FREE COPY THE NEWSPAPER FOR A smattering SOUTHERN SPAIN of white Official market leader Audited by PGD/OJD and pink February 2nd to 8th 2018 www.surinenglish.com Get out and enjoy the extra colour the News 2 What To Do 40 almond blossom brings 24 47 Comment My Home to the landscape at this Lifestyle 26 Sport 50 Food & Drink 33 Classified 55 time of year P40 in English Health & Beauty 34 Pastimes 62 MARBELLA ALL SET FOR THE DAVIS CUP Spain and Great Britain will face off at Puente Romano tennis club this weekend P4&50 The teams line up with the mayor of Marbella at Thursday’s draw in San Pedro. :: JOSELE-LANZA The train to Marbella is on the agenda again but political squabbles rage Gale force winds and rough seas on over the best way to connect the town P6 claim Costa beaches as victims Former Marbella mayor Julián Muñoz is back behind bars after video Gales and rough seas battered the on a lamppost. footage emerges of him Storm defences are again being Costa del Sol last Sunday and Mon- As the clean-up continues, the day as wind speeds of up to 95 focus returns to storm defences to dancing at a party P16 questioned after sand was km/h were recorded, the highest protect the coastline. Malaga and since 2007. Much of the damage Torrox suffered especially as the stripped away from beaches in was felt in Malaga city as branches, waves stripped Huelin and Ferrara Exposed text messages walls and lampposts were felled by beaches of their sand. There is bet- from ex-Catalan leader Malaga, Torrox and Benalmádena the inclement weather. A woman ter news for Benalmádena though, shed doubts over the was rushed to hospital in the city as plans to extend an existing on Sunday after being blown off breakwater have been approved future of the independence her bicycle and hitting her head by the central government. P2&3 movement P22 SPORT Hectic deadline day concludes a busy January for Malaga CF Deals for Brown Ideye, Maxime Lestienne and Isaac Success bring the window total to seven P53 Brown Ideye, Maxime Lestienne and Isaac Success. :: SUR 22222222 February 2nd to 8th 2018 NEWS SUR IN ENGLISH Rough seas near Malaga city on Monday. :: SALVADOR SALAS Huelin beach in Malaga has lost sand again. :: S. SALAS Ferrara beach in Torrox after the stormy weather. Beaches in Malaga and Torrox stripped of sand in this week’s stormy weather Considering the :: I. LILLO / A. GÓMEZ 4.5 metres. Despite the height, how- MALAGA’S STRONGEST GALES ON RECORD (AEMET) MALAGA. The high winds and ever, experts explained that the force strength of the wind rough seas that hit the Costa del Sol of the waves hitting the shore was and waves the last Sunday and Monday could have smaller and the beaches retained 1st 132 km/h 3rd 108 km/h done much more damage. The Span- their sand more than in other rela- Recorded in Puerto Banús, 15 De- 7 March 2007. province’s coastline ish meteorological agency issued an tively less fierce storms. cember 1975. came out of the storm amber weather warning when gusts Exceptions, however, are the Hu- 4th 104 km/h of up to 95 km/h were recorded, the elin beach in Malaga city and Ferrara 2nd 130 km/h 2 March 2001. quite lightly strongest since 2007, when wind in Torrox. In Huelin, where the waves Recorded at Malaga Airport, 27 speeds of 108km/h were measured invaded the promenade, the main- January 1948. 5th 95 km/h The government has in Malaga. tenance of the beach is the respon- 28 January 2018. The amber warning was also in sibility of the ports authority, which promised to extend place due to the sea conditions with already has plans in place to distrib- beach defences in waves of more than five metres in ute some 25,000 cubic metres of sand has only partly solved the problem. Wednesday to extend an existing height battering the shores. In Mar- along the worst-hit stretch. The town hall has called this week offshore breakwater in Benalmádena Benalmádena to bella and Manilva wave heights of In the case of Ferrara, which of- for the central Coasts authority to to provide greater protection to reduce wave damage six metres were recorded, while the ten bears the brunt of the weather build a second defence barrier. beaches such as Las Gaviotas, which figures for Mijas and Malaga show fronts, the breakwater built recently The government agreed on has suffered particularly in recent February 2nd to 8th 2018 3 SUR IN ENGLISH NEWS Sunday’s strong winds caused over 250 incidents across the province Malaga city activated its emergency plan after fallen walls, trees and lampposts affected traffic :: J. HINOJOSA / I. LILLO MALAGA. The gale