MARBELLA CLUB

Des O'Connor is in Marbella topping up his tan. He’s only been here two days, but already he’s an improbable shade of mahogany. 

‘Look at this,’ he says, flashing a generous glimpse of sun-burnished chest.

‘I only have to look at a travel brochure and I go brown. My neighbours see me and say: “Here he comes, the Singing Tan”.’ 

'My wife has mentioned having another baby. But it would be a bit selfish of me at my age, even though I'm in reasonably good nick,' said Des O'Connor

Here we have the measure of Des, 79, one of the nation’s best-loved entertainers: his capacity for self-mockery is matched by an irrepressible facility for fun. 

Inducing laughter in others is a compulsion. And in a world where vulgarity and foul-mouthed parody pass as comedy, Des’s brand of humour is remorselessly clean.

He’s never said a word worse than ‘piddle’ during an act. He doesn’t go in for gratuitous insults. Once he made an unkind joke against Christine Hamilton, wife of the ex-Tory MP Neil, and felt so bad about it after he resolved never to be hurtful towards anyone again. 

Yet when his old friend Eric Morecambe routinely disparaged him on the Morecambe And Wise Show, he joined in the laughter. Each week, there would be a fresh assault on his voice.

Tourists come to know Marbella as one of the most sought after holiday destinations not only in Spain but throughout the European continent; now Apple choose the charming mediterranean town with the highest Millionaires concentration to host its most ambitious project in the Iberian Peninsula.

A series of rumors speak of the future opening of an Apple store in Marbella, something which has been discussed for months, but now with an added extra, since it would be the largest Apple store in Spain.

Recently, Apple opened two of its famous stores in Madrid and Barcelona and everything indicates that the next one will be located on the Costa del Sol, specifically in the shopping center La Cañada in Marbella.

The Apple Store in Marbella would have an area of 1700 square meters, which would make it the largest in the Spanish territory. Its inauguration is expected in November. Thus, Marbella will host the third Apple store in Spain. 

Tres Rosas Polo offered the chance to try some horse riding as well as the opportunity to play a very popular sport called Polo. Polo is a team sport played on horseback and the players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet. The traditional sport of polo is played at speed on a large grass field up to 300 yards in length, and each polo team consists of four riders and their mounts.    Personally, I must admit I was a bit intimidated by the whole thing, since my only(and very brief) experience with horses was more than 10 years ago. Getting up the horse and heading to the field already raised a fair amount of adrenaline in me, but the peak was reached once my horse started to gallop. Let's just say it isn't as easy at it looks and for me the fear of falling was the biggest!    Thankfully my horse, Todo, let my first experience be totally positive, even though I was not sure at all what I was doing. What they told me was that the horse can sense if the rider is insecure and totally in charge. That is the reason also why she didn't obey 100%. Nevertheless, riding the horse with the mallet in the right and leading the horse with my left hand made me feel like a polo player, even if it was for only 15 minutes!    I definitely suggest this type of sport to anybody who loves to try something different and Tres Rosas Polo club is the right place to take up this interesting hobby that is played professionally in 16 countries!

