British writer risks death in the afternoon

The pavement outside a tapas bar in London's Old Brompton Road is a far cry from a bullring in Spain.But that doesn't stop British writer, actor and amateur matador Alexander Fiske-Harrison from leaping to his feet mid-conversation and demonstrating a series of sweeping passes."There is no winning. It's not a fight," he says of the bloody Spanish spectacle. "It's a tragic play in three acts."Fiske-Harrison, an Old Etonion and Oxford graduate, is following a line of non-Spanish artists to have been...

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Businessman defends decision to demolish ‘Conan’s cave’ in Almeria.

WORK has started to demolish the Cueva de San Roque in Almeria. It is known locally as ‘Conan’s cave’, as it was where the Arnold Schwarzenegger film ‘Conan the Barbarian’ was shot in 1982, as well as scenes from the first Indiana Jones film.The promoter of La Rambla Shopping Centre, Jose Luis Carrion, has said that the cave is collapsing due to the soil shifting, and that he doesn’t want it to be his fault if anyone gets hurt. In 2006, he requested a geological study which revealed there were cracks and instability.Last year, who large rocks fell and ended up just metres from the petrol...

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Spanish bank repossessions attract more buyers

Property prices are still falling in Spain with international buyers cashing-in on bank-controlled discounts and 100%-plus mortgages in some prime Costas. With house prices continuing to fall in Spain, more international buyers are tapping the Spanish bank repossessions sector with its even lower prices and bigger loan to value mortgage deals. The latest Knight Frank Global House Price Index, Q1 2011, shows that in Spain average prices are down 4.6% year on year, but drastic discounting on repossessions and developments controlled by banks has forced prices down a further 4% so far this year....

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Swedish holidaymaker, 19, murdered in hotel room by sexual predator

30-YEAR-OLD Moroccan national has been arrested in connection with the homicide of a Swedish holidaymaker, 19, in a Costa del Sol hotel.Police say A.B., a resident in Spain, reportedly called round at the room in the Hotel El Cid in Fuengirola (Málaga) where the teen was staying with her friend of the same age and nationality.The girls had apparently met the accused at a disco on the night of the incident and it is believed they opened the door to him when he knocked, as in the city were no signs of forcible and violent entry to the room.He is said to have booked into the hotel for just one night,...

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A TIMESHARE salesman who allegedly made a fortune from dodgy cashback schemes on the Costa del Sol is said to be buying a three million euro mansion in the UK.

Anthony Larvin, an associate of infamous conman Garry Leigh, is said to have made an offer on stunning Bentley Hall, in Yorkshire, it can be revealed.According to sources, the former director of Cashback Sales and Administration, has had an offer accepted on the six bedroom mansion that comes complete with three acres of grounds including a fishing lake, clay pigeon shooting, tennis, a gym, a swimming pool and sauna.The news will come as a bitter blow to the hundreds of holidaymakers who lost their life savings in the  cashback scheme linked to the late Garry Leigh’s notoriously dodgy Incentive...

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They say money can't buy happiness, and for many of Britain's wealthiest, the answer lies abroad.

While they might have the cash at home, the nation's highest earners say they would leave the UK to find a better quality of life.A survey of rich Brits finds that wealthy people overwhelmingly think the UK offers a poorer lifestyle, worse well-being, and less 'general happiness' than other developed countries.The YouGov study for Lloyds TSB International Wealth, which surveyed 923 people each of whom had more than £250,000 of savings and investments, has added to fears that Britain's well-heeled residents might move abroad in search of a superior lifestyle.A meagre 5% of Britain's high flyers...

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The celebrities of the golden age came to Marbella to see and to be seen, a sentiment echoed by the current generation. In the Nineties, the genteel glamour of old Hollywood was replaced by the flashing of Euro-cash

The celebrities of the golden age came to Marbella to see and to be seen, a sentiment echoed by the current generation. In the Nineties, the genteel glamour of old Hollywood was replaced by the flashing of Euro-cash – emblazoned with designer logos was the only way to dress. Fashion may be about being more discreet, but tell-tale signs, such as the red soles of a pair of Louboutins, show that the credit card is pure gold, if not platinum.For the British tourists flocking to Marbella this summer, the party starts even before they board the plane. The Friday afternoon flights are filled with women...

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Back in the Fifties, the Spanish resort was a magnet for movie stars. These days, it's full of reality TV stars with money – and bare flesh – to burn

David and Samantha Cameron, or more likely one of their advisers, may have thought they were showing a common touch when they chose a family getaway in Ibiza this half-term, but really the place to be seen this summer is an old Andalusian fishing village.The coastal resort of Marbella may not boast the pure white sands of nearby Ibiza, but that hasn't stopped the European jet set from colonising the warren-like alleys of Arabian architecture and luxury hillside villas for their summer playgrounds for decades.The resort first attracted the spotlight in the Fifties and Sixties when it played host...

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Holiday homes bosses accused of huge swindle

The founder and top executives behind former holiday home giant MRI face legal action in Spain after hundreds of Britons allegedly lost money estimated to amount to £13million. Dubliner Darragh MacAnthony, who owns Peterborough Football Club, which has just won promotion to the Championship, set up MacAnthony Realty International (MRI) in Marbella as the Millennium began. Hugely popular on the British market, MRI boasted a £100 million annual turnover before the credit crunch. As well as property development in Spain, MRI marketed villas and apartments in Morocco, Bulgaria and Cape Verde, where...

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