force winds that hit the province of Malaga on Sunday led to over 250 incidents, said the emergency services. At half past three in the afternoon the state meteorology agency (Ae- met) measured a wind speed of 94 kilometres per hour at its station at Malaga Airport and raised the severe weather warning from yellow to amber, both for gales and rough seas. The most serious incident the :: EUGENIO CABEZAS emergency services dealt with was the case of a 67-year-old tourist who storms. Damage has also been caused was blown off her bicycle into a to Malapesquera and Santa Ana. lamppost on the seafront near the The fire brigade had to intervene when a beach restaurant’s awning blew down in Huelin, Malaga. :: Ñ. SALAS The breakwater project has been Sacaba Beach roundabout on the approved, said the central govern- western edge of Malaga city. The ment representative Miguel Brio- woman was rushed to Carlos Haya nes, although work cannot start un- hospital with serious head injuries. til the general state budget has been The majority of calls were related passed by parliament and the envi- to fallen branches and lampposts ronmental impact report has been causing damage to buildings and submitted. cars. The plans, to cost more than half Diners in a beach restaurant in a million euros, involve an 80-me- Huelin were taken by surprise when tre extension of the current break- the awning covering the seaside ter- water, “a more than definitive so- race blew down and the fire brigade lution” to the beaches’ lack of sta- was called in to help pick up the bility, said Briones. pieces. Part of the wall around the The mayor of Benalmádena, Víc- playground of the García Lorca pri- tor Navas, said that the project mary school, in the Soho district, could be carried out sooner if the was blown down, falling onto a ve- government approved the town hicle on the adjacent street. hall’s proposal to finance the work In Fuengirola, a man was injured using municipal funds, an invest- after being hit in the head by the lid The wall of the García Lorca school, in Malaga’s Soho, was pulled down in the gales. :: FRANCIS SILVA ment he said the local authority of a water tank which was blown could manage. loose by the wind. He was taken to While local councils assess the the Costa del Sol hospital in Mar- In the same area, the collapse of In Benalmádena Costa, a glass into Torremolinos. damage caused by this most recent bella. This was one of several inci- a hoarding, as well as fears over the roof was blown off a restaurant on The weather conditions carried storm, “there is time” said the dents registered in the Fuengirola safety of another, halted the Cer- the promenade, while fallen over into Monday and the regular Coasts authority to have the beaches area, including the partial collapse canías train service between 3 and branches caused the partial closure ferry service between Malaga and ready for the Easter holidays. of a wall onto a van in Los Boliches. 5pm. of the main Avenida Manuel Fraga Melilla was cancelled. 4 February 2nd to 8th 2018 NEWS SUR IN ENGLISH tunity to increase loyalty among the Costa’s most frequent visitors. The British are certainly taking this seriously. The Spanish Tennis MÓNICA The Davis Cup PÉREZ Federation have confirmed that the matches will be broadcast live on [email protected] the BBC and that the Lawn Tennis brings high season Association would be sending “high- The tennis fixture, which level representation”. starts today, promises to What’s more, the British royal boost local hotels and to Marbella early family will be present in the form of the Duchess of Gloucester, ac- businesses as well as cording to SUR sources. promote tourism to the An influx of people area This weekend’s matches are ex- pected to be a sell-out with just a MARBELLA. President of the few hundred tickets still available Spanish Tennis Federation, Miguel going into the final week. Díaz, said a few weeks ago that the With centre court at Puente Ro- choice of Marbella for the first mano being expanded to accommo- knockout round Davis Cup clash date 9,000 spectators, tickets for between Spain and Great Britain some 8,500 seats (whether for the had the unanimous backing of the whole tournament or individual side led by Sergi Bruguera - in spite days) went on sale to the general of competition from Granada. The public with the remaining 500 go- fact that the tie could be played at ing to the Federation. sea level and on the team’s favoured To this total, you also have to add clay all played a big part in the the between 800 and 1,000 people decision.