing, including all-girl band Hinds who are huge in the UK. The festival was first launched in 2016 with music legends like The Who and Neil Young performing and is already one of the biggest in Europe.

Last year’s festival attracted more than 186,000 music fans.

The acts are drawn from a wide mix of music genres such as rock, indie, pop, hip

Bail of a time SURREAL British comic Bill Bailey is bringing his unique blend of abstract humour and musical wizardry to the Costa del Sol. He will perform in Torremolinos as part of his European tour, Larks in Transit, which is a healthy mix of travel stories and anecdotes from his 20 years as a comedian The Never Mind the Buzzcocks regular, 55, is well known for fusing musical performances into his stand up routines and regularly gets the crowd to join in.

He will also be performing on March 2 in Madrid and March 3 in Barcelona, before performing in Torremolinos on March 5.

DIVERSE: From Kings of Leon to Billie Eilish, Khalid and Killers (bottom)

hop and underground electronic music, catering for different types of audiences.

Four day tickets have already sold out, but three day tickets are still available.

Queen of pop flops MADONNA has cancelled another show of her Madame X world tour due to an unspecified injury.

The 61-year-old pulled out from a Lisbon performance just 45 minutes before she was due to go onstage.

The Queen of Pop told fans she needed to ‘listen to her body’, although she didn’t specify what her ailment was.

It comes after Madonna told an audience in San Francisco she was suffering from a ‘torn ligament’ and ‘a bad knee’.

Madonna is currently on the European leg of her tour, which was meant to have 93 dates, but has now been reduced to 85.

They call it Madness

PUT on your baggy trousers, because legendary British band Madness are coming to Spain.

The London ska outfit are jetting to Murcia for a gig at the city’s Plaza de Toros on June 26.

Led by frontman Suggs, the group, which formed in 1976, are emblematic of Britain’s iconic two-tone era.

Madness had 15 singles in the UK Top Ten, with House of Fun being their only UK number one.

They also won an Ivor Novello Award in 2000 from the British Academy of Song-

writers, Composers and Authors for their ‘Outstanding Song Collection’.

Tickets have gone on sale and start at €35.

NEWS

4

January 22th - February 4th 2020

STOP playing games!

Missing Brit who prompted national search told by Spanish cops to ‘turn yourself in’

A SPANISH police chief investigating the disappearance of a British man in Spain has urged him to ‘turn himself in’.

Harry Stagg, 23, from the Isle of Wight, vanished on November 29 on the way to his grandad’s home in Malaga, where he was due to spend Christmas.

But the Guardia Civil officer in charge of the initial search for the missing waiter revealed all may not be as it seems.

EXCLUSIVE

By Charlie Smith

As the search for Harry was widened from Alora in the Guadalhorce Valley to the whole of Spain, the Guardia Civil sergeant insisted the operation had become ‘very expensive’.

He added that Stagg mostly likely ‘did not want to be found’.

“Please if anyone sees him, tell them to call the local

BAFFLING: Stagg has been spotted in many places

Guardia Civil,” the source told the Olive Press.

He added: “We want to stop looking for someone who wants to stay travelling.”

Since he went missing,

Controllers face sky high fines OVER 100 air traffic controllers have gone on trial for an illegal strike that saw 1,352 flights cancelled in 2010.

The 133 airport staff are charged with illegally leaving 300,000 passengers stranded for two days.

A judge in Madrid must decide if the controllers must foot the €17m bill for the strikes.

The December strikes came when controllers walked out on their positions in a dispute over working hours.

It left eight airports facing chaos in the run up to Christmas and led to the military to step in and take control of the skies.

The Madrid court case is the largest ever seen in Spain, with 133 workers facing justice.

In a private agreement with the prosecutor’s office, 126 of the 133 workers have admitted responsibility and accepted responsibility for the losses of 15,190 passengers.

Each is set to be awarded €1,000, plus €150 for expenses incurred.

Final frontier

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A PROPOSAL for Gibraltarians to cross into Spain post-Brexit without a passport has been firmly knocked back by the UK. The plan to enter the Schengen agreement - despite leaving the EU - would also allow an estimated 10,000 Spaniards to enter Gibraltar every morning without unnecessary delays.

However, the free movement scheme hatched by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo was scotched this week

by Boris Johnson’s government.

“After we leave, the UK will be negotiating the future relationship with the EU on behalf of the whole UK family, including Gibraltar,” insisted a spokesman.

16/01/2019 11:40

“Working closely together, the UK and Gibraltar Governments have always supported arrangements at the border with Spain which promote fluidity and shared prosperity in the region,” he added.

“The UK, including Gibraltar, is not part of the borderless Schengen zone.”

It came after Picardo spoke on Monday as the Government read the Withdrawal from the EU Bill, which will come into force on January 31.

“We have to hold our noses and vote for an orderly Brexit,” he told Gibraltar’s Parliament.

By John Culatto

“It is important we distinguish between joining Schengen and freedom of movement under Schengen,” he added.

“On January 31 we will ensure Gibraltar’s interests are protected.

“As the UK will always be European, we will always be British.”

However, newly elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson does not wanting to cut any separate frontier arrangements for Northern Ireland, so it is unlikely to happen for Gibraltar, which has even less clout.

Curbing freedom of movement is a core issue in the UK’s exit from the EU, with the UK government determined to lower immigration from the EU. Picardo insisted that his proposal was not new.

“We talked about this issue before Brexit... about Gibraltar becoming part of the Schengen zone,” he told AFP news agency last week.

“If you look at other microstates in Europe, they take the benefit of common travel areas with Schengen, even if they’re not entirely part of the Schengen information system,” he said.

Liechtenstein is one such tiny state, which is in Schengen but not in the EU. “There is the ability to move fluidly between the territories of the EU and these microstates,” he added.

Harry’s family have received notification that he made a bank transaction of €41 on December 12 in the town of Albocacer in Valencia, south of Huesca.

Harry made his last call to his travelling partner Kim Muca and his mother Susan from Huesca Police Station on November 29.

He and his mate became separated in the French city of Bayona on November 22, before Harry made his way across the border into Spain.

It comes as there have been four reported sightings of the East Cowes man across Andalucia and Gibraltar.

The first came on December 13 at the Galp petrol station in Antequera, north of Malaga, where Harry was ‘seen’ by a British expat dressed in black and hitchhiking with a cardboard sign that said Campillos.

Juggling

Then another British expat saw him ‘walking along the N-340 on January 13 in the direction of Almeria not far from Lucainena de las Torres.’

She then saw him again on the same road on the day after between Fort Bravo and the Oasys MiniHollywood tourist attraction.

Then on January 17 at around 4:20pm She said: “He was sitting by the traffic lights beside Regal House with a bag with juggling pins, sorting lots of spare change.

“I was walking home with my daughter, he stopped me to ask the difference between the two and one pound coins.”

The Royal Gibraltar Police declined to comment on the possible sightings.

Harry’s mum, Susan Stagg, 51, and based on the Isle of Wight said: “There is a possibility that Harry doesn’t have a clue that people are worried.”

Harry is described as Harry is 5ft 11ins tall, pale and of thin build, with dark brown hair, cut ‘shaggy’ and dark brown/green eyes.

Have you seen him? Give us a call on +34 951 27 35 75 or email newsdesk@ theolivepress.es

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS

January 22th - February 4th 2020

Shut the shelter!

EXPATS have joined over 100 protesters to demand the closure of one of the Costa del Sol’s most controversial animal shelters.

The big group braved rain to insist the Parque Animal shelter in Torremolinos was shut down.

The disgraced shelter was run by evil Carmen Marin who was jailed last year after the sanctuary she still owns to this day

Growing concern

THE Spanish population has reached an all-time high at 47.1 million.

The increase is due to the increasing number of immigrants entering the country, despite the birth rate among Spaniards dropping.

In total, 348,625 immigrants arrived in Spain in the first half of 2019, compared to 139,528 emigrants leaving.

This brings the total of immigrants in Spain to 5,023,279, or 10.67% of the population.

The Balearic Islands increased the most (0.87%), followed by Madrid (0.66%) and the Canary Islands (0.61%), with Extremadura having the biggest decrease ( - 0.25%).

The two nationalities with the biggest influx were Venezuelans (18%) and Colombians (14%).

Spanish deaths greatly outnumbered births with 214,218 people dying, while only 169,216 babies were born.

killed nearly three times more animals than it was legally allowed to.

Her reign of terror, which ran from 1998 to 2010, was first exposed by an Olive Press probe in 2012.

Attendees were outraged that agreements signed by Torremolinos Town Hall in 1998, which gave the land to Marin’s Animal Park Association for a period of 50 years. They demand this is now rescinded.

Not driving them away!

By James Warren

A VILLAGE in Andalucia has come up with a novel idea to stop its young people from emigrating away.

Almachar is paying for driving lessons so they can commute by car to the bigger towns and cities to work.

The Axarquia town hall is stumping up €100 for any 18 to 25-year-olds who want to pass their test.

Free driving lessons for youngsters are hoped to stem depopulation in Andalucia village “We want to encourage them to stay here and use their new freedom to commute for work and come back in the evenings,” said mayor Antonio Yuste.

“We believe this measure, which was an electoral commitment by the PSOE, will help keep young people in the village.”

Almachar needs to keep its younger population as it becomes one of key growers and exporters of the muscatel grape and raisin in Andalucia.

The village is also known for its wine and is a popular spot for rural tourism.

It is not the first time such incentives have been used, after Malaga introduced a similar

scheme some years ago.

Almachar introduced another scheme to keep new parents in the village in 2007 with the so-called ‘baby cheques’.

Under the scheme, all new parents who had children in Almachar were given €100 per month to assist with the costs involved with parenthood.

5

Unearthed OVER 100 people have been arrested for the digging of illegal wells around Spain.

A total of 107 people are now charged with the illegal extraction of water.

It comes after 1,800 inspections were carried out around the country, finding a massive 1,457 illegal wells.

The largest number was in Huelva, with 77, including over 30 in the Doñana National Park, while in Murcia they found 35 wells.

Oh Dia! A CRIMINAL probe has been launched into alleged account-fiddling at supermarket Dia. The retail giant’s former CEO, Ricardo Curras is suspected of helping inflate pre-tax profits to the tune of €51 million in order to justify his bonus.

A judge is now investigating the alleged wrongdoing of Curras in 2017, which made it appear as though the company had met its financial objectives.

Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman took over Dia in 2019, promising to inject €500 million into the crisis-hit supermarket chain.

It comes after Dia lost an eye-watering €420.7 million during the first half of 2019, 14 times higher than the previous year when it shed €29.5 million.

6

features

www.theolivepress.es

CHasing

Voted top expat paper in Spain

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

OPINION Stormy side up THE shores may be sunnier in Spain, but not everyone sees the storms.

For those who live here through all four seasons the intense rains and gusting winds become a frequent part of life.

Like clockwork, every season another storm hits, sometimes trashing the same beachfront shops and restaurants.

When this paper spoke to a British-owned insurance broker about his broken-in window, he said: “It wasn’t as bad as the first time – back in 2007, we found an octopus in the toilet.”

But as ever, familiarity breeds complacency.

This year one man has died from a falling tile, while a Dutchman broke his leg while out taking photographs on the Costa Blanca.

Weather warnings from Spain’s met office, AEMET, are issued for a reason – don’t go out to danger zones if you don’t need to.

When nature is raging, red alert means red alert.

Take extra care, and the sun will be back out soon.

January 22th - February 4th 2020

As news breaks that the search for missing Federico Garcia Lorca may begin again, we go inside the fleeting life of Spain’s most famous poet, snuffed out for being gay, socialist and ‘undesirable’

CREATIVE: From a young child (far left) Federico showed great talent, while (bottom) writing at his finca just weeks before his execution

Devil in the detail THE death of British expat Paul Aust in a fire at his apartment is a tragedy.

A mother has lost her son and fellow Brit Ben Lake has lost his boyfriend.

However, after dispatching an Olive Press reporter to the fire-ravaged Alcaidesa flat, there are still more questions than answers.

Lake told this newspaper that the ‘accidental’ blaze at the couple’s home was ‘confirmed’ by a police report.

Yet the report in question has never seen the light of day, with neither Lake nor cops having let the Olive Press have access.

On top of this, there are other things that just don’t add up, like the disputed claim that the burning house was locked from the inside.

Details have been scant since the day Paul died, with the cause of death and the cause of the fire still disputed.

Hopefully the exact details will be cleared up in the fullness of time.

Publisher / Editor

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Charlie Smith Joshua Parfitt charlie@theolivepress.es joshua@theolivepress.es John Culatto Laurence Dollimore laurence@theolivepress.es johnc@theolivepress.es Dimitris Kouimtsidis dimitris@theolivepress.es Admin Beatriz Sanllehí (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es

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2012 - 2020 Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.

Special report by Dimitris Kouimtsidis in Granada

T

HE city of Granada is famous for many reasons. The Alhambra Palace attracts myriads of tourists daily, as does the Moorish architecture evident throughout the narrow streets of the last Spanish city to be recaptured by the Christians in 1492.

The provincial capital is also feted for its most famous literary son - the poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca.

You may be familiar with the name, and even with his controversial murder, but few people realise the full extent of his legacy.

As the Olive Press reported last issue, a long-term search for his missing body, could be about to begin again.

It comes after family of another victim, allegedly buried in a mass grave alongside him, filed an official demand to start digging again (more of which

later). this sense of magic realism.

It is a sad and moving chapter in the “Even after all these years of studying history of Spain, still coming to terms his plays I’m still amazed. The way he with the legacy of the long and bloody used language is full of similes and civil war. metaphors that ‘trip out’ the audiLorca was born in 1898 in Fuente Vaence.” queros, a small village outside GranaBlood Wedding, considered his most da, into an economically comfortable famous play, is awash with examples family. of magical realism such as the moon The house where he lived until he was speaking as if it’s a human character. ten is now a museum - a perfectly preHis work tended to be quite dark, emoserved early 20th century home where tional and radical for the time. A comvisitors are surprised to see, along with mon theme running throughout is the his writings, some of his artworks and spirit of duende, (passion doesn’t fully his first piano. describe it). Duende controls his largAlthough not as famous for his art as er-than-life characters, most of whom his close friend Salvador Dali, many struggle with a form of suppressed depeople forget that Lorca also drew and sire, like Lorca himself who was homoplayed music. sexual - a factor that almost certainly The family moved twice played a part in his unmore - first to the neartimely death. He was also by village of Valderrubio; an outspoken socialist then, when Lorca was 28, One can imagine and when the Civil War to Huerta de San Vicente, erupted in Spain in 1936, what he must then on the outskirts of he was arrested by FasGranada but much closer have been feeling cist forces and summarily to the city centre today. as he walked to executed.

