Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all our readers... ...our Christmas present to you; a 16 page special skiing pullout A
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Sierra Nevada sierranevada.es
2022- 2023
WINTER WONDERLAND Photos by Jon Clarke
The Sierra Nevada is the true icing on the cake of living in southern Spain, writes Jon Clarke
I
T was two decades side near Ronda andago that I looked out from a hillof the Sierra Nevada spotted the distant snowy peaks inches closer to Christmas. By mid-December Like a giant white over 150 kilometres away. magnet I was immediately normally fallen andthe first heavy snows of the year have in, seduced by the slopes are usually pulled warm during on our doorstep. the thrills of winter sports, right here the day and with a fair few regulars t-shirts. actually skiing in None of the hassle coach trip, or bravingof flying to Geneva and a four-hour Yes, while most winter sports fanatics land, most of us on the big freeze in Glencoe, in Scot- the Alps at Christmas or struggling will be shivering in drive to the winter the costas are under a three-hour the Pyrenees, visitors to the Sierra to see through fog in wonderland of the Nevada will be sinking canas in the sunshine… While entirely possible Sierra Nevada. and del Sol, take it from to do in a day trip from the Costa €2 a throw (or well under half thebest of all at little over price of the Alps). fun if you don’t stay me you are missing out half of the “This is the nicest place in the world at least one night. to ski,” explains Luis Casanove, of Telemark This is rightly dubbed ‘southern Europe’s ing here for 35 years. ski school, who has been wintersort’ and naturally top skiing “We offer reusual dollop of fun - it being Spain - with it comes the the prices have hardly gone up the best weather and in years.” and excellent culinary And mention usually clement fare, not to the if you’re looking for something else weather. magical architecture to do en route, Something of a rite of Spain’s most visited of passage since the Alps as a teenager, monua school trip to my itchy feet to strap more and more apparent on skis get Continues on page EXCITEMENT AND as the month of 2 SURPRISES: View December ga, while a dog goes approaching the for a slide with his Sierra Nevada slopes owner from Mala-
INTREPID: Olive Press
editor Jon Clarke
The
E IV US CL EX
OLIVE PRESS NIGHTMARE AT CHRISTMAS ANDALUCÍA
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A PRIVATE investigator who worked with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is chasing ‘a significant lead’ in the missing Levi Davis case. Investigator Gavin Burrows volunteered to help track down the former X-Factor star and sent a team of detectives from his firm, Line of Inquiry, to Barcelona. His 12 agents have been working on rotation around the clock scouring the streets.
Odd
“We have a number of leads but one could be really significant we are following up,” Burrows, who has also worked with Elton John, told the Olive Press. “This is an odd case. He must have spoken to somebody when he came to Barcelona or arranged to meet somebody but that person has never come forward.” The 24-year-old Brit, who played rugby union for Bath, went missing on October 29 and has not been heard from since.
Vol. 17 Issue 409 www.theolivepress.es December 14th 2022 - January 11th 2023
A BRITISH expat is pleading for help after waiting nearly six years to get his Spanish pension. The Marbella-based 70-year-old faces bankruptcy and potential homelessness in the new year if the authorities don’t step in and help. It comes after Jerry Wayne was turned down by Spain’s Social Security department despite paying tax for 35 years here. Describing it as a ‘nightmare’, he told the Olive Press: “I have worked here for well over three decades and paid my taxes, I've done everything in line with the law yet here I am being forced to deal with this awful ongoing saga.”
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Expat denied pension despite paying ‘over half a million euros’ in tax over three decades EXCLUSIVE By Anthony Piovesan
He added: “I’ve only got enough money to see me through to February and I’ve already had to move to a much smaller flat in a cheaper area to save money. “I really fear for the future.” The former hotel and restaurant manager continued: “I’ve probably paid over half a million euros to the state in tax while working here and this is how they treat me.” Wayne, whose name we have ALL AREAS changed for COVERED legal reasons, originally 4G UNLIMITED moved from London to MarINTERNET bella in 1986, as a hospitality IDEAL FOR consultant.
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Having studied hotel management and launched his own consultancy business in the UK, he was quickly in demand. As well as working with the fivestar Guadalpin hotel, he was a consultant at the leading La Sala group and ran his own restaurants, including La Campana.
Problems
“I have been involved in hotels, restaurants, golf clubs and generally the finer things of life that this wonderful country has to offer,” explained Wayne. His problems began though as he approached his 65th birthday in 2017 when he got a gestor to help him apply for his pension. But due to a technicality, in which he allegedly owed a few thousand euros in unpaid autonomo (self employed) payments, his claim was denied. Despite then getting a lawyer involved, as well as having countless calls and meetings with ‘uncaring’ civil servants, he is still no closer to solving the
problem five years on. “I’m desperate and really hope a campaigning paper like yours can somehow help to get what’s rightfully mine,” he pleaded. While reaching out to the authorities we have found other expat pensioners in a similar position and plan to launch a campaign in the new year. The British consulate explained this week that expats struggling to claim their Spanish pension needed to ‘deal directly’ with the social security office. However, organisation Brexpats in Spain pledged to help as best it could.
Horror
Its founder Anne Fernandez, added: “It sounds like a horror story, we will put this out to our members to see if anyone else can help or has similar problems.” Spain’s Ministry of Social Security has been contacted for comment on various occasions, with no reply. Opinion Page 6 See On their own! on page 6
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See pages 19 & 24
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