Dawn of a new era
E E UR IV CT S PI CLU EX
El Toro comes to life!
Introducing our brand new website... click on the QR code to take a look
OLIVE PRESS
The
ANDALUCÍA
FREE
Your expat
voice in Spain
Vol. 18 Issue 442 www.theolivepress.es April 17th - April 30th 2024
HALF Picasso, half Miro, it thrusts out of an olive grove near Ronda like a bull at Pamplona. With a giant copper horn, a beady eye and a pair of lips that double as a viewing platform, it is likely to become an internet sensation. The crazy five-storey building is part of a
new organic olive mill and museum created by French design guru Philippe Starck. Built over 26 hectares, LA Organic Experience is part of a €22 million investment which has seen around 10,000 trees planted. It expects to have 150,000 visitors a year and aims to promote the world’s best olive oil.
American mystery ystery HAD ENOUGH! GIBRALTAR’s Chief Minister has announced he will step down after his current term. Fabian Picardo told a popular podcast things had gotten ‘a little stickier’ and ‘I’ve had my fill of this job’. His words in The Rest is Politics come as an inquiry gathered steam over the early retirement of Gib’s former police boss. Ex-Commissioner Ian McGrail told Gibraltar Court this week how Picardo had ‘questions to answer’ over his involvement in an alleged criminal conspiracy. He claims he stepped in to effectively quash an investigation, called Operation Delhi, that threatened Gibraltar’s national security. It came after Caine Sanchez, John Perez and Tommy Cornelio were arrested in 2020 over a scheme to fraudulently transfer a €840,000-a-year border security contract to a company called 36 North Ltd. Picardo allegedly had full knowledge and ‘owned 3%’ of the company, which was set up specifically to take on the government contract, the court heard. His friend, James Levy - the boss of the Rock’s leading law firm Hassans injected a ‘considerable sum’ into the company for a 33% stake. “I would not classify [the Chief Minister] as a suspect,” McGrail told the hearing. “But he had questions to answer.” In the end, Operation Delhi was discontinued in 2022 over ‘matters of national security.’ McGrail’s lawyers ‘allege corruption’ and that Picardo forced their client’s retirement after the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) carried out a search warrant at Levy’s office and took his phone and tablet. Lawyers for the government insist the police boss was forced to resign because of a series of poorly-handled incidents causing them to ‘lose confidence’ in him. See The Rumbles on the Rock, page 6
Was expat teacher killed by her husband intentionally or during sex game gone wrong? EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore
CLOSE friends of a teacher whose husband claims she died during a drug-fuelled sex game have poured cold water over the claims. They told the Olive Press they never saw expat Bianca Pitman, 43, ever take drugs. The teacher and mother-of-two, from Texas, was found dead inside a holiday apartment in Malaga on April 6. Her common law husband, Jose Betancourt, 50, ran into a square at 5.30am calling for help, saying his wife was unconscious. He is now being investigated over the death which he claims came after they engaged in ‘rape roleplay’ and after she took an unspecified ‘substance’. Yet, Valerie Dullnig, a close friend, told the Olive Press that drugs were ‘never’ a part of her life. The Texan revealed: “She was an art teacher and a photographer. She was my best friend, she was happy and smart and encouraging,
Property
A MASTER
Taking a look at the lesser known Gaudi creations See page 14
April 2024
www.theolivepress.es
952 147 834
TIVITY CLUCKS TO CREAW en s be t ha studio op tha ct’s en co chite chick an ar The d into forme trans
HERE once chickens literally ruled the roost, a firm of architects is now drawing inspiration from the nature of the Paratges de La Moixina. natural park Nestled within the scenic remarkable near Orlot (Girona), a transformation has taken place. chicken What was once a dilapidated creativity and coop is now a centre of of the Arinnovation, thanks to the work studio. nau Estudi d'Arquitectura the firm Led by Arnau Verges, (below) forgotten decided to restore the structure to its former glory. ArWith a keen eye for design the nau and his team renovated life into old coop, breathing new its weathered walls. chicThe transformation of the ken coop into an architect’s studio has been exof short nothing traordinary. It exudes a sense of rustic charm, blending seamlessly with the natural beauty of its surroundings.. It was a labour of love for Arnau who