Both these homes are Prior to his assassination also museums he was held prisoner in his death showcasing the the village of Viznar a few life of this influmiles outside of Granada. ential writer.

He was most likely shot According to the guide at along with other ‘undesirables’ someHuerta de San Vicente, Lorwhere between the villages of Viznar ca described his final home and Alfacar. The exact location is unas the perfect place for writknown and his body has never been ing as it was relaxed. “He found, despite numerous projects to needed this space to clear discover his burial site, the most rehis head after the time he cent in 2016. spent in Madrid and BarceNow there is talk that the investigation lona,’’ explained the guide. may be reopened once more.

His work was ‘crazy, quite Celebrated Hispanist Ian Gibson told out there’, he added, which the Olive Press: “It’s about time they may explain why it so incarried on with his search. It is abhorspired people, and why Lorrent that Spain’s most famous playca remains iconic nearly a wright and poet is still buried in an uncentury later. marked grave.”

Anastasia Revi, an artistic The route from Viznar to Alfacar is only director, theatre director three kilometres but as you walk the and workshop facilitator winding mountain path, you can’t help who has rigorously studied but wonder what the poet was thinking Lorca’s works and run multion this final leg of his earthly journey. ple workshops on the SpanHe wrote of his own death often. These iard, echoed the sentiment. lines from his 1929 poem The Fable “His stories are full of surreand Round of the Three Friends, are al elements and they create particularly prophetic: ‘They looked for

7

January 22th - February 4th 2020

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MURALS: Line the walls of his Granada home, where he wrote and played music

me in cafes, in cemeteries, in churches, but they didn’t find me. They never found me? No. They never found me’. Could he have known?

Halfway between the two villages, a serene wooded area perfectly representing the Granada countryside hides a grim secret beneath its scented pines. The Barranco de Viznar memorial, erected beside an olive tree, only hints at the untold story – marking the spot where numerous Republicans were mown down by firing squads and buried in unmarked graves.

Just outside Alfacar, a park named after the playwright has become a point of pilgrimage, its memorial stone showered with flowers all year round by visitors who make the trek up the mountain to visit his supposed place of death.

His ‘murder’ is a war crime that has given the poet legendary status.

“He was killed very young and his execution at the hands of fascists for his liberal beliefs has only helped to elevate his sta-

tus,” continues director Revi.

There is a sense that the Spanish, and the people of Granada in particular, are ashamed by the murder of one of the world’s most famous poets and playwrights on their own soil.

It might have been why I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures at his museum homes.

‘You need special permission from the local council’, I was told.

My request to interview the tour guides about their fellow Grenadino also oddly received the same point blank refusal.

Why does the local government have all these rules in place for journalists wanting to write a piece on someone as famous as Lorca? Shame would certainly make sense, and not just because of the snuffing out of an exceptional life barely half lived - he was just 36 when he died.

It is believed that a staggering 115,000 missing souls are still buried in unmarked graves throughout Spain. Federico Garcia Lorca is just one of them.

8

www.theolivepress.es Courts back the scrapping of huge gas project in Andalucia’s most valuable park

The lynx effect

A SHOCKING 23 lynx were run over and killed in Andalucia last year.

A further eight were killed on roads around the rest of the country, according to the WWF. The numbers account for an alarming 5% of the global population of the protected wildcat.

It comes despite progress on modifying the A-4 road in Sevilla last year, a black spot when it comes to lynxes being hit by cars.

However the WWF said more work needs to be done, as well as on the N-420 in Ciudad Real region, where two lynxes were killed in 2019.

Despite the deaths, 2019 was a positive year for the lynx, with an estimated 150 believed to have been born across Spain and Portugal, an increase of 22.4%.

The population is now believed to be around 825 species, which is double a decade ago.

A BARBARIC gas project that threatens one of Spain’s biggest protected areas has been given the elbow.

The Andalusian High Court (TSJA) has backed the regional authority’s ruling to prevent the scheme in the Donana National Park.

The ruling against Naturgy’s project will stop the digging of 14 wells inside the park’s boundary.

It will also prevent plans to put in a 70km pipeline across the park, which is Andalucia’s most important, as well as a huge gas storage tank.

The ruling comes after a decade of protests across Spain, led by Greenpeace and Ecologistas en Accion.

Four sub-projects at Saladillo, Aznalcazar and Marismas Occi-

GREEN

January 22th - February 4th 2020

Doñana saved!

PROTECTED: Andalucia’s huge National park is home to much wildlife and hundreds of lynxes dental do not have the necessary permits to go ahead, according to the court.

Initial works at these sites were stopped after the Junta de Anda-

lucia took the case to court at the beginning of 2018.

Since then, the World Wildlife Fund and the European Parliament joined increasingly vo-

‘This is NOT a drill’

xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx BEHIND GRETA: Mayor Ada

THESE are the immortal words of Greta Thunberg, used by the Mayor of Barcelona to declare a ‘climate emergency’ in her city.

Mayor Ada Colau borrowed the Swedish teen activist’s unforgettable phrase to announce that the Catalan capital would join the likes of Ottawa, London, New York and Sydney in declaring a state of environ-

mental emergency.

Spain’s second largest city aims to half its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, in a bid to curb the damaging effects of the climate crisis.

Barca city chiefs have pledged €563 million to cutting emissions and have recently banned older, more gas-guzzling vehicles from the city centre.

cal protests to have the project scrapped.

Initial joy at the Junta’s ruling was shortlived after the company, formerly Gas Natural, took the regional government to court.

Although the case could still be appealed at both national and European level, it will grant a reprieve for the endangered species of the Iberian lynx that lives there.

A majority of the world’s most endangered wild cats live in the 250,000 hectares of the park, which spans Sevilla, Huelva and Cadiz provinces and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012.

The Olive Press has campaigned tirelessly so that this pristine natural environment would not be damaged in any way.

LA CULTURA

Culture hub SPAIN has been named the third most culturally important country in the world.

According to a highly regarded study it has the second largest cultural heritage, as well as a language that is spoken worldwide.

The report was commissioned by the US News and World Report, the BAV Group and the University of Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, Spanish adventure holidays were ranked the third highest in the world, with the country being considered perfect for an outdoor break.

Spain is the third most important culture haven globally Only Brazil and Italy bettered Spain for adventure holidays, with Italy being top for heritage.

Yet despite Spain’s rich cultural offerings, which include the likes of Picasso, Dali and Cervantes, the country is also one of the world’s most humble.

A poll of some 56,000 peo-

ple in 34 European countries found that Spaniards have the lowest ‘cultural arrogance’ in Europe.

Only one in five regard their traditions and artistic exports as superior to others.

Research carried out by the Pew Research Centre between found that just 20% of Spaniards supported the statement: “Our people are not perfect, but our culture is superior to others.”

Unsurprisingly for Brexiteers, 46% of UK respondents had higher ‘patriotic chauvinism’, while neighbouring Portugal’s rate was 47%.

Backstabber Mt Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Korede is a nurse. Diligent, meticulous, hardworking and plain. Her sister, Ayoola is stunningly beautiful, ditzy, carefree and a serial killer. When Ayoola murders her latest boyfriend in ‘self-defence’ Korede is called upon, again, to clear up the mess and take care of Ayoola. As a loyal older sister, Korede feels it is her duty to help and protect Ayoola. Family comes first. However, when Ayoola sets her sights on a handsome doctor who Korede is in love with, everything begins to unravel. Korede has no desire to see him end up with a knife in his back, but can she save one without sacrificing the other? This is a quirky, dark crime novel set in Lagos.

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RECLAIMED: Picasso’s valuable Head of a Young Woman is back in Spain

Off with his head A SPANISH billionaire who tried to smuggle a priceless Picasso artwork out of Spain has been fined €52million and handed an 18-month prison sentence.

Ex-banker Jaime Botin was arrested on his yacht with the Malaga artist’s Head of a Young Woman (1906), valued at over €26 million.

Although he is the painting’s owner, Botin was accused of exporting the work to try and sell it, in breach of a ban on exporting an artwork of cultural significance.

Yacht

The 83-year-old former Bankinter chairman, whose family helped found Banco Santander, was convicted after a customs search in 2015 in Corsica revealed he was heading to Switzerland.

Botin strenuously denies the charges and maintains that he was taking the artwork to Switzerland for safe keeping.

Prosecutors on the case accused Botin of ordering the captain of his yacht to ‘hide it from authorities’ as it left the port of Valencia.

The painting has now been transferred to Spanish state archives.

Picasso completed Head of a Young Woman in his pre-Cubist phase, with the painting snapped up by Botin in London in 1977.

10

January 22th - February 4th 2020

LA CULTURA

No small feat!

A love letter written on the back of a cigarette packet is part of a new exhibition revealing the poignant stories of families torn apart by the cruel Franco regime, writes Heather Galloway

M

OST evidence of suffering from the Franco era has been neatly swept under the carpet but heart-breaking stories can be teased out and pieced together from the remaining scraps That’s the theory behind the Exhibition of Small Things, a collection of everyday personal items belonging to families from Franco’s time, put together over the past 10 years by anthropologist Jorge Moreno and his Mapas de Memoria (Memory Maps) research team from UNED, Spain’s equivalent of the Open University.

If there is one thing that Jorge cannot get his head around, it is the lack of empathy he sees in Spanish society towards the families of Franco’s victims.

“I hope these apparently insignificant objects will serve to prod people into imagining what their lives were like,” he explains. “If a letter written in

pencil on the back of a cig- fear of being branded by neigharette box to say goodbye to bours as ‘the enemy’. But was loved ones hours before being the fear justified? executed doesn’t move peo- “When they’ve killed members of your family, your father or ple, what will?”

Currently on display in Madrid your husband, then the threat but due to travel around Spain feels very real,” says Jorge, over the course of the year, whose grandfather, a captain gathering additional keep- in the Spanish Second Resakes from that harrowing public’s aviation forces, was era along the way, the exhibi- handed a life sentence – later reduced – after tion currently the war. consists of 12 God is in the items. Collectively they show the He sneaked over detail, it’s said, in this case extent to which to the scene of but it is the size of the identities the massacre the objects that of those on the the losing side of and retrieved the captures sense of how the the Spanish Civil families of FranWar were forced objects underground, co’s victims had and visible evithe memories of their loved ones dence that memreduced to what Jorge deories were wiped out.

The secret stashing of trea- scribes as ‘scraps’. sured mementos at the bottom “He even banned people from of a chest or at the back of a calling their children names cupboard suggests a very real such as Libertad, anything

BLACK GOLD: Coal from an exiled miner and (right) slippers revealed by an executioner who came clean about a grave

that could be associated with the Republican side,” he continues.

The first ‘small thing’ Jorge brings out is a piece of cloth stained with the blood of Heliodoro Meneses. It was used to wrap up the few bits and pieces his cousin found in his pockets after he was taken out at night, along with other villagers from Puertollano in the province of Ciudad Real in 1939, and shot by a firing squad.

Other assorted objects include a hair clip, cigarette papers, tobacco and matches and a pencil and rubber.

Heliodoro’s cousin had furtively watched the execution and

when the soldiers abandoned the bodies – waiting until the next day to dump them in a mass grave – he sneaked over to the scene of the massacre and retrieved these last tangible objects, such as they were, to remember Heliodoro by.

“It was a surprise,” says Jorge whose team has interviewed many families for the Mapas de Memoria project. “We were expecting mementos, things people had treasured for years. And this first one acted as a call for others to be brought out.”

But isn’t all this just opening old wounds?

“The idea that we should leave the past in the past is a fascist

one,” says Jorge. “There is always a relationship with the past. Unlike Argentina in the 1970s and 1980s when the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo came out to demand answers from the authorities about their ‘disappeared’ children, in Spain there was no opportunity to protest about those who were disappeared. Those left behind had to focus on surviving themselves. Their only way of protesting was to keep these small things and, in the case of mothers who had lost their sons or daughters, to go into permanent mourning.”

Jorge relates the heart-break-

11

January 22th - February 4th 2020

Bits and bobs ing story of one woman whose husband and father both disappeared. When she approached the authorities for information in the 1950s on what might have happened to them, she was told it would just stir things up. To which she replied, “But I myself am stirred up inside.”

The fact that the suffering of those who lost their loved ones was ignored for so long in Spain, and with children never taught about it in schools, has had inevitable consequences, says Jorge.

A blood-spattered cloth contains the bits and pieces that Heliodoro Meneses was carrying in his pockets the night of his execution in Puertollano, Ciudad Real, on October 22, 1939, including smoking papers and tobacco and a hair clip, pencil and rubber. The execution was watched secretly by his cousin. When the bodies were left unguarded before being dumped in a mass grave, he went through Heliodor’s pockets and gathered together what he could for the family to remember him by.

Bloody stones

Execution

“To be useful, history in schools should start with recent events,” he says. “I think people are very complacent about fascism in this country.

If it was taught as part of the curriculum, people might not be so quick to swing to the extreme right, as they have with Vox recently.

“There is still a lot to be done to get everything out from under the carpet. If a country doesn’t offer a dignified memory of the dead, what kind of country is it? The values that a democracy upholds are the same values that were held by these people.”

The exhibition can be seen at the EscuelaPías de UNED-Madrid center, Calle Tribunal 14, Madrid, until January 31.

Vicenta Ruiz tells the story of the stones spattered with the blood of her father, Ángel Ruiz, hidden away for fear of reprisals: “When they killed him, there were some stones spattered with his blood.

“My aunt picked them up and wrapped them in green paper as if it were silk. She kept them until she died without saying anything.

Before she died, she told my mother what was at the bottom of the chest. She said, ‘The stones from when they killed Ángel are there.

I have kept them there without my husband knowing.’

“That was because her husband was one of those [politically] on the right but who is dying of hunger.

“That’s why my aunt had them hidden because she didn’t want her husband or anyone else to know.

Afterwards my mother brought the stones home.

She kept them in the box.

Afterwards, a piece of stone splintered off and my mother sewed it into her apron. She always had it on her.”

FREE QUOTE MOVING: A love letter scrawled on the back of a cigarette packet hours before an execution

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LETTERS

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January 22th - February 4th 2020 Check out our issues online at www.theolivepress.es

You’re barred Readers react to the news that 103 Malaga streets are banned from opening new bars and restaurants due to noise complaints (Online, January 10)

Gibraltar Issue 113 OLIVE PRESS GIBRALTAR

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FINALLY! see page 20

End of an era for Ed We will be thinking about you and your family at this sad time (Paws for thought, Issue 334, pg 30). You will all miss Eddie the dog (above with owner Andy) terribly.

Kenda Robson, Edinburgh

The nearly man becomes the Main Man, as Pedro Sanchez forms a government in Spain after a turbulent two year wait

LEAVERS: Trio k Cold shoc of Brits in Spain

SERIOUS: Fabian Picardo

Respect

However, the Chief Minister promised to remain firm in agreements over future relations with the EU after the expected final departure date of the end of 2020.