Back in early September, the recruitment committee of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry announced that recruitment companies would be established and will be licensed to bring in housemaids from Morocco, East Asia and South Africa. The move has caused outrage in unusual places. The reason for this recruitment move, according to a Saudi chamber official, was that they were turning to Morocco and other countries to get its domestic workers following a dispute with the Philippines and Indonesia, the largest suppliers of housemaids to the Gulf countries. The dispute has centered on pay and conditions, but Indonesia had earlier this year also criticized the Saudi government for beheading an Indonesian maid. Of the 1.2 million Indonesians working in Saudi Arabia, over 70% are domestic helpers. The ban on maids from Indonesia and the Philippines hit Saudi households hard, causing many to resort to hiring illegal maids over Ramadan. The Saudis are reliant on foreign workers to perform their household tasks for them and very few Saudi women will work in such menial positions despite high unemployment, as they would be looked down on by other Saudis. The ban came into effect following the two countries attempts to introduce regulations for the work conditions of their nationals. Trade Arabia said both countries demanded better working conditions for their employees. Saudi walked away from the negotiations abruptly and decided to look for domestic employees from countries such as Morocco who they perceive as not as concerned about imposing regulations to protect their workers. It also became clear that lower rates of pay could be offered to other nationals. Right from the beginning the scheme ran into problems in respect to recruiting maids from Morocco. The recruitment committee said that the immediate employment of Moroccan maids could prove an issue as there were no official recruitment offices in Morocco to process the papers of prospective domestic helps. It was suggested that there could be a way around the problem with Saudi citizens being given work visas to bring housemaids from Morocco on their own. The whole issue of Saudi maids has been at the centre of international protests for years, especially in regard to exploitation, sexual harassment and torturing of foreign housemaids. The notion that individual Saudi's could fly to Morocco and find a young woman and take her back to Saudi, is truly worrying and will, no doubt, offend our readers. The chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, warned Saudi citizens against contacting any offices claiming to be able to send housemaids from Morocco to the Kingdom. "They are all fake. You should not heed the false claims of these fake offices." he warned prospective employers. The spokesman of the Labor Ministry, Hattab Al-Anzi, said the recruitment offices would grant citizens work visas for housemaids from Morocco. "It is now the responsibility of the citizen to look for authorized private recruitment offices to bring workers from Morocco," he said. Then, suddenly, the plan to import maids from Morocco ran into even more problems. Those fighting to stop the "maid-trade" got support from an unlikely source - Saudi women. They objected to the importing of Moroccan girls, not because they didn't think they would work hard, or that they were against the exploitation of young foreign women. No - it was because they thought the Moroccan women were too beautiful. At first it sounded like a sick joke, but the Saudi women were serious.     "Many Saudi woman have objected to plans to import domestic workers from Morocco…they say the Moroccan women are beautiful and this will cause continuous anxiety and concern in Saudi families,” - 'Sharq' Daily It is a relatively rare for the voices of Saudi women to be raised in protest. This year there have been notable exceptions as some women protested for the right to drive, whilst others demanded the right to vote. Now they have another common cause - to ban female domestic maids from Morocco. It started slowly, but over a few days the protests grew to the point where the Saudi women inundated the government with complaints that Moroccan women are just too beautiful and may lure their husbands away. According to the website Emirates 24 the Shura Council was “deluged by demands from Saudi women” "Moroccan women are so attractive that their husbands could easily fall for them…others said Moroccans are good at magic and sorcery and that this could enable them to lure their husbands.” - 'Sharq' Daily If the women of Saudi Arabia fail to stop this "maid-trade" then it is imperative that the Moroccan government scrutinize the contracts and conditions of every maid taken to Saudi. They should also take steps to educate Saudi women to understand that while Moroccan women may be beautiful, they are not dangerous.

