Wonderwall
The
O LIVE P RESS
Your expat
voice in Spain
COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA FREE Vol. 5 Issue 106 www.theolivepress.es January 11th - January 24th 2024 A MURAL painted by five Los Alcazares street artists is vying to become recognised as the 'Best Graffiti in the World, 2023'. Turing's Dream was the brain-child of the local La Compañia de Mario artistic association which has put the town on the map for it’s outdoor works. El Sueño de Turín asks people to reflect and think about Artificial Intelligence. The mural is located between Calles Durango and Marques de Ordoño and is the creation of five urban artists. One of them, Karim, said: “It is a very special work and we have it here in Los Alcazares!”
Exits locked at killer blaze
FIREFIGHTERS desperately tackling a nightclub blaze that killed 13 people were confronted with emergency exits that had been padlocked shut. That’s according to a firefighters’ report handed over to the court investigating the tragedy at the Teatre and Fonda Milagros nightclubs in Murcia. At just gone 7am on October 1, firefighters tried to enter the clubs from the rear in a bid to rescue clubbers who had been trapped by the blaze. But they found not just a series of obstacles in the alleyway, but also two doors locked with chains and padlocks, as well as a metal grille also closed with a padlock. The judge in charge of the investigation into the tragedy is considering 13 charges of involuntary homicide. Now the managers and administrators of the nightclubs have been given dates for their questioning as official suspects. Also called to testify are the organiser of the ‘We remember’ party that was being held that night in one of the clubs, as well as the owner and operator of a fire and spark pyrotechnic machine that was being used in the venue and that could have caused the fire. After the deadly blaze it was reported that one of the nightclubs, Fonda Milagros, did not have an operating licence and had been ordered to close back in January 2022. Opinion Page 6
Compare funerals Plans cover the whole of Spain
Interest free payment plans from €2,250 or as little as €29.16 per month Plans range from simple unattended direct cremation to a more traditional send off
comparefuneral.org +34 951 120 752
147 834 Tomorrows Funeral at Today’s Price
By Alex Trelinski
It was the third-most voted for mural last month via the Street Art Cities platform and is now in contention to win the world's best of 2023 if it musters enough support from online fans. Los Alcazares mayor, Mario Perez Cervera said; “It is a true honour that a wall from Alcazares is among the best murals in the world and it would be a dream come true if it got the most votes on the planet. “We have great artists in the municipality and we want to take advantage of it, he added.
After Alex Batty is finally reunited with his grandmother after six years, another expat child ‘missing’ in Spain
BRING HIM HOME
British mother’s desperate appeal after son, 14, ‘is kidnapped by father’ during Iberian summer holiday THE family of a missing British teenager has launched a fresh appeal to bring him home – some 16 months after they last saw him. Jayden Pearson, 14, was last seen by his mother, Rebecca Jones, when she waved him off on a 10-day trip to the Algarve in August 2022. Rebecca, 35 - who has legal custody - believes Jayden’s father Andrew Pearson, 33, immediately brought him into Spain, via Huelva. Her worst fears were realised when Jayden didn’t get off his return flight at East Midlands Airport and Andrew then
ALL YOUR LEGAL ISSUES DEALT WITH!
Here to help with your life in Spain including wills, residency, tax returns, buying and selling property We speak your language! La Marquesa Commercial Centre, Office 4C, Ciudad Quesada, Rojales 03170 tel: 966 943 219 www.mylawyerinspain.com
EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore
blocked her number. She believes her ex-partner brought him into Andalucia in efforts to evade capture, and may be constantly travelling between the two countries. The pair were last seen in Castelo Branco, an isolated area in central Portugal, less than 30km from the border with Spain. “But they could be anywhere as they keep moving around, as we understand it,” Rebecca told the Olive Press this week. The case bears a striking resemblance to that of Alex Batty (left), the 17-year-old who was abducted by his mother and grandfather during a holiday to Marbella when he was just 11. Batty turned himself in just before Christmas,
after being dragged all over Spain and brought up in various ‘alternative communities’, the last of which was in the French Pyrenees. Jayden’s mother Rebecca explained that police are ‘struggling’ to find her son and his dad because ‘they keep moving’. In a heartfelt statement, the mother added she and her other son Matthew had to endure another Christmas and New Year without Jayden. “We hope wherever you are Jayden, you See page 15 know we hope to see and hear from you again,” she insisted. Jayden, from Don-
Tel: 952 147 834 TM
HAPPIER TIMES: Rebecca with Jayden and brother Matthew, while (above) dad Andrew
caster, is slim, 5ft tall (152cm), with blue-green eyes and blonde-light brown hair. A police probe in both Portugal and the UK initially placed the child in Alcobaca, near Evora, and later towards the end of 2022 in Castelo Branco. Rebecca gained custody of Jayden and his brother, Matthew, 11, in 2019 after her relationship broke down with Andrew. But she agreed to let him go on the holiday with his father, unaware of what he was planning. If you can help please contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call South Yorkshire Police on +44 114 2196905. Opinion Page 6