“Any negotiation for Gibraltar such a deal will be conducted for for braltar by a team led by me or by GiJoseph Garcia,” he said.

“Such negotiations must be based on mutual recognition, mutual respect and an understanding that nothing can ever be imposed on Gibraltar.

“The Government I lead is willing walk away if the terms proposed to not favour Gibraltar or respect do our red lines.”

This would mean Gibraltar could opt out of a deal which gave other countries like Spain a greater say on the future of the overseas territory.

After congratulating Pedro Sanchez on forming a coalition government, Picardo will have breathed a huge sigh of relief he would not be up against a more right-wing Spain.

RELIEVED: Pedro Sanchez after

the vote

PEDRO Sanchez has become Spain's official prime minister after winning a second vote of confidence yesterday.

The PSOE leader will govern the country for the next four years, after an agonizing two-year wait and three general elections.

Acting prime minister Sanchez, 47, from Madrid, was forced to recall MPs to sit for the over the weekend to confirm his victory.first time It was his second attempt at an investiture vote since the PSOE won the most seats in December's general election, but failed to win majority. The vote saw MPs in Spain'san overall vote either 'yes' or 'no' to Sanchez's congress proposed left-wing coalition government, propped up by Pablo Iglesias's Podemos party and a host of other parties.

After a heated afternoon session, he won a knifeedge victory of 167 votes against 165, while 18 MPs, the majority from Catalunya, abstained.

It means Sanchez will preside over the first coalition government in Spain since 1977 after the death of dictator Franco.

The PSOE is propped up by MPs from Podemos, PNV, Más País, Compromís, Unidos Galego

OVERWHELMED: Podemos’ Pablo Iglesias in tears after the coalition victory Nationalist Block, Teruel Existe and Nueva CaIn his letter, he referred to the two narias. men’s shared desire to look beyond ‘the eternal It was no surprise who voted against issue’ of soverthe lefteignty and he extended the hand wing coalition, with 165 MPs from of friendship on the Partido behalf of the people of Gibraltar.

Popular, Vox, Ciudadanos, Junts per Catalunya, He also offered his support for the Navarra Suma and others saying promotion of 'no'. ‘policies based on the principle of The left erupted into applause, with dialogue, understanding and co-operation between ding tears, when it was revealed some shedour rethat Sanchez spective people’. had clinched the vote.

Key to Sanchez’s victory was the Representatives screamed 'si, se abstention puede!' while the pro-independence Catalan Republican of Sanchez hugged Iglesias, who was Left photographed party (ERC), which agreed to sit in tears. Spain’s most recent election out ter Sanchez vowed to find a solutionthe vote affourth in as many years as the country was the failed to litical conflict that has dogged Spain to the poform a cohesive government. since Catalunya’s separatist regional government “It’s great news for Spain,” leading tried to secede in 2017. panist, Sir Ian Gibson told the Olive expat HisPress.

“There are going to be lots of compromises, but also solutions.”

He added: “Sanchez is an amazing man and it’s remarkable to think he stuck it out after being kicked out of his own party and then came fighting back.

“He has the qualities of a true statesman and speaks very well. He will be a great asset for Europe.”

Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo also sent a letter of congratulation to Sanchez on being re-elected, after ‘a tortuous and fractious debate’.

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The government’s opponents argue Sanchez’ ‘Frankenstein government’ will be en to Catalan separatists and pose too beholda threat to Spain’s national unity.

While Sanchez appealed for calm, and called on MPs to overcome the ‘atmosphere of his adversaries went on the offensive. irritation’, PP leader Pablo Casado, accused him ‘extremist’ who had left the country’sof being an future in the hands of ‘terrorists and coup-mongers’.

In a tweet sent after the vote, Sanchez “Spain is entering a time for defending wrote: dialogue and useful politics. A government for all people that restores co-existence and fights for social justice.

Today is the dawn of a time of moderation, progress and hope.”

See page 23 Spain’s new coalition is expected to roll out a policy of raising income tax for people in Spain who earn more than €130,000.

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January 10th - January 23th 2020 Vol. 3 Issue 71 www.theolivepress.es

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UK ‘failing’ abused kids

THE UK is failing British children overseas, as numerous paedophiles are being allowed to travel overseas to commit sex crimes, a new report has found.

Dozens of dangerous sex offenders Euare being allowed to live around rope, many in countries like Spain.

In the hard hitting report, released reyesterday, British expats have quested consular assistance numerous times over child sex and child pornography offences. a The findings have been released in 74-page report by the Truth Project, which is part of Britain’s in-depth Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

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The nearly man becomes the Main Man, as Pedro Sanchez forms a government in Spain after a turbulent two year wait

Shocking

It found that UK offenders ‘figure highly’ in the numbers of sex crimes against British children abroad.

According to the report, from March the 31, 2018, only around 0.2% of in 58,637 registered sex offenders England and Wales had their foreign travel restricted.

It says that the disclosure and barring service is ‘confusing, inconsistent and in need of reform’. sex A shocking 361 suspected child abuse cases were recorded between in 2013 and 2017 alone. In 2018, Spain alone, around five Brits were arrested for child sex offences, according to data by the Foreign & Commonin wealth Office. Up to five more Brits Spain were held for child porn charges in the same year, although the exact figures are not given.

SEALED: Handshake from King confirms Sanchez as leader

for the and a He also offered his support on the be Pablo Iglesias’s Podemos party promotion of ‘policies based Press: “While there are going to “QUICK, simple and painless. The lots of compromises, there will also host of other parties. principle of dialogue, understanding It helped that 18 MPs, the majority and co-operation between our repain comes later,” King Felipe told be solutions.” incoming Prime Minister Pedro San- The Madrid-based writer, who has from Catalunya, abstained. will preside over spective people’. chez at a swearing in ceremony yes- lived in Spain for half a century, add- It means Sanchez government in Key to Sanchez’s victory was the abthe first coalition pro-independence terday. ed: “I’m delighted. He’s an amazing the death of stention of the ERC, after SanThe PSOE leader will certainly hope man and it’s remarkable to think he Spain since 1977 after Catalan party, the solution to the not, having had to endure an agoniz- stuck it out after being kicked out of dictator Franco.

Podemos, chez vowed to find a Spain since A THIEF has been caught after ing two year wait and three general his own party and then fighting back. The coalition, includes Galego conflict that has dogged government states- PNV, Más País, Compromís, leaving his shoes behind at a crime elections to get this far.

Catalunya’s separatist at “He has the qualities of a true Nationalist Block, Teruel Existe and tried to secede in 2017. scene.

It was his second recent attempt man and speaks very well. argue Nueva Canarias.

It happened after a resident of Pal- an investiture since the Socialists the The government’s opponents The parties opposing included the most seats in December’s ma heard rumbling in his garage Sanchez’ ‘Frankenstein government’ he won an Frankenstein PP, Vox, Ciudadanos, Junts per Cata- will be too beholden to Catalan sepa– when he went to investigate the general election, but failed to win to Spain’s threat a a great asset for Europe,” lunya and Navarra Suma. found his valuables in a pile by overall majority. pose be and will He ratists the who has penned Spain’s most recent election was Sanchez, 47, pulled out all the door ready to be taken. national unity. PP leader Pablo Casaof And as he cracked heads at a mam- added the Hispanist, fourth in as many years as the country do accused him of being an ‘extremon Spain.

Mysteriously, he also found a pair stops in numerous books a cohesive government. future someone else's shoes next to them.to moth two-day weekend session Sanchez was sworn in at Zarzuela failed to form Fabian ist’ who had left the country’s Police were called and arrived the Madrid, after which he finally won Palace after winning a second vote of Gibraltar’s Chief Minister in the hands of ‘terrorists and coupPicardo sent a letter of congratula- mongers’. find a barefoot Spaniard on the vote by two seats. confidence. being re-elected, is expected to street nearby.

After years of instability, it is ‘great MPs voted by a knife-edge 167 votes tion to Sanchez on fractious de- Spain’s new coalition tax The 26-year-old was already known news for Spain’ insisted one of the to 165 to support Sanchez’s left-wing after ‘a tortuous and roll out a policy of raising income by bate’.

15:36 16/06/2017 best known1expats. for similar break-ins and has now country’s Untitled-1.pdf coalition government, propped up for people in Spain who earn more been charged.

Irish author Ian Gibson told the Olive than €130,000.

Sanchez has als0 sent a message that economic management is a priority in his new government, by keeping in the (left) Montero on Maria Jesus Treasury.

However, in a further sign of loyalty, C pohe has also awarded her the new UK BASED sition of ‘spokesperson of the CoaliM tion Executive’.

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EXCLUSIVE

By Joshua Parfitt

ONE of the world’s leading experts on swimming pool deaths has flown to Spain to investigate the tragic drownings of three British citizens on Christmas Eve. Allen Wilson, a health and safety expert who has worked on numerous drowning cases around Europe, arrived on the Costa del Sol yesterday.

He told the Olive Press last night he believed the pool, where British tourists Gabriel Diya, 52 Comfort Diya, nine, and Praise-Emmanuel Diya, 16, died on Christmas Eve, was ‘hazardous’.

He insisted the Club La Costa World (CLC) resort in Fuengirola - which he is set to visit this week - was ‘most likely to blame’ for the shock deaths of the trio.

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SWORN IN January 9th - January 22nd 2020

The nearly man becomes the Main Man, as Pedro Sanchez forms a government in Spain after a turbulent two year wait

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Wilson claimed the pool’s design with just one floor ‘outlet’ – instead of two – could have created an ‘excessive suction vacuum’ and dragged them under water.

It flies in the face of the Guardia Civil’s official investigation, which concluded the three died as a result of their ‘inability to swim’.

Their controversial report was thrown into jeopardy, however, when mother and wife Olubunmi Diya insisted all three could swim.

Her lawyer, Fuengirola-based Javier Toro, later insisted daughter Comfort had even taken lessons a ‘week before the holiday’.

Toro told the Olive Press this week that ‘many lines of investigation remained open’.

Wilson, however, went further to claim the report done by the police was a ‘cover up’ to protect the Span- “QUICK, simple and painless. The ish tourist industry, the resort and pain comes later,” King Felipe told Press: “While there are going to be incoming Prime Minister Pedro San- lots of compromises, there will also the tour operators.

“It stinks,” Wilson, who has worked chez at a swearing in ceremony yes- be solutions.”

The Madrid-based writer, who for leading European tour operators terday. has The PSOE leader will certainly hope lived in Spain for half a century, addnot, having had to endure an agoniz- ed: “I’m delighted. He’s an amazing Continues on Page 4 ing two year wait and three general man and it’s remarkable to think he stuck it out after being kicked out elections to get this far. of his own party and then fighting It was his second recent attempt at “He has the qualities of a true back. an investiture since the Socialists stateswon the most seats in December’s man and speaks very well. He will be a great asset for Europe,” added general election, but failed to win the an Hispanist, who has penned overall majority. numerous books on Spain.

And Sanchez, 47, pulled out all the Sanchez was sworn in at stops as he cracked heads at a mamZarzuela Palace after winning a second vote moth two-day weekend session of in confidence.

Madrid, after which he finally won MPs voted by a knife-edge 167 votes the vote by two seats. to 165 to support Sanchez’s After years of instability, it is ‘great left-wing coalition government, propped news for Spain’ insisted one of the Pablo Iglesias’s Podemos party up by country’s best known expats. and a EXPERT: Allen Wilson Irish author Ian Gibson told the Olive host of other parties.

It helped that 18 MPs, the majority

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SEALED: Handshake from King confirms Sanchez as leader from Catalunya, abstained.

It means Sanchez will preside over and co-operation between our respective people’. the first coalition government Spain since 1977 after the death in Key to Sanchez’s victory was the abof stention of the pro-independence dictator Franco.

The coalition, includes Podemos, Catalan party, the ERC, after SanPNV, Más País, Compromís, Galego chez vowed to find a solution to the Nationalist Block, Teruel Existe and conflict that has dogged Spain since Catalunya’s separatist government Nueva Canarias. tried to secede in 2017.

The parties opposing included the The government’s opponents PP, Vox, Ciudadanos, Junts per Cataargue Sanchez’ ‘Frankenstein government’ lunya and Navarra Suma. will be too beholden to Catalan sepSpain’s most recent election was the aratists and pose a threat fourth in as many years as the country to Spain’s national unity. PP leader Pablo failed to form a cohesive government.

Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Casado accused him of being an ‘exPicardo sent a letter of congratula- tremist’ who had left the country’s tion to Sanchez on being re-elected, future in the hands of ‘terrorists and coup-mongers’. after ‘a tortuous and fractious de- Spain’s new coalition is expected bate’. roll out a policy of raising income to He also offered his support for tax promotion of ‘policies based on the for people in Spain who earn more the than €130,000. principle of dialogue, understanding Opinion Page 6

Get educated

Dr Dolittle

Fine balance

I brought seven animals back to the UK (A dog is for life, Issue 334, pg 10). Two dogs and five cats.

That was ten years ago now. I still have the two dogs and two of the cats. They’re now all 14 years old.

There’s no way I would have left them.

Susan Hargreaves, Wales

I never understand people who live in the heart of the city, wanting perfect peace and quiet. If you want to live in silence move to the campo! Otherwise just understand you are a city dweller. At least it’s not 300 years ago, with raw sewage running down the streets.

Alex Brown, Malaga I lived above a bar in Brussels for three years.

Sometimes it got a bit much, but a pair of ear plugs helped. Cities are not JUST for bars and cafes though, and when you drive residents out because of noise and overcrowding, you get a dead city.

Balance. Careful planning. I think the council are trying to do that and should be supported.

Heath Savage, Galicia

Caña give it a rest

Malaga is now swamped with bars and restaurants.

Hardly any shops that sell everyday products now exist. Almost every building being restored is destined for holiday lets. Add in the hundreds of electric scooters and segways making it difficult to walk the narrow streets, and you see how everything has been sacrificed for tourism.

Andrew Birch, Malaga

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

Not pedantic I mention this only because you may want to correct it, if indeed you concede (Air heads, Issue 334, pg 10), 95 klms square is a vast area. I suspect it was 95 square klms.

I’m not being pedantic, it’s much more than a Freudian slip. I do enjoy your crossword, why don’t you do a cryptic one. This is not worthy of print, just a friendly note.

Others will notice.

William Carr, Malaga

Ryanair model Why can’t these airlines make profits?

(Airline Flybe saved by British Government deal that includes tax break, Online, January 14) Perhaps they should look at the dreaded Ryanair model.

Neil Hollow, Fuente de Piedra

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Dear Olive Press, I have read and watched many reports about why the tragedy in Mijas occurred (Diving in, Issue 334).