Maserati SpA’s new sport-utility vehicle was one of the most sought-after models at the Frankfurt car show this week and Ferrari SpA predicted record sales as executives said ultra-luxury remains recession-proof. “If you go to the Ferrari stand, there aren’t any customers worried about the recession,” Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said at the International Motor Show. “The last Ferrari customers I saw at the show weren’t crying.” Fiat’s two upscale brands may help the Turin, Italy-based carmaker weather a decline at its main business as Europe’s credit crisis worsens. Even without the Kubang SUV, Maserati aims to boost deliveries by almost eightfold to 45,000 cars in 2014 as it increases dealers by 150 percent worldwide. Lamborghini SpA’s new Aventador model is sold out for 18 months and Rolls-Royce Cars announced a 10 million-pound ($15.8 million) expansion at its Goodwood, England plant. Ferrari expects to deliver 7,000 cars in 2011 on demand for its first family car, the $356,000 four-seat FF that came to market this year. Fiat’s most profitable unit plans to cap sales at 7,000 going forward to maintain exclusivity. Ferrari targets “significant” results this year after earnings before interest and taxes rose 23 percent in 2010 to 302 million euros ($414 million) on revenue of 1.92 billion euros, Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said. “I’m not worried because we have quality, exclusivity, a strong brand and innovative technology,” Montezemolo said in an interview when asked about the effect of the economic slowdown. Mixed Fortunes The ultra-luxury optimism stands in contrast to concern voiced from volume carmakers that a worsening debt crisis in Europe is prompting consumers to rein in spending. PSA Peugeot Citroen CEO Philippe Varin said this week that Europe is facing a possible recession, while Ford Motor Co. said sales in the region next year will be little changed. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, is the best performer in the Stoxx 600 Automobiles & Parts Index this year. BMW stock has slipped 6.4 percent, compared with a 24 percent loss for the index. Fiat, which also owns Chrysler Group LLC in the U.S., is the worst performer on the index, with a 42 percent decline. Sales of the main high-end European luxury brands -- Maserati, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin -- will rise 19 percent this year to 28,090 vehicles, and gain another 13 percent in 2012, according to a forecast from industry analyst IHS Automotive. “The rich have gotten richer and the number of millionaires in emerging countries is really growing so the demographic trend is very positive” for the ultra-luxury carmakers, said Erich Hauser, a London-based Credit Suisse automotive analyst. “Things would have to get very nasty before they face a problem.” Rolls-Royce Record Rolls-Royce, owned by BMW, expects in 2011 to break last year’s sales record of 2,711 cars, Chief Executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said, adding that China may overtake the U.S. as its top market. The German executive said he’s ”optimistic” about the prospects for the super-luxury segment and that his company so far has not been affected by the slowdown. The ultra-premium segment is likely to weather this downturn better than the previous crisis, Mueller-Oetvoes said. Along with the factory expansion, Rolls-Royce may boost its dealerships to 100 from the current 85 and add a coupe version of its best-selling Ghost model, he said. The carmaker debuted an extended-wheelbase version of the Ghost in Frankfurt. Lamborghini, owned by Volkswagen AG, unveiled the 189,000- euro Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale at the show, the most powerful addition to the Gallardo series. The 570- horsepower vehicle comes with matte black finish on the large rear spoiler, engine hood and front air intakes and surges to 100 kilometers (62 miles) in 3.4 seconds. Limited Edition Deliveries of the model, which has a top speed of 320 kilometers per hour, will be confined to 150 and start in December, Chief Executive Officer Stephan Winkelmann said in an interview. The Volkswagen division also announced production of the 1.6 million-euro Sesto Elemento. No more than 20 will be built with deliveries due in early 2013. Lamborghini sales may advance from last year’s 1,302 on the back of the Aventador LP 700-4, which will hit showrooms in October and is sold out for 18 months, Winkelmann said. “The super-luxury market has been in steady recovery from its low in 2009,” Winkelmann said in an interview, adding that order books at Lamborghini are showing no declines. “We’re aware that there are risks.” Bentley Motors Ltd., whose customers include Queen Elizabeth II and the Sultan of Brunei, rolled out an updated version of the Continental GTC convertible with deliveries of the 575-horsepower model starting before the end of the year. Powered by revamps of the Mulsanne and Continental models announced over the past year, full-year deliveries may top the 7,000 mark which would mark a 40-percent gain on 2010, CEO Wolfgang Duerheimer said in an interview. An SUV that the Crewe, England-based VW unit is considering may help more than double sales to 15,000 by about 2018, he said. “We’re very optimistic, our business is developing extremely soundly and the order situation is looking good,” Duerheimer said. “We mustn’t talk up a crisis. Growing debt problems in Europe and the U.S. are giving enough reason for concern, but the underlying economic picture remains positive.”

Cole Haan

Each season, the fashion industry hand picks their own musical muse — usually a star on the rise who ends up performing at every single industry soiree from New York to Paris and whose hit single is played at a number of the big ticket runway shows. This past February it was all about Adele and before that, Florence Welch. This time it's rapper/singer Theophilus London, and although he's still one of hip-hop's under-the-radar talents, he's quickly becoming fashion's musical darling of the moment.

This week, London's not only been spotted front row at the Tommy Hilfiger Men's show, performing hits from his new album "Timez Are Weird" at Tommy's FNO party and hanging at Imitation of Christ and Carlos Campos, he's also promoting his new shoe collaboration with Cole Haan. Last night at their Soho store, London was on hand to mingle and perform, telling us that his new blue suede bucks were, "very cool." He continued, "it was fun to do, but I wish I made them for women. That's all I really care about is pleasing women, not so much men. Don't you want a pair?"

