The weather is forecast to tamper down significantly in the final week of August, hopefully bringing a close to a chapter of heatwaves and forest fires – at least in the north.
In the south, it’s a different story – the mercury is still rising and the countryside is tinder dry, as evidenced by an alarming fire that broke out next to Monda Castle this week. Thankfully it was brought under control overnight, marking another successful operation by Andalucia’s bomberos who have killed off every fire before it could spread into an inferno this season.
Looking to the future, one glimmer of hope for a swift recovery may come from an unlikely source. Reintroduced bison have been helping to regenerate burned land through grazing, trampling and, of course, pooping.
While Spain’s countryside has been burning, one disgruntled customer took it upon himself to bring the flames indoors. Astonishing CCTV footage shows the moment he walked up to a restaurant bar in a Sevilla town, doused it in petrol and set it alight spectacularly. His motive? They wouldn’t serve him mayonnaise on his montadito.
Our most-read story of the week has been the shocking tale of squatters who forced their way into an Alicante urbanisation and threatened to kill the pets of residents who stood up to them. The reaction has been very strong on this one. Many strongly suspect that such squatter activity is organised and coordinated across regions.
Beaches along Spain’s Mediterranean coast have been closed off to swimming this week, after cases of the beautiful but venomous blue sea dragon started to emerge. First spotted down in Gibraltar and La Linea, they soon made it up to the Costa Blanca.
Meanwhile, yet another Brit fell from a balcony, this one again in Ibiza. The incident marked the seventh overall this summer (for UK tourists), with three having been fatal.
Andalucia has taken the innovative approach of hiring a company to help them implement the use of AI in their regional health care services. Sounds great, until you realise they’ve hired Fujitsu, the same company responsible for the utterly awful Post Office scandal in the UK. So fingers crossed lessons were learned there.
Marbella’s La Cañada shopping centre, equally beloved and loathed by locals and expats alike, is set for a massive €12 million upgrade to transform it into Malaga’s largest. Hopefully they’ll work to ease the congestion.
Sticking to the Costa del Sol, and Crimestoppers in the UK have put out a €12,000 reward for information that helps their 20-year manhunt for Kevin Parle, 45, a double killer from Liverpool who’s believed to be lurking among British expats in the Costa del Sol’s seedy underworld.
But it’s not only Brits who do the Costa del Crime – far from it. Police arrested another Swedish child hitman just as he was making his way to carry out the contract killing in Benalmadena. Swedish mafia target and recruit vulnerable teenagers in Scandinavia to fly around Europe carrying out hits. Horrifying.
And finally, have you been robbed in Barcelona? If you’ve ever been there, then likely you have. Well, Catalan police finally decided to do something about all the petty street crime there, and they claim to have smashed a couple of organised criminal gangs in the city – and recovered over a thousand stolen phones. They’ve now set up a database which victims can search in to – maybe, just possibly – recover their device. Good luck if you’re one of them.
And finally, please take note that the Olive Press late summer sale is still on, but just for another 24 hours. Get in there now if you want 50% off an annual subscription.
That’s all from me this week, have a great weekend. Best, Walt
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