I swim in our communal pool in Benahavis every day of the year and as president of our community have is safe. theaspool that lly, to ensure ibilitythe a political the respons EU, essentia Moore sees Rose tempera water the year of The ture time 7). this pg at r 325, Issue Howeve proud, dictatorship (Leave and our pool as Eve Christm on28 andare states, to 11°C down sovereign is now . There opposite is the reality cold. nally still, exceptio this isvoluntari to become ly chose was at 13°C the UK,–which including water at g in to swimmin would persons that the UK Only those believes Dunneused d. Steve associate going late contemp should to into tures going not tempera I’m so. these Not terms. fair better on WTO to anyone occur chapter that can andjumpreaction The a pool. by quoting letters page your down weigh serious will cause turelooks of that into the ing into that Steve ndtempera I recomme butwater verse, tragic terrible a been have to me to Trump That seems It knows. shock. he that industry any of specifics the with s problem been have there should if UK but t; EU-free an acciden with deal is trying to get a trade But please, be exposed should deals this they Trump’s. trade pool to know: want all you youthen tell a warning whenBrent forout to a timeFinally, speaksgo Mahlershould is certainly US-first labels. have just bethat Spain, to holiday on force come who armed EU those an of all wary citizens UK of a number swimin tures tempera water the – ideas are sunny is it these , cause However and an ever closer union. certainly areEU heated, am what unless policy. I not pools, ming by and not people specific floated g pool. swimmin in a UK 40-plus seeinsidious of proyears would ever you worried at the more Englandh,where of East North the in up Telegrap brought Mail, the was I by EEC/EU the against paganda th at Tynemou beach on the did Sun. What The our outdoor of course, and, was Times pool Express, annual the athe 10°C was so an-openwas water why and thesay asked he was whentemp Murdoch 16°C in ofinto maximu to aof: in Easter I go the pool “Whenm ing of the lines g along Somethin ti-EU? rise never would ture tempera sea The The .

EU.” the to summer go I the when say: I what do they 10 No. levels the to t differen very are ent!

These appointm 17°C. an for above ask to had implication is that he that we experience here.

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OP QUICK Crossword Across 7 Perch (5) 8 Hug (7) 10 Poorly matched (7) 11 Infectious agent (5) 12 Shout of discovery (6) 14 Mistake (4-2) 17 Showy and cheap (6) 19 Hue (6) 21 Mistaken (5) 23 Small bag (7) 24 Cap attachment (7) 25 Fertile area in a desert (5)

OP Sudoku

GIBRALTAR will ‘make a success’ of tough ‘challenges’ in 2020, the Chief Minister has said.

In his New Year’s speech Fabian Picardo mentioned details of a major investment to be announced in the next couple of weeks Picardo said everyone must work together with ‘stoic sacrifice’ by asking for less ‘to secure our children’s future’.

He noted the ‘critical importance’ the MoUs and Tax Treaty which of lowed Gibraltar to take part in althe transition period.

Picardo highlighted the ‘dangers and opportunities’ of leaving the EU, pointing out the agreement of a common that was a ‘Brexit Bonus’.UK

Down 1 Altercation (8) 2 D-i-y beer (4-4) 3 Hit (6) 4 Exchange for money (4) 5 Two identical things (4) 6 Military dining room (4) 9 Chamfer (5) 13 Some (3) 14 Not sweet (3) 15 Foretell (8) 16 Render immobile (8) 18 Majestic (5) 20 Choice (6) 21 Small songbird (4) 22 Rowing levers (4) 23 Drinks slowly (4)

All solutions are on page 29

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Good health 2020

Vol. 13 Issue 335

BLOG OFF SPAIN’s pharmaceutical watchdog has issued a warning over social media influencers pushing dodgy health products.

The CGCF (General Council of Physiotherapist Associations of Spain) has filed a complaint with the Spanish Health Ministry about people promoting medicinal treatments for beauty conditions without proper knowledge or training.

According to Spanish law, such medical promotion is banned and advertising is strictly monitored by industry professionals.

Risks

However Spanish social media ‘stars’ have been advocating the use of certain creams, wipes and tablets in order to help with cosmetic issues, unaware of some of the potential health risks that indiscriminate use can cause.

Pharmacist Guillermo Martin Melgar first noticed the problem when a certain brand of prescription facial wipes was suddenly selling out, only to find it was being recommended by a popular Youtube channel as a treatment for acne.

January 22th - February 4th 2020

www.theolivepress.es

Water worry After decades of believing it was safe to drink, a new study finds Spain’s tap water may not be SPAIN’s tap water is among the worst in Europe.

A major Barcelona study has found it carries the fourth highest risk for bladder cancer on the continent.

Findings suggest that longterm exposure to a group of chemicals in tap water called trihalomethanes may be the cause for one in 20 cases of bladder cancer in Europe each year.

Scientists from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) analysed the tap water of all 28 EU countries except Bulgaria and Romania between 2005 and 2018.

At 10.9%, Spain’s tap water came out with the fourth

highest levels of THMs on the continent - behind only Cyprus with 23.2%, Malta with 17.9% and Ireland’s Liffey water coming a surprising third from bottom with 17.2%.

At the opposite end of the H2O horror list, Denmark’s water was the purest, with a

Milk matters

Children who drink full-fat milk are less likely to be overweight than those given skimmed or semi-skimmed.

The findings were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and they found that children who drank whole milk had 40% lower

THM count of less than 0.1%, followed by the Netherlands ( 0.1%) and Germany (0.2%).

The scientists also concluded that showering and bathing can also trigger the disease, allowing the chemicals to enter the body via the pores of the skin.

odds of being overweight or obese compared with their peers who drank lower-fat varieties.

It has been speculated that whole milk causes children to feel fuller, which reduces snacking.

The research combined the results of 28 studies that were conducted across seven countries, which had explored the correlation between children drinking cows milk and the risk of being overweight.

OM! Our guide to Spain’s best yoga 17 breaks SEE Page

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14 January 22th - February 4th 2020

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dozen resolutions Make it your healthiest year ever with these good for you goals. Small changes that deliver big results. 2020 - bring it on!

1. Start supplementing

Regardless of your age or lifestyle, these really are a must to maintain good health. These are the basics you need to feel good at any age.

Nature’s cure

With many of us looking at more natural health remedies, you’ve probably heard of CBD oil, but not all products are equal. Rikke Hrab from SativaSana in Fuengirola explains why.

“We’ve been selling hemp products at SativaSana for three and half years.

Our customers have experienced relief after trying the oils for many conditions from stress and anxiety to chronic diseases. We are not doctors, we do however, have a lot of experience and believe in giving our customers face to face advice and support so they can get the best from our products.

Our hemp oils contain Cannabis Sativa L extract.

This is a plant with a low content of THC, and therefore it is legal for many uses. We feel it is important people know to ask for independent laborato-

ry tests on these type of products so they know they get the best quality there is.We are happy to share our tests.

Depending on the health problem customers can start at a low 2.5% or 5% dosage which can slowly increase over time.

You start with just a drop on your tongue each day. We explain it isn’t like taking a pill and the pain goes away instantly, the benefits are more gradual. But its great our customers give us so much positive feedback. We pride ourselves on having a wealth of experience in this area, having high quality products and giving high quality support and trusted advice.

SativaSana Full Spectrum Oils, The Natural Corner, Calle Marconi 41, 29640 Fuengirola Mon- Fri 10am-6pm Sat 10am -2pm

VITAMIN C - It’s a vital support to our immune system and a protective antioxidant. A good daily dose is 500mg. Taking more than 1,000mg a day may cause stomach pain, diarrhoea or flatulence. And of course living in Spain, take advantage of the juiciest citrus fruits and add more to your diet.

B COMPLEX- Essential for energy production in your body and to support your hormones. A good average dose is 25-50mg of each of the main Bs (1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and smaller amounts of B9 and B12) in one B-complex tablet. These nutrients are not stored in the body, so you need to top up the supply every day.

OMEGA-6 EVENING PRIMROSE OIL (or starflower oil) slows signs of ageing, balances hormones and helps with PMS and menopause symptoms. Take 1,000mg daily, increasing to three times a day for hormonal imbalances, such as PMS. OMEGA-3 FISH OIL OR linseed oil can help reduce inflammation and maximise brain function. Take 1,000mg daily or twice a day if you suffer from dry skin or sore joints. Your body’s cells are dependent on Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), such as Omega-3 and -6; without them, your body will deteriorate more rapidly. If you’re getting enough, your skin will be beautifully strong and supple.

VITAMIN D You need this to absorb calcium and phosphorus to keep bones and teeth healthy, most of our body’s vitamin D comes from exposure to sunlight. Thank goodness for the Spanish sun!

2. Disinfect your phone!

We check our phones a gazillion times a day and if you’ve taken yours into the toilets, you’re not the only one! But that means phones carry about 10 times as much bacteria as most toilet seats. And British researchers found that one in six devices were contaminated with E. coli!). Use cleaning wipes that don’t contain bleach as that’s safer for your phones and tablets and do it every week.

3. Add some spice to your life

Turmeric should really be known as trendy spice given everyone was talking about it last year.

And not without reason. It’s an incredible anti-inflammatory and can help ease rheumatoid pain.Ginger like turmeric is also anti inflammatory and is a powerful remedy for upset stomachs and nausea

www.sativasana.com

4. A bit of juice

After the excesses of the holiday season, give your body a break and start juicing. It’s a great way of using up leftover fruit and veg and you get an instant shot of nutrients. Some swear by a full on 3, 7 or ten day juicing detox regime, but you don’t have to go that far. Even pledging to start your day with a healthy cucumber juice will make a difference. Check out Gym Junkie cafe in San Pedro de Alcantara, they are the experts on nutritional juicing, detoxing and protein shakes and can whisk you up a tasty drink to get you started..

6. Get a better nights sleep

One in three of us don’t get a good night’s sleep.

Overthinking, the glare of TV, phone and computer screens are all sleep wreckers. Lack of sleep impacts your mental and physical wellbeing. If this is you, try the 4-7-8 breathing method which can help calm before sleep. Breathe in for a steady count of 4 – hold for 7 – breathe out for 8.

5. Look after your mouth

Regular dental check ups and brushing twice a day is a must, but add in flossing once a day and tongue cleaning once a day and you’re on the way to the gold standard in oral health. If you don’t clean your tongue, bacteria can build up on it quickly, leading to discolouration and risking bacteria spreading to your teeth and gums.Tongue cleaning also helps prevent bad breath.

Good health

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you can stick to!

8. Key into Kindfulness

7. Hop it!

You may have heard about Mindfulness but in 2020 it’s all about Kindfulness. According to Freud, we all have a part of the mind that is unnecessarily critical. It can make you beat up on yourself over anything - the career you have chosen, your relationshipor lack of, even the huge piece of chocolate cake you just guzzled. Kindfulness is about recognising where YOU come on your to do list. It’s not about treading on others to make sure your needs are met, but its OK to recognise what those needs are and love yourself, even if you’re not always perfect.

Celebrate who you are instead of comparing yourself to others and make yourself the most important person in your life. To find out more, check out Kindfulness by Caroline Millington, available on Amazon Books.

Hopping for five minutes a day may protect women from breaking their hips, according to a new study. It could strengthen bones in the legs, making them more dense and less likely to break. Brittle bones, caused by a condition called osteoporosis which makes holes inside the bones, is a common issue for women who have been through the menopause.

Scientists at Loughborough University, followed 35 women aged 55-70 over the course of six months and told them to do up to 50 one-legged hops each day. At the end they found the density of their leg bones had increased in the hopping leg while it had decreased in the non-hopping leg.

The team also did MRI scans of the women’s knees to check the exercise had not done any damage to the joints, which it hadn’t.

10.Listen Up

Health podcasts are great for connecting with wellbeing issues and research says audio conversations help you retain information. When you listen, as opposed to watching a screen, your brain has to be more active to process the information.

Podcasts are easy to fit into your day; when you’re cooking or travelling, for example. Here are three great ones to get you started.

Ted Talks Health - If you haven’t heard of TED talks, you’re missing out. These fascinating lectures cover all sorts of topics and are given by some of the smartest people around. The health ones are by researchers and doctors who excel in their fields, sharing compelling developments and advice.

January 22th - February 4th 2020

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Ranjan Chatterjee - A presenter, author and GP with more than 16 years experience, Dr Chatterjee believes most of us don’t need a pill, but a lifestyle prescription. He says some of our ills, from menopausal symptoms to IBS, can be related to stress.

With experts sharing insights, you’ll get brilliant advice. Plus, advice from this realist doctor won’t be pie in the sky.

Wellness with Liz Earle - Can you improve your hormonal health? Are walnuts the wellbeing wonder they are made out to be? If you find yourself trying to decide if something is a gem of wellbeing wisdom or a passing fad, Liz Earle MBE and her expert friends will set you straight.

9. Eat superherbs for a brain boost Add sage to your food or simply inhale its scent and you’ll get a brain boost. It’s been known to increase memory recall and retention so may be a superfood for the mind.

Sage is high in Vitamin K - just two grammes provides 43% of your daily recommended intake. It can also help with cholesterol levels, treat symptoms of the menopause and improve blood sugar levels. Fresh rosemary is another herb that can help as a cognitive booster, helping with focus and mental clarity. Its rich in vitamins A, B6, C, folate and thiamine. Phew!

11. Get your eyes tested Our eyes are often called ‘windows to the soul’ but they are also a very effective window to our overall health. Many people first learn they have diabetes, high cholesterol and even cancer from a routine eye exam.

So as well as evaluating whether you need glasses or a new prescription or have glaucoma, an annual eye check could be one of the best things you can do for your health.

Researchers are even working on an eye test that can identify your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

12.Don’t fear fats

Raw nuts, avocados and olive oil are all rich in good fats you should eat them regularly. Avocados are also a good source of Vitamins E and C, which are important for skin health. Vitamin C helps make collagen, the protein that keeps skin plump and elastic, while Vitamin E is an antioxidant which helps protect skin from the sun’s damaging UV rays.

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January 22th - February 4th 2020

EW Year, New You? Let me guess, you signed up to the gym and started a new diet that you may have already broken by now and it’s not even the end of January.

You want to get healthier and you’re unsure of a way to do it continuously while also having fun?

Have you thought about taking up a new sport, or going back to one you used to play?

Sport has been an important part of human life since the Ancient Greeks created the Olympic Games hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. Evidently it has endured the test of time but why is it still so popular?

Parents tend to think of it as a way their children can stay healthy and active and make new friends. My mum encouraged me to try every

Sporting chance

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Knocking a ball about is one of the best ways to stay fit, stress-free and happy, writes Dimitris Kouimtsidis sport imaginable when I was young, before I discovered my true calling – basketball. I’ve now been playing for more than 12 years and coaching for four. Even though the phrase ball is life is a massive cliche, it still means a lot to me. There are times when the only thing that can help me deal with

KICK-START 2020

troubling issues is my love for the orange ball.