London also weighed in on yesterday's somewhat shocking news that Kanye West will be showing his new collection during Paris Fashion Week, starting September 27th. When we asked what he thought about Kanye's move into the world of fashion design, he responded enthusiastically, "I think it's sick man, I totally back him. He actually emailed me this morning and invited me to the show, so I'm definitely going to hop on a plane in a couple weeks and be there for him. He's Kanye, he can do anything."

We also suggested that it'd be amazing if he'd team up with Kanye and/or Jay-Z on his next album. "We'll see, I mean that'd be a dream come true. It's cool they even support me, but right now I'm just chillin."

Though he was quick to claim his "chillin" status several times throughout our conversation, it doesn't appear that this guy's slowing down any time soon. With a fashion collaboration already under his belt, the attention of iconic designers and an open invitation to what's bound to be the most talked about show at Paris Fashion Week, London's got a swagger we'll be following all season long.

Having long passed judgement on the catwalk via the pages of Vogue, a leading magazine publisher is setting up its own fashion school in London. The Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design will open in September 2012, taking up to 300 students in its first year. With courses branded around its stable of monthlies and weeklies, its principal will be Susie Forbes, editor of Easy Living and former deputy editor of British Vogue. Last year, Condé Nast's British arm made £34.6m. It is thought the conglomerate's move into teaching may face hostility from the arts education community, with the capital already hosting the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins. Nicholas Coleridge, managing director of Condé Nast, said: "The reputation and authority of our brands puts us in a strong position to teach and inspire the fashion and decorating talent of the future."

Málaga Singer, Pablo Alborán, who had a surprise number one album in Spain this year has been nominated in three categories of the Latin Grammys, including best new comer and song of the year for ‘Solamente tu’. When he heard the news the Málaga singer wrote on Twitter – ‘Family, I don’t know what to say. This is a dream, I love you!’. Shakira, Ricky Martin and Maná also have three nominations this year. Grand favourites at the Latin Grammys this year are Calle 13, a due from Puerto Rico who have as many as ten nominations. The ceremony will be held in Las Vegas on November 10.

According to Spanish local media, police estimate that the couple, known as John and Amanda Treagust, may have netted up to £150,000 by advertising bogus Spanish rental properties, complete with pictures, on their website, Costa Blanca Live. Up to 60 holidaymakers, including Britons, French, Portuguese, Italians and Belgians, are alleged to have fallen for the scam and paid upfront for properties that weren't, in reality, available for rent, or had been rented out to multiple people. The pair ran a blog entitled Life on the Costa Blanca, and boasted of growing their business from a "small project" in 2007 to "a busy and bustling company.....with over five thousand properties managed directly by us, meaning you have the peace of mind that should anything go wrong, or should you have any concerns, we are here to help." Amanda Treagust, referred to as the company's commercial director, is described on the blog as "never resting until her clients are settled into that perfect property and are enjoying the Spanish lifestyle she has come to love and adore". The Treagusts were arrested at a small property in the mountains of Mojacar, Almeria, after an eight-month police operation following an initial complaint lodged back in February. Originally from the Chorley area of Lancashire, John Treagust used to run the Last Orders pub in Wallagate, Wigan. On the pub's Facebook page, created by Treagust, he says: "I had three happy years there, now running a property business in Spain." An online forum about the couple's business dates back to March 2009 and has been inundated with 23 pages of comment, containing more than 200 threads. One comment, posted on August 20 this year, read: "13 girls put down a deposit for a hen weekend away in a villa in Los Balcones also and were informed two days before that the villa was double-booked. As it was a special occasion we have to find somewhere else very quickly and pay the additional fees. "We have still not received any money back and are still chasing. We all want to take action and stop others suffering in the same way." Spanish police were unable to comment on the ongoing investigation.