WINGING IT: Arnau grew
up on the farm
the grew up on the farm whereseecoop stands. He remembers on ing roe deer and other wildlife the land. And now he has clear views from his comfortable studio as the wildlife timidly approach the old coop. He said: “We watch the seasons and life go by through the window while we know that this little paradise is just a lucky fragment of the life.” broken mirror of
PERFECT BALANCE country in the world for
France came third, followed
by
work-life balance Australia, Denmark, Norway
and the Netherlands. was in SIESTAS, lots of holidays part-time The United Kingdom is 36 hours, including eighth position, with an averand long warm evenings…the statutory annual leave of paid work. of 6.94 get age happiness score it any wonder Spain offers days, while 16 weeks of By Yzabelle Bostyn break, most Spanish workers a Despite coming first, Kiwis second-best work-life balance get at least an hour to eat. maternity leave (at €100 of less annual leave than Span- out of 10. Brits get 28 days of annuin the world. week) and getting 60% with 32 days. for sick According to global HR comif sick were pluses. iards, per- al leave, £96 a weekof materAccording to new research, pany Remote, Spain scored of 79. into account your wage However, their sick leave Spaniards have much more a healthy 76 out of 100 for The poll took sick leave, While the minimum hourly centage is higher at 80% as leave and 39 weeks public holidays, al- nity leave at £24 (€27). were low at €7.41, it is comtime to relax outside of work workers. place well as maternity leave annual leave, wage is compared to most European In the company’s study of the healthcare, leave and overall pensated by an average happi- lowance, at around €98 for 26 In ninth and tenthrespectively. maternity Canada and Brazil, countries.. ness level of 6.48 out of 10. 60 countries with the highest week is 25.9 weeks. In comparison to the UK, GDP globally, only New Zea- happiness. well for An ordinary work where most people work nine land came above with a score Spain did extremely to five jobs with a short lunch
Spain is the second-best
Opinion Page 6
ARRESTED: No bail for Jose over sex game
EYE ON
Sp
pr ai op n’ in er s be En ty st gl mag ish
everybody loved her, everyone who met her felt better for being part of her life. “Her students loved her and kept in touch with her after they graduated, she was such a popular figure. “She was very close with her children. H e r daughter is b e s t FLED: Bianca (centre) with her two children had come for ‘new life in Spain’ friends with my daughter. why Bianca, from San Antonio, had When police quizzed Jose, he also She had a great relation- come south to Malaga to meet her claimed that Bianca had ‘consumed ship with them… every- ex-partner. a substance’, the details of which rebody is shocked by this.” Valerie insisted she had ‘fled’ the main unknown. She revealed how Bian- States to start ‘a fresh new life’ in Spain Jose was first arrested for reckless ca had been teaching - and more importantly, did ‘not want homicide before an autopsy reEnglish at a school in Jose to know where she was’. vealed signs of asphyxiation due to Xativa, in Valencia, and When emergency services arrived strangulation. ‘seemed happy’ with at the flat in Plaza de Camas, they He is now being probed for domestic her new life. desperately tried to revive Bianca, violence and will remain in prison During various con- but she was pronounced dead at the without bail while the investigation versations on Snap- scene. continues. chat, she sent videos Police sources said Jose told inves- Authorities now must determine of her new neighbour- tigators he and Bianca had enjoyed whether the strangulation took hood and friends. a horse-drawn carriage ride through place during a sexual ‘rape roleShe added she didn’t the city before having dinner, ‘lots of play’, or whether it was intentional understand how and tequila’ and sex until dawn. and planned.
GAUDI, GOLDEN VISAS AND GETTING A LIFE IN THE SUN
Don’t miss our Property magazine inside
SCENE: The square Jose ran to for help
Tel: 952 147 834
See page 29
TM
tional Inter na All UK & stems TV sy Sound CCTV - n & Visio ter net & 4G In c ti p O Fiber
952 763 840 635 400 099 info@theskydoctor.com www.theskydoctor.com