According to a study by Sport England, sport programmes aimed at youths at risk of criminal behaviour can enhance self-esteem and reduce reoffending.

I’m not saying that basketball was ever that extreme for me, but when I step onto

a great alternative to other establishments.

If you are feeling low in energy Gym Junkie now offer its new ‘miracle’ chaga mushroom shot....to restore and renew both your physical and mental well being. The drink is made up of 100% Wild Siberian Chaga mushroom, harvested from birch trees in the forests of the Northern Hemisphere.

No sugar, No sweeteners, No additives, Zero calories, 100% Natural, 100% Vegan. Contains 19 of the body’s required 20 amino acids.

Highest score for antioxidants in any food on earth. To all the parents out there...don’t forget that opposite Gym Junkie there is a great kids park with lots of free parking.

GYM Junkie Cafe San Pedro is the town’s hottest protein cafe. Its mission is to bring you fresh, healthy food and beverages at affordable prices.

Gym Junkie have added some new and exciting changes to the menu... including a range of delicious vegan gluten-free superfood lattes that will give you that little boost you need.

Flavours include, matcha with vanilla, chocolate with raw cacao, turmeric with black pepper, beetroot and ginger and more....The friendly team use tasty, natural ingredients and superfoods packed with nutrients and vitamins to benefit your mind and body.

With the hectic pace of daily life Gym Junkie Cafe To see our full menu visit: www.gymjunkiecafe. cares for your health and wellness providing you com or call 951 89 99 53

the court I forget everything about the outside world – be that relationship problems or work worries.

Basketball is my escape from the real world and that’s always the feeling I want to instil to my players.

Joining a new team can also help you meet new people and create new friendships, especially if you’ve just moved to a new country – as I have, moving to Spain just three weeks ago. When you have a job with demanding work hours, it can be pretty tough to find time to socialise. But through sport you can kill two birds with one stone, by becoming healthier and making new friends at the same time.

Basketball - the second biggest sport in Spain after football - has helped me do exactly that.

The social side of sport doesn’t only help with mak-

TEAMWORK: Girls let off some steam, while (top) Dimitris defends the ball on court ing new friends; it can help your ‘social skills’ generally, and how you deal with ‘obstacles’ presented by opponents and referees - transferable skills that you can then use in everyday life.

Sport is also a great way of releasing tension and anger.

Many studies show that regular exercise releases endorphins, enhancing mood and reducing depression.

That doesn’t necessarily just mean sport; it could be going to the gym or for a run, although solitary activities may not take your mind off things as efficiently as sport, with its emphasis on teamwork, competition and fun.

If you’re going to get that ball in the net you can’t be stressing about that story you should have submitted to the editor last week!

Good health

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Escape from the everyday For the ultimate yoga break, these Spanish retreats offer the very best in health and wellbeing. Gabriella Chidgey checks in and chills out…

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ORE energy, more flexibility, a clear mind and a toned body. There’s a reason why so many of us are switching to yoga instead of powerlifting at the gym or pounding the pavements.

We are lucky enough to be living in an area that boasts many of the world’s best retreat centres. Regularly topping lists of the greatest yoga holidays in UK newspapers such as The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Times.

The centres featured below are all set in stunning locations, with state of the art yoga halls and offer retreats led by internationally renowned yoga teachers.

Shanti som www.shantisom.com Described by The Telegraph as ‘Asia meets Spain’ and featured in both 2012 and 2016 in their articles on the best wellbeing holidays, Shanti Som sits in the mountains above Marbella. It offers twice daily yoga classes in either its indoor studio or outdoor yoga pavilion and a wide range of health and beauty treatments and healing therapies. It also has personal trainers available for private training sessions or pilates lessons.

Kaliyoga www.kaliyoga.com

KING OF RETREATS: Molino del Rey

Molino del rey www.molinodelrey.com Hand built and loving crafted by the owners Anthony and Lidiya, this centre was probably the first founded in Andalucia and has been running since 1994. It hosts a wide range of retreats, including spa and massage treatments, hiking and hillwalking.

I visited about 18 years ago and was impressed by its beautiful location and cave pool area. The owner Anthony assured me that in every year since I had visited they had continued to build and perfect the property.

Testament to their success, guests have been repeating for 20 years, and indeed their retreat calendar is booked out a year in advance.

Laughing, he claimed that there was almost nothing he could do now to improve on the property during the months it is closed !(November-April)

In 2002 yogis Jonathan and Rosie Miles left London in search of a beautiful location for a retreat centre. Their friend Kali predicted that it would be in the Alpujarras, and so it came to pass; Kaliyoga was founded. It has been a success story from the beginning and they have recently opened a second centre in Puglia, Italy.

Testimonials on their website are full of praise and guests repeat year after year. Barack Obama’s staff wrote long and glowing testimonials following their visit in 2019.

Unlike many retreat centres, classes at Kali Yoga are taught by their own in house teachers.

Their blog is well designed and an interesting read, so whether or not you manage

RELAXING: A group at Crisalida

EXCLUSIVE: Marbella’s Shanti Som retreat

to visit, it is still worth a look.

La Crisalida www.lacrisalidaretreats.com Unlike most retreats, this centre in Albir, Costa Blanca is open all year round and offers shorter 3 day courses as well as the usual week long stays. Founded in 2013 by John and Lisa Brant, La Crisalida offer a wide range of yoga, health and wellbeing retreats led by an experienced and professional team.

Lisa, a former epidemiologist, is now a yoga teacher, nutritionist and NLP coach, while John left his job as an actuary to become an NLP, hypnosis and life coach. Together they promote alternative health through their retreat programmes. Their website is professional, detailed and informative.

Other useful websites www.bookyogaretreats.com www.yogascapes.com www.yovada.com retreat.guru

January 22th - February 4th 2020

Yummy yoga girl lands in Sotogrande

AFTER a global tour taking in many of the world’s most spiritual countries, Natalie Farrell settled in Andalucia.

Based out of Sotogrande, the former vocal coach, from London, offers a range of yoga and wellbeing classes, as well as retreats and supper clubs.

Her Cosmic Soul School business offers women a space to heal from the past and reminds them that choice exists so they can learn to move forwards.

Meanwhile, her Yummy Yoga Girl business inspires women to be the healthiest versions of themselves with advice on sustainable and organic living.

Her arrival on the Costa del Sol came after she changed career at the age of 35 to realise her business and personal aspirations.

After selling her thriving vocal coaching business she travelled around the world taking in India, Sri Lanka, Bali, Bhutan and the Philippines, before settling in Spain in 2018.

“Travelling is to plant roots to the soul. It made me want to go ahead in life, discovering how to put down roots and fly at the same time,” she tells the Olive Press.

During her years of travel, she studied as a yoga teacher in Santa Barbara, California, and qualified as a Master Neuro Linguistic Practitioner (NLP) and Wellbeing Coach.

She believes an integrated and holistic approach to life is what people are looking for as well as support and a work, life balance.

She is also no stranger to the barriers people face when changing lifestyle habits as she got over an eating disorder in her late twenties.She now has two businesses which inspire women to make bold decisions, understand themselves and develop their own beliefs to be happy.

Visit www.yummyyogagirl.com, which also has its own yoga fashion brand and www.cosmicsoulschool.com which offers a range of yoga related events and classes.

Contact her at natalie@yummyyogagirl.com

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18 January 22th - February 4th 2020

Olive Press health and wellbeing resolutions Charlie Smith, News Editor I am going to play tennis a lot more this year.

Jon Clarke, Editor and Publisher I am going to conquer my jelly baby addiction - need to cut down on sugar!

Karen Livermore, Features writer Since moving to Spain I have not been to the gym and I was a regular in the UK. So I am determined to join my local gym and start working out again.

Lighting up the way Jon Clarke tries thermal imaging as part of a full body January check up

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LIT UP: Jon Clarke gets a peek inside his body and (right) with a friend

LOOKED like a traffic light turning from amber to red.

The top of my body and neck (above right) was a cauldron of red and, on first glance, it looked like I was about to blow my top.

Fortunately my head and face was a little cooler - demonstrated by large swathes of green - and the long slash of red down my spine was also to be expected.

This was my first experience of thermal imaging, a modern way to check someone’s general health, without the need to be invasive, give blood or other bodily samples.

As part of Bodyworks’ Full Body Check Up I spent a morning having my entire body catalogued from top to tail, before the images were sent off to a team of American radiologists to analyse.

“It’s part of our ‘whole body’ approach,” explains Estelle Mitchell, who set up the clinic on

the Costa del Sol in 2004. all picture without any side effects and the “I liken it to switching the overhead lights on images are always taken under specifically set rather than using a torch.” conditions for consistency.

She continues: “And best of all, Using thermal imaging the body is there is no radiation, as used in checked for issues and problems X-rays or CAT scans, no clausin major organs, muscles, nerves John Culatto, Journalist My headaches trophobia (as with MRI), and no and arteries.

To get fit I am going to ride pain, as with PET scans and enFirst of all though, Estelle conducts were probably more waves this year doscopies.” a detailed consultation exploring The Consultant Physiotherapist, stemming from health issues and any factors that who trained with the RAF three may cause current or future probDimitris Kouimtsidis, Journalist tension in the lems. decades ago, is particularly I am going to start cutting calories keen on the method, as it helps In my case, recent headaches may again (stopped during my first neck to screen issues in the lymphatbe because of worsening eyesight, month in Spain) in order to get abs ic system and for nerve pain. as well as, perhaps, to do with a in time for the summer.

“This is difficult to see in other car crash I suffered in the Middle tests and often helps to identify ‘persistent’ East two decades ago.

Beatriz Sanllehi, Admin pain that is resisting treatment elsewhere,” And, hey presto, the results entirely backed up I am trying to stay vegan for she continues. my concerns showing deep red, and most imporfour days a week - its hard!

The useful general health guide gives an overtantly, a white spot in my left tear duct.

The ‘Thermographic Interpretation’ explained that my headaches were probably stemming from tension building up in the neck and shoulders and possible dental inflammation in my jaw.

While my lymphatic and immune system was a little out of kilter and would benefit from treatment, my images showed that I was mostly in the clear for cardiac issues moving forwards.

The Specialist Medical Clinic in Gibraltar is a great place for a full-body ‘well-man check’ ADVICE: David Deardon I was also in need of a serious alignment of my body and to learn how to run, and even walk, OST doctors will tell you to eat MOT. Not every year mind! various cancers and cardiovascular issues. better.

“You are clearly tense in your back, which is not well, drink lots of water and exerHis popular ‘well-man’ clinic offers a com“Most people’s problems boil down to losan uncommon finding,” explains Estelle. cise regularly if you want to live to prehensive top-to-toe health check, not ing weight, taking more exercise and keep“You also have nerve issues around your neck, a grand old age! dissimilar to ‘a full service of a car’. ing an eye on things like blood pressure.” which could be to do with your car accident.

Surgeon David Deardon, who owns Gibral“It’s not a complete diagnosis, but it is an He explained that the key issues for men The body remembers even if you forget.” tar’s Specialist Medical Clinic, isn’t any ideal indicator for the next decade and in their fifties and sixties are heart attacks She continued: “But some of your issues could different. looks for all the tell-tale signs of wear and and strokes, and the earlier you address be to do with the way you walk, the way you Yet, he appreciates that most men of a tear in your body,” he explained. any issues the better. shift your weight. Your body is like a chain, like certain age need the occasional full-body “Through a range of tests, we check for “It’s like a car, for the first few years everyJenga, and something wrong at the bottom can thing is fine, but as it starts to get wear and go all the way up.” tear, you get the odd rattle and shake.

She recommended addressing this as well as a “It’s the same with the body and if we adgood clear out of the lymphatic system, likendress that wear and tear early it will preing it to a cleaning lady. pare you for a much healthier life through “If your drains are blocked your cleaning lady into your 70s and 80s. can’t do a good job. You need to get someone in to clean the pipes.”

And finally she insisted that I needed to drink far more water. At least two litres a day!

Well, well, well man

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Seal of approval

AN ingenious new robotic aid to help Alzheimer’s patients has been launched in Andalucia this week.

Nuka - a fluffy seal with AI technology - has proven effective in relieving anxiety, improving communication, alleviating pain and even stopping patients from wandering - a common issue among sufferers.

Developed in Japan, the ben-

efits to many health organisations, is their ability to cut spending on psychotropic drugs.

Currently the worldwide cost of treating Alzheimer’s stands at US$1 trillion.

Nuka has voice recognition and emits baby seal sounds, as well as actually move.

Alzheimer’s experts say it also helps the mental and emotional well-being of patients.

spirometer

The clever new invention was unveiled at the CK La Quinta Care home in San Pedro de Alcantara..

Commercial Manager Victoria Herrero, said: ‘This is a very significant aid for Alzheimer’s patients.

“We are proud to be part of this launch and plan on working with other healthcare experts to launch more innovations at La Quinta.”

“If you leave it until problems present in the late 60s or 70s the chances of reversing them is much lower.”

His team of doctors will have a close look at a range of issues.

These include a spirometer to measure lung function and an electrocardiogram (ECG) to measure the heart.

Your blood pressure will be checked, as well as your PSA (prostate specific antigen) while blood tests, urine and stool samples are sent off to a lab to be analysed.

The results normally take a week and you return to find out if you have any signs of illnesses including anaemia, diabetes, as well as thyroid or liver malfunction.

You will be checked to see if you are HIV positive and if you have syphilis and other STDs. You will then be told what percentage chance you have of getting cardiovascular issues over the next ten years and how you might prevent them.

For information on the Well-Man check , as well as a comprehensive Well-Woman check, contact the Specialist Medical Clinic on 00350 200 49999 or visit www.specialistmedicalclinic.com

Bodyworks Clinic is based in San Pedro de Alcantara, where a multidisciplinary team offers a wide range of specialist health treatments.

For more information visit www.thebodyworksclinic.com

ANALYSIS: Estelle Mitchell looks over images

Good health SAFE KEEPING

YOU will be in good hands with Spain’s longest-serving health insurer.

Sanitas, which began in 1954, gives patients direct access to specialists, without the long waiting lists found in public hospitals.

It offers the widest coverage, which means that you can find everything under one roof (e.g. consultations, blood tests, x-rays, surgery).

This makes life much easier and will save you from pointless trips up and down the Costa del Sol. With Sanitas, life is more stress-free than if you were insured with social security and there is a huge choice of private clinics and hospitals in your area.

Offering a complete service from dental care to surgery, from medicine to home analytics, Sanitas has everything you need, with different plans to suit you.

There is also no limit on the number of visits you can make and you can even try out different doctors and ask for a second opinion.

The Sanitas office is in Estepona in Avenida Puerta del Mar nº 46 (close to Lidl).

