Death wish costas
I watch as Guardia Civil officers enter the lively restaurant whilst ignoring the Chinese sellers of bootleg CDs standing in groups outside. Identifying the eatery’s owner they tell him in no uncertain terms that he must stop the live music or he will be closed down.
The officers’ visit leaves tourists and diners crestfallen. They came to enjoy the sub-tropical atmosphere and entertainment. Shaking their heads in silence they look at each other resignedly as the truth sinks in.
Nothing underscores better the reason why tourists are deserting the Costas in their millions. A festering culture of antipathy towards tourism and la dolce vita Spanish-style has set in. Reason seems to have deserted the policy makers.
A fellow diner says: “If their purpose is to return Benidorm to fishing village status they could hardly do it better. There is no need for eastern Mediterranean resorts to pass the brown envelopes in pursuit of high-spending tourists: the Spanish do it unpaid. They are misguidedly reversing the gains of decades.”
ADD THE LATEST NEWS HEADLINES TO YOUR WEBSITE OR FACEBOOK
Add the Latest News Headlines to your website
It's FREE and easy to implement - Here's how!
SIGN OF THE TIMES
When Andalucia's regional television channel, Canal Sur, recently advertised 112 jobs in different departments, it received an astonishing 18,700 replies. A third of the openings are for receptionist-telephonists, gofers and administrative clerks while another third are distributed among production, the newsroom and scriptwriters. The rest are for technicians, cameramen, and maintenance people. Job interviews began last week at the Congress Centre in Seville.
MUÑOZ DROPS JUICY TV DEAL
Former Marbella Mayor JuliAn Muñoz, who was recently granted an open prison regime after being found guilty of real estate irregularities, thought he was onto a good thing when he did a deal to sell his story to the Tele5 TV channel for €350,000. Presenter Ana Rosa Quintana even came down from Madrid last week to record the exclusive in Marbella only to have it cancelled at the last minute after the judge hearing the cases against Munoz instructed the prosecutor to look into the matter for tax purposes.
NADAL TO PLAY IN MALAGA
Malaga City Hall has confirmed that Rafa Nadal will compete in the Malaga Masters International Tennis Championship, after weeks of talks with the tennis ace's representatives. The event will take place in the Martin Carpena sports hall the first weekend in December. And will be televised on Andalucia's La 2 TV channel in Spain. However, Nadal's recent injury may upset the plan but just in case - start getting out those autograph books.
QUEENS 70TH BIRTHDAY BOOK CAUSES UPROAR
The Queen's 70th birthday last Sunday was marred by controversy because of a book published last week to mark the event. The national press began to publish excerpts from La Reina Muy de Cerca (The Queen very close up) by writer Pilar Urbano last Friday and her comments on gay marriage caused a furore in the gay community. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero made a point of stressing the Queen's "impeccable services to Spain" at a press conference in the capital of El Salvador where he, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, were attending the 18th Ibero-American Summit. Meanwhile the Royal Household issued a statement saying that "alleged affirmations" by the Queen, as recorded in the book by Sra Urbano, were "inexact". The statement said the comments were made in private and did not exactly correspond with the Queen's opinions. The statement continued: "The words (in the book) do not reflect the deep attitude of respect which Her Majesty the Queen has for all people, and her closeness to those who suffer, are persecuted or discriminated against." Despite the statement, Pilar Urbano is standing by her book. She told reporters: "What the Queen said is what my book says." She added that the interview process was "perfectly documented" and that revision of the test copies allowed the Queen and the La Zarzuela palace verify and give the green light to her declarations. According to El Pais newspaper, the book was given the go-ahead by the Queen's secretarial staff, implying that she may not have read the book herself. Queen Sofia has lived in Spain for the past 46 years and has never committed any indiscretion in public. In a biography published in 1993, King Juan Carlos said his wife was his most trusted adviser throughout the years that they lived in the shadow of Francisco Franco and during the often tricky Transition period. Queen Sofia's brother Constantine was the last King of Greece and she herself spent most of her childhood in Egypt and South Africa during her family's exile from Greece during World War Two.
WOODY ALLEN PLAGIARISED NOVEL
Barcelona writer and photographer, Alexis de Villar, has claimed that the latest Woody Allen film, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" plagiarised his novel, "Goodbye Barcelona" which was published in 1987. The writer, who made the claim on the Que Alucine! Website, added that Allan has obviously made some changes to "avoid my complaints". The novel was one of the finalists in the Premio Planeta competition in 1987. De Villar said he will lodge his complaint "as a matter of simple dignity" and that the courts will decide shortly.
BRITON DENIES BEING MAYOR
Mark Lewis, the Briton named in media reports as the "accidental mayor" of San Fulgencio on the Costa Blanca, has denied taking up the position. Mr Lewis was said to have taken over the reins in San Fulgencio after the mayor, the deputy and four councillors were arrested over alleged corruption. The 58-year-old was elected to the council last year after campaigning on an anti-corruption ticket, but he was never invited to become mayor. Mr Lewis confirmed that the current mayor, Trinidad Martinez, was among those arrested earlier this week on corruption allegations. However, he said that Sra Martinez had since been released and continued to perform her duties as mayor, while a police investigation was ongoing. The scandal erupted last week when several media outlets broadcast a video of deputy mayor Manuel Barrera Garcia allegedly accepting a €5,000 bribe from property developers. He was allegedly caught on camera saying: "It is better in large denomination bills. They occupy less space." Sr Barrera Garcia was arrested on October 20th and released on bail. He has denied any wrongdoing and said it was a politically motivated set-up. Mr Lewis, who moved to Spain some 25 years ago, was elected to the council last year with the independent AIM party. He was appointed Councillor for Animals - a position in which he was responsible for organising searches for lost pets. Media outlets reported that he had become mayor as a temporary measure while the corruption inquiry ran its course. San Fulgencio is 25 miles from Alicante in the south-east of the country, and has a population of 11,000, the vast majority of whom are British.
ANDALUCIA.COM COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Andalucia.com, the leading web portal providing information about Andalucia, has received the 2008 award for Company of the Year from Junta de Andalucia in collaboration with the Malaga Chamber of Commerce. The award ceremony took place on October 23rd at the Hotel Fuerte in Marbella, and was presided by Maria Gomez, the Government Delegate in Malaga, and coincided with Foreign Residents' Business Day. Paz Rosado, editor of the site's Spanish edition said: "For all of us who make Andalucia.com possible, it's a great honour to receive this prize." She expressed her appreciation to all of Andalucia, adding that it is a place "that offers a lot both to those who were born here and those who come from other places in Spain and abroad". She also praised the organisations that gave out the prize for taking the initiative to recognize foreign business efforts. Chris Chaplow, director of Andalucia.com said he was honoured to receive this prize "in recognition of 12 years of work promoting Andalucia". He thanked the "hard-working team at Andalucia.com, our advertisers that support us and the 350,000 unique visitors each month from all parts of the world". Costa del Sol companies competed for prizes in the categories of Integration in Andalucia, Innovation, Promotion of Andalucia. Association, Young Business Person and Company of the Year.
BRIDE GETS COMPENSATION FOR LATE ARRIVAL
Malaga City Hall have been ordered to pay a compensation of €3,000 to a couple after police stopped the bride, Ana Belen Quires, from arriving at the church in time for her wedding three years ago. She was in a horse-drawn carriage and the police objected to her using a pedestrian-only street, even though she had a municipal permission to do so. She made her way on foot to the Iglesia de Sagrado Corazon, almost a kilometre away, where she arrived in tears. Ana Belen and her husband, Juan Jose Rivas, said they will use the money to take a trip to "forget their wedding day".