Their international team covers languages like English, Swedish, German, Dutch and French.

You can contact them on +34 951 31 66 10 or visit the website www.sanitasestepona.com

19 January 22th - February 4th 2020

Is it hot in here?

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MALL armies of women are becoming HRT tourists to stock up on patches due to severe shortages of this menopause treatment in the UK according to the Daily Mail. In a panic over empty shelves back home, they are making mercy dashes to Spain where they can pick up a four month supply for as little as €58.

We may be awash with HRT supplies here, but many women prefer more natural remedies. We look at the alternatives that can help.

Menopause - all women go through it, yet for years it seemed a taboo subject. Something you just got on with. The lucky ones sail through without

Karen Livermore explores some of the natural ways to cope with the menopause much ado, but for others, this upheaval of hormones can spark many symptoms - physically and emotionally. Much is written about hot flushes, night sweats and mood swings. Many women say they feel angry with the world - for no reason.

There is HRT, but these days more and more women are looking for natural solutions rather than putting synthetics into their bodies. Teresa Henry who runs Slender Health Clinic in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol, says she has seen an increase in women coming to her for natural solutions to help

Slender Health Nutrition is the leading clinic on the Costa del Sol specialising in diabetes management, weight loss and menopause management.

The clinic can also help with digestive issues, anxiety and stress, sleep problems, IBS, hormonal imbalances and fertility and many other conditions.

Owner Teresa Henry is a picture of health.

Glowing skin, glossy hair, neat figure – exactly what you’d expect a highly qualified nutritionist to look like. But it wasn’t always this way.

Six years ago following her mother’s battle with ovarian cancer and her own challenging pregnancy, Teresa was left feeling emotionally and physically depleted.

Her hair was falling out, she suffered debil-

ADVICE: Slender boss Teresa ease menopausal and peri menopausal symptoms.

“As a nutritional therapist, I look at what my clients eat, their lifestyles, their emotional wellness and from there I can

HOLISTIC HELP

itating joint pain, anxiety, she had no energy. Yet it was during this period that Teresa started to become interested in how what you put into your body has a direct correlation to your health.

Every time we eat, our bodies biochemical and physiological processes work in an intricate and complex series of biochemical reactions. As she witnessed the positive results her changes made, her passion for learning more about the role nutrition has on cell regeneration and hormonal balances saw Teresa qualifying as a nutritional therapist from the College of Naturopathic Medicine.

work with them to rebalance their hormones.

“Often just being able to talk about how you are feeling and have someone listen can be of enormous help. It's about having the permission to put yourself first and take care of yourself. Something women are not always good at doing.”

She continues: “A client came to me recently as her mood swings and feelings of anxiety and anger had got worse.

“She was skipping meals, not getting quality sleep, drinking three bottles of wine a week. As a mum of three, she was juggling family and work life and taking on more and more. She was feeling emotionally and physically overwhelmed. Her

She is also registered with the Association of Naturopathic Practitioners in England (ANP) and regulated by the General Naturopathic Council, UK (GNC).

Together, Teresa and her clients also look at what the clients goals are. This allows Teresa to build a holistic picture of her clients needs and come up with a tailor made nutritional plan that is exclusive to that client.

“I believe health is what goes into your body, how your body processes what goes in and how your body converts what is processed into essential functions” says Teresa.

For more information, visit www.slenderhealthnutrition.com or call +34 711 008 090

anxiety levels were getting out of control. She was overly worrying about her kids - not just the natural day to day worries parents have. This was much more. She was also struggling with her weight and wanted to lose 12kgs.

“I was conscious of not overwhelming her even further with a complicated plan. Instead I looked at how best to balance her blood sugar levels oestrogen levels with a simple eating plan combined with nutritional supplements. “I also asked her to keep a journal about her moods, feelings and eating patterns.

Rebalancing

“Six weeks later, she had lost 7kgs and said being aware of what she was putting into her body and journaling her emotions and eating patterns had really helped.

“With a consistent rebalancing eating plan, she was able to start getting control back over her body and hormones and felt much more positive.”

For the top ten obscure symptoms of menopause and their remedies, visit www.theolive-

press.es and search menopause

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL Malaga calls time on late nights al fresco and bans new hospitality outlets from city centre

Sagrada showstopper THE Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has been crowned Europe’s top ‘must-see’ attraction.

Eurochange has analysed data from TripAdvisor for some of Europe’s top attractions and compiled a list, including ratings from previous visitors.

The famous Catalan Basilica takes the top spot with 160,964 TripAdvisor reviews.

Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi is the maestro responsible for designing the church, beginning his magnum opus in 1882.

Construction only passed the halfway mark in 2010 and it’s anticipated that the unfinished church will finally be completed by 2026.

Spain’s next two highest attractions are Park Güell in Barcelona, in 10th place, and the Alhambra in Granada, 11th.

Rute to success

HUSH - you’re in Malaga. The province’s party capital is turning down the music, closing its late-night terraces earlier and banning new food and beverage businesses from the city centre for the next five years.

A total of 103 streets considered to be the noisiest in the city - mostly in the centre - are on the five-year banned list, meaning they won’t get an Opening Licence from Malaga City Council.

They include the hospitality hotspots of Calle de Sanchez Pastor, Calle Caldereria and Calle Angel - most of Malaga’s historic dining district - which collectively house 34 bars,

THE Machaquito Distillery in the humble Cordoban farming town of Rute has won a prestigious award for its famous anis.

The liquor - favoured by farmers on winter mornings for its warming qualities - bagged a ‘Spirit of Spain’ award from the Spanish Association of Wine Journalists and Writers (AEPEV).

A judging panel of 170 wine and spirits experts tasted over 1,500 different creations from across Spain to form this years awards list.

The distillery in Rute, a small farming town in the depths of the Subbetica hills, has been creating the Anis for 160 years.

According to locals; it has a warming ‘sherry-type quality’, perfect for preparing for a cold day in the fields.

21

January 22th - February 4th 2020

You’re barred!

restaurants and hotels.

The streets that have been included in the ban are all considered to have high levels of noise pollution. Noise levels exceed 55 decibels during the night and 65 in the daytime, with some places even hitting 90.

So Spar so good UK supermarket giant, Spar, has confirmed it is opening four new stores across western Spain and in Andalucia. The four new stores, are set to join the newly opened store in Spain’s Murcia and the newly renovated store in Aleje, Tenerife.

The plan is to open four new stores in Badajoz, Zarza de Granadilla, Caceres and Jerez de los Cabal-

leros, as well as a new Eurospar store in Castuera.

Spar’s increasingly large presence is Spain has bolstered the UK’s infiltration into the Spanish market, with Iceland stores, operated by Overseas Supermarkets, already a popular feature on Spain’s Costa del Sol, and a new Tesco stores popping up across Andalucia operated by The Food Co.

Local resident Oscar Argudo said: “Rest is impossible”.

Not everyone is pleased with this new measure however.

“It’s an intervention into the free market in a key area of the city,” said Javier de Frutos, president of the Malaga Association of Hoteliers, describing the consequences of the ban as ‘unpredictable’.

Hoteliers are worried that jobs will be lost and that tourists will have a bad image of the city centre.

Another measure against noise pollution likely to prove unpopular is that from Sundays to Thursdays, terraces will now close half an hour earlier at 12.30am, instead of 1am, and one hour earlier on Saturdays at 1am, instead of 2am. Also, restaurant windows and doors must be closed after 11pm, regardless of whether any music is being played or not.

Lucky No: 13 million THE Costa del Sol welcomed a historic 13 million visitors last year - a whopping 4.2% increase on 2018’s figures.

It comes after the region of Andalucia as a whole experienced its most successful summer in the annals of tourism, with more than 26 million overnight stays in hotels between the months of July and September.

Out of those 13 million, 98% would recommend the area as a holiday destination. A survey by the Costa del Sol Tourism agency recorded an average score of 8.87/10 in overall satisfaction.

Hospitality

“The best barometer we have in order to judge if we’re doing things correctly is that the tourists who visit our destination give us such high marks,” said the agency’s CEO, Margarita del Cid. “They recommend us to others and then visit us again.”

The principal crowd pleasers of a Costa del Sol holiday were climate and the beaches, closely followed by hospitality, nature and food.

Malaga, followed by Marbella and then Ronda were voted the coast’s top three destinations to visit. It comes aqs the Junta de Andalucia has launched a post-Brexit tourism plan that includes a €29.7 million cash boost.

22

January 8th - January 21st 2020

22

January 22th - February 4th 2020

eSCAPE THE NUT ROAST GHOST

MEAT-FREE: Dawn swapped wine and chips for veggie stables like tortilla and padron peppers, while even Venus Williams (far right) is a fan of plant-based foods. And (right) her favourite vegan joint in Malaga

Veganuary is upon us and we are all being encouraged to be more herbivore but just how easy is it? Dawn Brierley (right) reveals how she does it

W

hen I left the UK in they will offer you fish. When 2014, being vegetar- you explain you don’t eat fish ian was not particu- either, tuna is then suggested larly difficult - unlike with a pitying look. Is it any the days of lone nut roasts on wonder that chips and vino 1980s supermarket shelves tinto became my primary diet and the ubiquitous goats (at least this is the argument cheese starters and mush- I use). room stroganoff mains on My staples of Linda McCartney 1990s restaurant menus. Now- sausages and vegetarian baadays, British supermarkets con also became a heartbreakand restaurants ingly distant have extensive memory. Every choices for both country has its Many menus vegans and vegown food culture, only seemed etarians. of course, and Moving to Spain with a much lowto include the felt like going er percentage of back in time veggie option vegetarians in one of the reaSpain, it’s also gazpacho sons I fell in love a case of supply with my adoptive and demand. country. For me, Eating out as a life here seems simpler and vegetarian was (and is) an onhappier. However, being vege- going challenge. Having only tarian suddenly became more previously visited larger tourist complicated. destinations in Spain where Tell a waiter in any restaurant vegetarian travellers were caor tapas bar you want a meat- tered for, the sudden lack of free option and, confusingly, options in a small town came

History, adventure and romance.

That’s just the setting.

as a bit of a shock.

One hot summer’s day shortly after arriving here, I searched through the menus of chiringuito after chiringuito desperately looking for a viable lunch option. Yet, despite the numerous fish and meat dishes on offer, many menus only seemed to include the vegetarian option of gazpacho. And so began my journey…

I quickly learnt to adapt dishes on menus - perhaps a mixed salad minus the tuna, a Spanish tortilla with a side of vegetables, cheese and onion toastie or often, in stereotypical British fashion, good old egg and chips.

Once my Spanish improved and I was able to decipher the menus more easily, I found there were a few more choices than I’d previously thought.

I also discovered that whilst a meat-free philosophy may seem odd to many chefs, they were more than happy to accommodate me. Special dishes

would be proudly created such as the chef who offered to rustle me up a dish of chickpeas, various beans and egg. To my English ear, this didn’t sound particularly appetising, but he was so kind that I agreed and and my misgivings were unfounded - it was delicious! In short, in cases where a vegetarian option doesn’t seem obvious, ask and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how cooperative waiters and chefs can be.

Of course, Spanish cities offer

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January 22th - February 4th 2020

Traditional Spanish meat free dishes

Pimientos de padron - Green peppers fried in olive oil and salt Croquetas de queso y berenjenas - Cheese and aubergine croquettes Espinacas con garbanzos - Spinach with chickpeas Salmorejo - Cold tomatoes and garlic soup Berenjenas con miel - Aubergines with honey Paella vegetariana - Vegetable paella (worth the wait) Tortilla de patatas - Traditional Spanish omelette Patatas Bravas - Potatoes in a spicy sauce

Help!

the most choice with numerous vegetarian or vegan restaurants such as Canadu on Plaza Merced in Malaga. Just steps away from here is the similarly wonderful La Plaza which offers a varied vegan/vegetarian menu alongside meat and fish dishes. Their vegetarian shepherd’s pie is so delicious that this place is now a regular haunt for me when I visit the city. Nearby there are also heaps of non-vegetarian restaurants offering fabulous and healthy Spanish dishes you can eat.

Awakening

Ultimately, in the six years I have been in Spain, I’ve seen a major awakening regarding the availability of healthier plant-based food and growing awareness of animal rights with even bull fights dying a much needed death. All this is a positive step towards a sustainable future for Spain, one that mirrors the global awakening and acknowledges that rather than simply being a trend, meat and dairy free living is the future.

Not only because of the suffering the meat and dairy industries cause to animals, but because of their devastating impact on the environment.

The growing list of famous names in the plant-based camp is also exploding globally, topped by sporting heroes like tennis star Venus Williams, boxer David Haye, Spanish footballer Hector Bellerin and Grand Prix ace Lewis Hamilton, as well as celebrities like Woody Harrelson and Camilla Cabello.

Add to this mix the fact that Spain’s former Queen Sofia doesn’t eat meat and is anti bullfighting and, from where I’m standing, the future’s looking bright and green for Spain. So now I am joining in Veganuary - wish me luck!

Q. Where can I buy vegetarian and vegan products in Spain?

A.Supermarkets generally sell plant based meat alternatives and options such as tofu and seiten (a wheat gluten meat substitute). For more typical UK style products such as Linda McCartney or Quorn, visit one of the overseas shops or venture into Morrisons in Gibraltar. Health food stores are great for items such as soya mince, nuts, seeds and vegan cheeses. Alternatively, companies like Fate Food Deliveries on Facebook can deliver full vegetarian/vegan meal solutions to your door.

Q. I’m considering going vegan but how do I ensure I eat all the nutrients my body needs?

A.Going vegan is similar to starting a weight loss diet - it requires initial planning as you need to understand how to consume all the nutrients your body needs. Don’t despair though, for help is at hand. Join Veganuary via Facebook or look up www.veganuary. com - a non-profit organisation providing a wealth of information including dietary checklists, recipes, shopping tips and meal plans.

Q. Will I get enough protein from plant-based foods?

A. It’s a common myth that it’s difficult to get protein from plant foods. In reality, they can provide all the essential protein building blocks that we call amino acids. Good sources include beans, lentils, chickpeas, soya products, peanut butter, cashew nuts and pumpkin seeds.

Q. What about vitamins and minerals?

A. If you are going vegan, it is important to make sure you get enough vitamin B12 – commonly found in meat, eggs and fish – as without it, you will feel exhausted and weak. You can get B12 from fortified foods including dairy alternatives, breakfast cereal, dairy-free spread and yeast extract. Alternatively, you can take a B12 supplement, which you can buy in most health-food stores. Fortified plant milk contains the same amount of calcium as cow’s milk, while fortified yoghurt alternatives, calcium-set tofu, and a soya and linseed bread fortified with extra calcium are also really rich sources.

Q. What about children? Is veganism safe for them?

A. Children can be healthy vegans. It is possible to provide all the nutrients needed for growth and development without animal products. It’s worth looking at the Vegan Society website which has detailed guidance on vegan diets for children of all ages, including infants.

24

January 22th - February 4th 2020

Warm and cosy WHETHER it’s boilers, radiators or heated towel rails, Cosy Casa has what you need.

Now covering the Costa del Sol and inland Andalucia, the family-run firm has now been established for over 12 years.

With more than 30 years experience in all types of central heating systems, you can feel safe and warm in the care of Cosy Casa.

Their friendly team can give you a free home survey, design and quotation service at a time to suit you.

Cosy Casa has a wide variety of oil and gas systems, or even a one thousand litre gas tank, which is included in your quote.

Radiators

All its radiators and pipes are aluminium, so you are guaranteed long lasting quality.

They can even install a wifi unit, so you can control your heating from anywhere in the world.

All Cosy Casa’s products are European and come with manufacturers’ guarantee and all systems are legal and registered here in Spain.

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654593351 or email info@cosycasa.es

BUSINESS

Salad days

Andalucian firm pioneers four-day work week in Spain A JAEN company has become the first in the country to shave a whole day off the working week, cutting summer hours down to just 28 a week.

Tech firm, Software Delsol has gone ahead and introduced the radical idea put forward in the Labour Party’s manifesto for the recent UK General Elec-

tion.

The degree of worker satisfaction for the new initiative is a staggering 9.28/10.

In order to make this possible,

Cracking idea AN estate agent in Alicante has come up with a cracking idea to keep staff motivated and happy.

Agents at Intasun in Rojales on the Costa Blanca often arrive to a bag of fresh eggs on a Monday morning.

Brought in by owner Arthur Longden from his nearby farm, the eggs are the perfect January pick-me-up for Blue Monday – statistically the most depressing day of the year.

“It’s not every week, but it's always a nice thing to find on your desk,” said Commercial Director Jamie Landon, who has worked at the agency for many years.

The Elche-based agent (far left) knows the area like the back of his hand and has sold hundreds of properties to British buyers.

He covers a wide area, including Ciudad Quesada.

Owner Longden has lived in the area since 1973 and currently has a farm in Daya Nueva.

the company has had to hire 25 more employees, bringing its workforce to 181. The weekly working hours have subsequently also been reduced from 40 to 36 in the winter months and 28 in summer.

The only other large scale example of the four day week is Microsoft in Japan, which claims to have increased its sales by 40% as a result.

Fulgencio Messeguer, the Jaen company’s CEO said: “It has not been easy to introduce this measure, it has been a challenge because we did not have any reference to go on.”

Satisfaction

According to Messeguer, there are other benefits apart from increased productivity and worker satisfaction, such as energy savings and reduced pollution due to fewer car trips taken to work.

In addition, Software Delsol also guarantees a salary increase of over 3% each year, another unprecedented measure.

The company is based in the Geolit Science and Technology Park in Mengibar and also boasts very impressive leisure facilities, such as a gym, a paddle tennis court and even an outdoor pool.

Pesetas from heaven TURN out your pockets - seven old pesetas coins collectively worth €50,000 are still in circulation.

The old Spanish currency ceased to be issued 18 years ago, but €1,610 million worth of the currency is still out there.

The Bank of Spain will officially stop exchanging pesetas for euros on December 21, 2020, so you have more than 11 months to round up your old coins and maybe bag yourself a windfall. Make sure you check the years they were minted because they could be worth a fortune. The most valuable coin still in circulation is the five pesetas franco trial version coin from 1949 - worth €36,000 to collectors.

AGONY Property ANT YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

Spanish headaches Lawbird’s Antonio Flores explores Manchester Building Society’s loan problems in Spain The story of Manchester Building Society’s (MBS) venture in Spain is threatening to end in tears.

What was devised – and sold to the public – from 2008 onwards as a responsible, safe and law-compliant lifetime mortgage ‘from a prestigious UK Building Society available to European Nationals who are Spanish residential property owners and are fully fluent in English’, has turned into a serious financial drag that is jeopardizing the future of the company.

MBS executives already knew that lending overseas (up to £58m) was a risky business, risk that was to be mitigated – intentionally – by entering into ‘swap’ contracts, which are complex financial instruments designed to hedge risk of adverse interest rate fluctuations.

Time proved them right: already in the first half of 2016, MBS posted losses of £1.4m, half of which was related to Spanish lifetime mortgages. Those losses were mainly attributed to a technicality on how those ‘swaps’, used to limit the risk of Spanish mortgage loans and others, were accounted for. So, in 2011, a review on the methodology of accounting the cost of the swaps meant that MBS’s profit of £6.35 million for 2011 became a

loss of £11.44 million. Grant Thornton got sued for purportedly providing wrong advice but won.

Fast forward seven years to the society’s 2018 annual report and accounts when, quite apart from mentioning the word Spanish 24 times, identified the Spanish loan book as the first ‘key judgement area most significant for the group’. In 2019, the society auditors expressed doubts as to the viability of the company as a going concern, after posting losses of circa £1 million.

For its part, and this is probably the most relevant aspect, Spain-based borrowers have found that they are no longer receiving any more payments under the schemes, despite MBS contractually undertaking to significant loan advances, on the par with home valuations. One such borrower contracted a €200,000 loan of which only €30,000 was advanced, leaving him in a precarious financial situation.

Borrowers (over 200 across Spain) now have an opportunity to terminate these agreements and clear the mortgages on their properties, due to MBS defaulting on their contractual commitments, but still retaining the advance payments as compensation.

Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.com

Chartered Financial Planner Jonathan Holdaway explains the importance of passive income

I

BUSINESS

25

January 22th - February 4th 2020

the Key to true wealth

mentioned in an earlier article that I had for 10 years you can provide a consistent recently read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Ro- income stream of over €1,000 per month bert Kiyosaki, and in his book he talks a for as long as you keep the account (assugreat deal about the importance of gene- ming the 7% returns continue). rating ‘passive income’.

At 11% returns a €1,000 per month saving Passive income is an income received on will give you over €2,000 per month for as a regular basis, with little effort required long as you need it. to maintain it. Creating passive income is one of the quickest ways to improve your So let’s look at some examples of passive overall wealth as it means your money is income that you can invest into: earning more money.

The bigger the percentage return you can 1. Bank Account Interest. This is interest generate, the faster your wealth will grow, paid to you by the bank for depositing your especially when that income is reinvested money with them and maintaining a positito create more income. ve balance. Currently the returns from bank Let’s look at how your money interest are quite low but they can grow, let’s assume you are fairly secure and predicinvest €1,000 per month into The excellent Rich table although by shopping income producing assets for around or using term deposits Dad Poor Dad a period of 10 years (total inyou may be able to get 2% or vestment €120,000). book particularly 3% per year.

The examples below show returns at 3% per year, 7% per looks at passive 2. Dividend Stock Investing. year and 11% per year, with What is better than a stock income the income reinvested. that goes up in value? How about one that pays you along @ 3% annual returns your the way. That’s the idea beaccount is worth €140,090 after 10 years hind dividend stock investing: Picking stocand will generate passive income of 4,202 ks that not only have a high potential to per year. show growth (capital gains) but will also @ 7% annual returns your account is worth pay you a handsome cut of the company €174,094 after 20 years and will generate earnings every quarter (the dividend payincome of 12,186 per year. ment). If you can manage to collect enough @ 11% annual returns your account is wor- shares of these high quality stocks, then th €218,987 after 10 years and will gene- you could set yourself up to receive thourate income of €24,088 per year. sands of dollars in annual income for doing Let’s look at the middle one again - by in- nothing more than being a shareholder vesting €1,000 per month with a 7% return (now that’s passive income!)

3. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). If you like the concepts of receiving dividends and owning real estate, but would rather not directly own physical property, then an REIT might be a better choice for you. REITs were very popular during the housing boom (as you might imagine), but they lost a lot of steam after prices fell. However, don’t rule them out as there are still some excellent investment choices available.

4. Bond Interest. Bonds have much more stable returns. That’s because unlike a stock, a bond is a payment of debt where you collect interest for being a lender to a company. If you can manage to purchase enough bond coupons, you could create a steady stream of passive income. That is the idea behind a bond ladder: Basically each year you buy one set of long-term bonds with a fixed high paying interest rate and then stagger them over a long period of time. After a while each year a bond will become due and you can use the proceeds to buy into another long-term bond; preferably at a higher interest rate.

5. CD Ladders. Similar to the Bond Ladder, you could use the same strategy with Certificates of Deposit (CD’s). In this day and age, online banks seem to offer the best interest rates for CD’s.

6. Rental & Commercial Property: Renting

out a house or shop/office is one of the oldest passive income ideas. You not only collect monthly rent and make a profit from it, but you can also use the rent to pay off the actual mortgage of the property. This type of investment requires more time to manage than the above ideas, however, if that bothers you, there are also rental management companies you can hire to take care of the dirty work at a cost. The only thing to keep in mind is that the risk is that much higher if you struggle to find any tenants and the property can be hard to liquidate should you require your money back and the initial purchase costs are significantly more.

7. Business Owner. Owning a business that you do not work in can also be a lucrative way to generate passive income – if you choose the right one! Many of my clients own small hairdressers, restaurants, and niche companies where they are either an investor and thus receive a share of the profits or are the full owner but install managers to run thing day to day. The returns can be very good but it does require more time and some business knowledge.

In summary, there is no better time to start building a passive income than now. The simplest way is to buy some high quality dividend paying stocks or bonds.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly.

Jonathan now has an office Malaga, which can be found here: Alameda Colón, 9, 1, 7. 29001 Málaga, Spain. Phone: +34 951 579226

Contact me for a no obligation investment product and/or portfolio review and at my expense on +34 654 898 303/+44 77230 27864 or email me at jonathan.holdaway@chasebuchanan.com I’ll even buy the coffee.

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December 18th - January 7th 2020

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GOLF

28

January 22th - February 4th 2020

Gael of a time

THE Costa Gaels’ Annual Golf Classic has returned for another year, taking place on February 29.

Held at Marbella Golf Country Club, the event will be held is a four-ball team scramble, with tee off at 8.40 am.

Tickets are €75 per person and include the cost of a buggy, as well as food and a pint in Biddy Mulligan’s in La Cala de Mijas, where an awards ceremony will take place.

The event is a fundraiser for the Costa Gaels – the coast’s top Gaelic football club – which is a key part of the Irish Community in Spain.

Having competed in the Andalucian league for over a decade, the club also has women’s and junior teams, with 80 members in total.

19

Swinging to the top ENGLISHMAN Lee Westwood has won the Abu Dhabi Championship, with Sergio Garcia finishing in eighth place.

Westwood finished on 19 under par, two shots ahead of Tommy Fleetwood, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Victor Perez.

The world number 29, only got better as the competition went on, scoring a seven-under-par 65 in the third round and a fiveunder-par 67 in the final round.

He said: “It’s been a good week. I am just really happy the way I controlled

Spaniard Sergio Garcia beaten by Englishman Lee Westwood at the Abu Dhabi Championship

myself. I wasn’t paying attention to other people, I was trying to control my

emotions.”

Sergio Garcia finished on 13 under par, six shots be-

SO trendy SOTOGRANDE’S exclusive Almenara Hotel is set to reopen in 2021 with a whole new image.

Accor’s luxury lifestyle brand SO/ Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with Sotogrande SA to open the first SO/ property in Spain.

Styled as the only international fashion-led hotel brand in the world, the SO/ concept showcases innovative decor and art while even the staff sport designer fashion wear.

Marc Topiol, Chairman of Sotogrande SA said: “The opening of The SO/ Sotogrande Resort & Spa, will mark an exciting new phase in our consistent efforts to present all the attributes expected of a high-end destination like ours.”

The new luxury hotel will overlook all of Sotogrande and feature 151 rooms with 24 suites.

hind the winner.

The 40-year-old started the competition strongly with a five-under-par 67 but could not replicate that in the later rounds.

The Spaniard has spent much of his career in the top ten of the world rankings, but is currently ranked number 42.

His last competition win came at the KLM Open in Amsterdam in September 2019.

Fellow countryman Rafa Cabrebro-Bello only finished a shot behind Garcia, at 12 under par.

The 35-year-old also started well scoring a five-under-par 67 but his form worsened as the competition progressed.

FERGUSSON’S ESTEPONA

December was a good month on the course but it didn’t start off well as the first game of the month was cancelled due to rain, however since then nothing has stopped the ex-Estepona, now Alcaidesa, ‘Old Codger’s Golf Society’ from reaching new heights on the two excellent and well-presented courses at Alcaidesa.

The winners this month included Frank Hansen, Peter Manley, Mike Dunlea, Martin O’Callaghan, Mike (the Pontiff) Pope, Tony Wilson and John Edwards.

The coveted Monthly Trophy was won this month by Mike Dunlea and Ron Ramsay took home the dreaded Oscar for a particularly bad month of low scores.

xxx

January started off in the same vein with the weather and early in the month we played a Medalford competition for the Ron Cammann Trophy which ended up being shared amongst Kjell Amundsen, Blair Bath and Mike Dunlea.

The courses have been bought out by new owners just recently and we await to see if there will be any changes to the way the courses are presented and managed but we think that the previous owners, Costains, did a good job and we hope that the new owners Millenium Hotels carry on in much the same way.

19

89

FERGUSSON’S ESTEPONA

JOHN Rahm has confirmed he will return to the PGA World Golf Mexico Championship.

The Spanish world number three said: “We don’t have World Golf Championships in Spain, but as a Hispanic player, this is like playing at home.

People make me feel welcome here, I get a lot of support.”

The Spaniard finished third in the competition in 2017, but after a blistering 2019 in which he won the Zurich Classic and the Race to Dubai, he will be hoping to take home the title.

The tournament will be held from February 17 to 23.

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SEAT broke its own sales record AGAIN in 2019 - up by 10.9% to 574,100 vehicles.

The new figure is the highest in the history of the company, surpassing the previous record which was set just a year earlier in 2018 with 517,600 vehicles.

This was the third consecutive year that the company registered a double-digit growth.

The Leon is SEAT’s best-selling car, with 151,900 sold worldwide.

Vice-president for Sales and Marketing Wayne Griffiths said: “We have obtained our best ever result in five of SEAT’s ten main markets and consolidated our leadership in Spain.”

29

January 22th - February 4th 2020

King of the desert

Spain’s off-road legends make it three Dakar titles after gruelling two-week rally CARLOS Sainz and Lucas Cruz have won the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.

Following victories in 2010 and 2018, the pair have now won the competition

McCharge it ENDESA and Iberdrola have reached an agreement with major chains like McDonald’s and Carrefour to install electric vehicle charging points in their car parks.

The plug-in points will be rolled out at hypermarkets, shopping centres and petrol stations as the green revolution to reduce the country’s carbon footprint continues to gain momentum across Spain.

Across Andalucia, including in Malaga, there are already Iberdrola charging points at selected McDonald’s after an agreement was brokered last year, with an aim to increase the number of points by the end of 2020.

WATER DAMAGE

for the third time. Each of these victories have come with a different car – Volskwagen, Peugeot and now Mini.

Matador

Sainz who is the father of Carlos Sainz Jr – Spain’s only current Formula One driver – is a legend of the motorsports world, setting the world alight for decades. ‘El Matador’ – Sainz’s nickname – had won multiple World Ral-

ly Championship events throughout the ‘90s, before moving onto the Dakar Rally.

This year has been the first time the January 5-17 contest was held in Asia, with Saudi Arabia being the host nation.

The Saudis have also managed to secure the rights to host the event for the next five years.

The 57-year-old completed the 12 stages with a time of 42:59:17 over six minutes

Robo bus MALAGA passengers will be able to climb aboard the first driverless bus ‘within the next few months’, it has been announced.

The autonomous electric vehicle will initially operate between the port and the city centre for cruise ship passengers.

Manufactured by Irizar, the self-drive bus will travel on the same streets as

ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah.

The Qatari was the heavy favourite to be crowned champion, but his time of 43:05:38 has caused him to finish as the runner-up.

Spanish Formula One legend, Fernando Alonso on the other has finished in 13th place, but he will be very happy with managing to complete the entire race in his first attempt. His time of 47:42:04 meant he was more than four hours behind his fellow countryman.

others, with no need for new lanes to be created.

The project, managed by bus company Avanza, has the full backing of the city council.

Avanza CEO Valentin Alonso said in a press conference that he is committed to making the whole fleet electric, but in a ‘rational way’.

The company, which makes around €500 million per year, is investing €30-€40 million per year in renovating its fleet.

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Down: 1 Argument, 2 Home-brew, 3 Struck, 4 Sell, 5 Pair, 6 Mess, 9 Bevel, 13 Any, 14 Sec, 15 Prophesy, 16 Paralyse, 18 Regal, 20 Option, 21 Wren, 22 Oars, 23 Sips.

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30

‘

January 22th - February 4th 2020

EAT, EAT and ALWAYS stay thin’, promises an advertisement for weight-loss pills in an American newspaper published in 1898.

It sounds like every dieter’s dream until you find out the ‘miracle pills’ contained the eggs of ‘Sanitized Tape Worms’.

Presumably the Victorians could stomach the idea of 30-foot parasitic worms taking up residence in their guts but are this century’s crop of fad diets and fitness fetishes any better? Maybe not, when they include donning your great grandad’s gas mask for a more heightened hypoxic workout or drinking a substance used in cat litter…

The Clay Cleanse involves taking bentonite, a volcanic ash that swells in the stomach to curb hunger pangs. Model Elle McPherson and American actress Zoe Kravitz are ‘Claylisters’ who’ve tried the grey goop.

Grey is the new black in fitness too. New York personal trainer Kristen James hit the best-sellers list with her sexercise manual, 50 Shapes, inspired by the bedroom moves in Fifty Shades of Grey.

“People weren’t talking about what the characters were doing but how and all I would hear was, ‘Are you kidding me? How

COLUMNISTS

Live and Let Diet New Year is the season for daft diets and fitness fads and 2020 looks like being another vintage year, writes Belinda Beckett did she bend over like that?’” says James.

One in three of us will try out at least one new diet or fitness regime this year; one in 20 of us will try six! Further proof that the market is expanding at the rate of our waistlines

comes from Amazon. Key in fitness and dieting and over 50,000 titles will be thrown back at you, with more coming next week! To say nothing of all the wacky workouts promoted by some celebrity’s personal trainer and every imaginable gizmo in the fatosphere to help you do them.

Guru

In a world where ‘globesity’ is the new malnutrition, diet and fitness gurus are making a killing selling us emperors’ new clothes (and that fit all sizes) and quite literally ‘living off the fat of the land’.

Meanwhile, here’s my pick of the daftest trends not to follow: Karaoke Yoga Down dog while belting out a Gloria Gaynor number. You will survive, promises Personal Trainer Jennifer Pastiloff: “It’s not about alignment; it’s about connecting to your joy.” She’s from L.A. of course.

The Thigh Master Two pieces of metal tube bent in a loop, con-

Too much hand washing MIJAS MATTERS

By Bill Anderson

nected with a hinge that you squeeze between your legs to tone thighs. Watch it doesn’t pop out, fly across the room and knock the dog unconscious.

The Shake Weight Upper Body Workout A dumbbell with a thrusting mechanism so hilariously suggestive (it’s all in the wrist action) that the infomercial clips went viral on

YouTube.

Stiletto Calisthenics Trash the Nikes and don your best Jimmy Choos for a high-heel workout. You’ll improve balance, tone legs and strengthen core muscles although you could also shorten your Achilles tendons and fall flat on your face.

Altitude Mask Training As your great granddad will

confirm, exercising in a gas mask (on which this concept is based) restricts oxygen intake, resulting in a ‘seeing stars’ effect. Exponents claim it has cardio benefits and boosts lung capacity. Detractors say it’s like being strangled. And, of course, you’ll look stupid.

Birthday blues

After a gloomy January, Marbella’s mountain (below) made Giles Brown realise that it isn’t such a bad place to live after all

Mijas British councillor Bill Anderson blames ‘Pontius Pilate councils’ for the problems facing homeowners Sometimes I need to remind myself that the 1960s and 70s were not 30 years ago! Nevertheless, back then Mijas Pueblo was nothing more than a small, barely accessible, mountain village and La Cala del Moral - as La Cala de Mijas used to be known - wasn’t even a one-horse village; just a sparse scattering of fishermen’s houses near an old watch tower, a scenario repeated all along the Costa del Sol. Now Mijas is classed as a municipality of large population with circa 85,000 inhabitants, and the third largest municipality in Malaga Province.

This has not come without a cost. Mijas seems to have been one large building site for the last 50 years. I have been conducting Councillor Surgeries for the last few months and every week people have come to me with queries or problems to be solved. It is staggering how many of these relate to Urban Planning: houses over 30 years old with no First Occupation License; houses from the same era not connected to the sewage system; houses, and complete urbanisations, whose reality does not reflect the original building projects.

Many people bought their ‘place in the sun’ with no idea that all of these irregularities would one day come back to bite them.

Frankly, I do not blame the predatory builders, nor the investors who wanted a return on their capital. I blame the local authorities who, instead of protecting buyers, were more

interested in the money that occupied houses would bring in to the municipal coffers.

It is true that things have changed, especially in the last 10-15 years when regulations have become stricter or at least better observed, and that should be good for the future. But it doesn’t help those who are currently in these situations and having to fork out a fortune to lawyers or builders to so much as put their homes on the market.

Councils, like Pontius Pilate, wash their grubby, money-stained hands of all responsibility and claim ‘Not my fault’. Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware) comes to mind - but for many this warning has come many years too late.

I say to the local authorities, “You let this happen. You failed in your due diligence.

Now, the least you can do is facilitate the process to allow people to get things back on track.”

Councils are multi million euro businesses and, although the Chief Exec may change every few years, this does not relieve them of the culpability of their predecessors. I sometimes think of Councils as the MSPP (Municipal Society for the Prevention of Progress). I would like to see them working with people to solve their problems, not creating new ones for them; not building barriers but opening doors to solutions.

I would like to see them manning up - or should that be personing up. I have hit many brick walls in attempting to help people with their problems. It has to change!

I

t was my birthday last weekend. Not a milestone event like my Rock n Roll 50th two years ago – and if you are good with numbers you will have worked out how old I am – but just an ‘early to mid fifties’ day.

Back in the day, of course, my birthdays were rather liquid affairs. As Spain celebrates Christmas until Three Kings on January 6 and my birthday is on January 19, I tended to single-handedly carry on the festivities.

My hangover would be so severe after my birthday weekend that I like to think that I personally discovered the term ‘Blue Monday’,

which describes the general depression and existential angst felt by most of the population in mid-January.

A combination of events, including the usual chasing of clients for cash – present company excepted – more car trouble in the form of the brakes, which are rather important as the track leading down to the Casita is frequently described as ‘something out of an Indiana Jones movie’, and the tragic and traumatic death of Lilly, a friend’s Yorkie that I looked after over Christmas – left me with the growing feeling that Marbella was losing some of its ap-

peal for me.

The pre-Brexit scramble of getting my paperwork together didn’t help much either and I coined a new noun, ‘Marbellaise’, for the way I was feeling, even contemplating a move to pastures new.

Driving back through the hills at the end of the week, I turned a corner just as the last of the sun’s rays hit La Concha mountain, turning it a gorgeous pink. The view was so outstanding that I pulled over to admire it. I took a deep breath and a look around and realised that, as a place to live, Marbella isn’t so bad after all.

SPORT BALE: With Wales team

Bale’s a keeper GARETH Bale’s agent has said he is likely to stay at Real Madrid, despite speculation that he would be moving elsewhere.

Jonathan Barnett said his client is not leaving the Spanish capital during this transfer window and is ‘unlikely’ to leave in the summer.

Bale’s contract at the Bernabeu doesn’t expire until 2022 but he’s been linked with a move away for some time.

The Welshman has been linked with a return to his former club Tottenham and allegedly was close to signing for a team in China last summer but has stayed put.

31

January 22th - February 4th 2020

You’re NOT the special one

Barcelona waste no time in appointing new manager after sacking Valverde BARCELONA have sacked manager Ernesto Valverde and wasted no time in finding a substitute.

The 55-year-old was in charge of the Catalan giants for two-and-a-halfyears before being replaced by former Real Betis boss Quique Setien.

Txingurri – Valverde’s nickname – had led the Blaugrana to two successive league titles and back to the top of the pile this

season on goal difference.

However, the Catalans had been criticised for their style of play and had failed to reach the final of the Champions League during his tenure.

Dedication

Valverde had previously managed other Spanish teams such as Espanyol, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao.

Aceing it

NADAL: With mates Williams and Djokovic

RAFAEL Nadal and his ‘Rally 4 Relief’ friends have raised nearly €5 million for the Australian bushfire appeal.

Some of the biggest names in tennis played an exhibition match in Melbourne to raise

The Extremeño had also previously been in charge of Greek giants Olympiacos, winning the Greek AXED: Valverde dropped League with for Setien them twice.

In a statement, Barca said they had ism, his commitment, his reached an agreement dedication and his always with Valverde to terminate positive treatment tohis contract and thanked wards all that make up the him for ‘his professional- Barca family.’

Setien led Betis to their highest finish since 2005 funds for the aid proand to the semi-finals of gramme. the Copa del Rey before They included the likes leaving in May. of world number one He has agreed to a twoNadal, Roger Federer, and-a-half-year deal.

Novak Djokovic and The 61-year-old was preSerena Williams. sented to the media on At one point there were Tuesday and said: “My up to eight players on goal is to win everything court in a four against that can be won, in addifour matchup. tion to playing well.”

New goal for Reina

PEPE Reina has returned to the Premier League in goal for Aston Villa.

The Villans have signed the Spaniard on loan from AC Milan for the remainder of the season.

The 37-year-old is no stranger to England’s top flight, having spent eight years with Liverpool, during which his side won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the European Super Cup and the Community Shield.

Villa needed to add to their goalkeeping options after Tom Heaton was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury at the start of the month.

Foul result SERGIO Ramos has led 10man Real Madrid to a 4-1 win on penalties over rivals Atletico to claim an 11th Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

The Galacticos captain put away the decisive spot kick at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.

The dramatic derby finished 0-0 after 90 minutes and was still goalless after half an hour of extra time.

One of the match’s main moments was the dismissal of Federico Valverde, the Real midfielder taking a red card to keep his team in the tie.

The

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Gummy wars

FINAL WORDS

HARIBO has launched legal action against a group of young entrepreneurs in Bilbao, over claims their alcohol-infused gummy bears were ‘copied’ from the sweet giant.

New ride A GROUP of kind-hearted policemen have bought a man a new bike after they hit him with their car, while running a red light in Malaga.

Starry TORREMOLINOS is set to receive a brand new planetarium in 2021, it has been revealed, with companies given until February 8 to fight for the contracts.

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Vol. 13 Issue 335 www.theolivepress.es January 22th - February 4th 2020

White out ANDALUCIANS are lazy, Madrileños are clowns and Valencianos are drug addicts.

These are the amusing - but highly offensive - stereotypes featured on a controversial new ‘emoji map’.

Ivan Grad has created the map of social media icons to rile Spain’s 17 autonomous communities, posting it on Twitter.

Starting with the capital, Madrid, he has chosen the clown emoji to describe the local politicians. Andalucia is illustrated with a sleepy face and a bed, hinting at a love of siestas. The Spanish flag is used all across Catalunya, in direct contrast to the sentiment of the Catalans.

Valencia and the Balearic Islands are described as being drug-infested with the use of the pill emoji.

WHEN you talk about ‘whiting out’ on the Costa del Sol, many things come to mind.

Most people don’t associate that with snow.

But this week snow fell for the first time in years in Mijas.

The Sierra de Mijas was left with a dusting of snow as infamous Storm Gloria ploughed through on Sunday.

There were also snow falls in El Torcal, near Antequera, in the Axarquia, the Sierra Ber-

Not stereotyping!

Heavy rain and snow arrive on the Costa del Sol as warnings stay in force for week

No need for a hot waterbottle

meja, above Estepona, and in the Serrania de Ronda.

The A-397 between San Pedro and Ronda was cut off for a few hours (pic left) with heavy snowfall above 700m.

It comes after the weather system left metres of snow on the Costa Blanca as well as serious floods.

The amount of snow falling even caused the closure of Alicante airport for an entire day.

The storm claimed the lives of two people, with the latest victim being a Romanian expat living in Valencia.

Red alert warnings were issued in different regions of Spain, with Andalucia finding heavy snow falling in Jaen and Granada and parts of Almeria.

Weather alerts are set to be issued this week for more snow and heavy rainfall around Andalucia and particularly the Costa del Sol. Opinion Page 6

A BRITISH builder (above) is taking his Spanish rescue dog on a nationwide tour.

Tom Day, 62, is taking his Podenco Chica on a coast to coast walk from Gibraltar to Andorra.

“He makes a great hot water bottle sleeping in our tent,” Day, from Somerset, told the Olive Press.

Following the GR-7, which eventually leads to Athens, he and his wife Gill Crane, 65, hope to raise thousands for the plight of other rescue dogs.

Speaking on their eighth day walking, Day added: “We really need to help dogs like this and for people to change attitudes to them.”

Podencos are mostly used as hunting dogs in Spain, kept in tiny cages, and often let go illegally or killed after the hunting season ends.

They are raising money for SOS Podenco Rescue and Galgos del Sol.