The theft happened when two British women entered a restaurant in the luxury southern resort of Marbella and one of them left her handbag on the floor by her chair, police said in a statement. "Two well-dressed men came in, one sitting at the bar and the other next to the woman," it said. When the men left, the woman discovered that her handbag, containing 2,000 euros (£1,700) and £400 cash, a mobile phone, a pendant with a diamond worth 12,000 euros (£10,400) and other valuables, had disappeared. Hours later, police stopped a car at a routine checkpoint and found the four occupants had criminal records. Inside the vehicle they also discovered a handbag as well as valuables and cash, which they later identified as belonging to the British woman. All that was missing was the diamond. "During the operation, officers noticed one of the men putting his hand to his mouth," police said. "This gesture and the fact that they had found the pendant without the diamond made the police think he may have swallowed it. "To find the stone, those arrested were taken to a medical center where they underwent X-rays, and the diamond was located inside the stomach of one of them, who admitted swallowing it."

Spanish police have foiled an attempted robbery from a British woman, after discovering a stolen diamond inside a man's stomach. The woman's handbag - which contained cash and a diamond pendant worth 12,000 euros (£10,500) - was taken as she dined in a restaurant in Marbella. The suspects were caught four hours later with most of the loot. But it took three days to retrieve the most valuable item, the diamond, after one of the men swallowed it. The woman had been sitting in the Marbella restaurant with a friend when two smartly dressed men entered - one of the men taking the table behind the women. Some time later the women realised that both men had disappeared along with the handbag, which contained 2,000 euros and £500 in cash as well as the diamond and other valuables. At 18:00 the same day police were conducting a routine vehicle check about 50km (30 miles) up the coast in Torremolinos when they spotted four men, known to have criminal records for robbery. Their suspicions raised, they inspected the vehicle and discovered jewellery and a woman's purse containing British currency and ID documents. But it was the sight of a suspect raising his hand to his mouth that drew the attention of one sharp-eyed officer. He guessed the man was swallowing some of the evidence. All four suspected thieves were promptly taken to a local clinic, where X-rays revealed a diamond, minus the chain it once hung from, inside one of their stomachs. The British woman was reunited with most of her possessions that same evening. But she only received the precious jewel three days later. According to police spokeswoman Ana Moreno in Torremolinos: "It was retrieved in the simplest and most natural way."

The Socialist ex Mayor of Estepona, David Valadez, has been accused of using 3 million € of grant money to pay the town hall wages for May, the month of the local elections. There are 1,280 employees in the town hall, a situation which has suffocated the town’s finances. Valadez has admitted, according to El País, that he took the decision to use the funding money to pay the wages, knowing full well it would generate new economic problems for the town. He also now faces a judicial complaint for spending some of the reserve funds on wages. Now the Junta de Andalucía is demanding part of the money, 240,000 € be returned by the PP team which is now running the town. New Mayor, José María García Urbano, has estimated the town’s total debt is some 300 million €, compared to the 160 million which was considered before the last local elections. He has already cut mobile phone and official car costs. Corruption in the town hall came to light with the breaking of the Astapa case in June 2008, which remains under instruction.

The fire, which started at 8,35pm on Sunday night and affected land in Mijas, Ojén and Marbella, is now stabilised. INFOCA removed their level 1 alert at 12,39pm on Monday, noting that the evolution of the fire was favourable and that there was no further danger to inhabited areas. The Councillor for the Environment of the Junta de Andalucía, José Juan Díaz Trillo, said that there were suspicions that the fire had been started deliberately. The Guardia Civil and experts from fire-fighters INFOCA have started a full investigation. The Councillor said that we have to be prudent as to the cause or motive. He congratulated the fire services for their work and noted the coordination between Town Halls, local police in what had been a difficult night. He also thanked local residents for their ‘collaboration and patience’, and while there had been material damage, there were no reported injuries. First data indicates that some 400 hectares have been burnt by the blaze, and a total of 900 hectares have been partially affected. The fire started in the Parque de Entrerríos, Mijas Sierra and then moved rapidly on a front towards Ojén and Marbella. Residents in the Mijas area are now returning to their homes, and reports indicate that a total of only four properties have been destroyed or seriously damaged by the flames, when the possibilities were for a far greater number than that. 260 specialist firemen from across Andalucía are remaining at the scene to continue to dampen down the site. A total of 22 planes were used to fight the fire including four amphibious planes, three earth dumping planes, 11 helicopters and four coordination planes. 14 were contracted by the regional environment department and 8 came from the Ministry for the Environment. In total 200 people were evacuated in Mijas, 500 were evacuated from Marbella and 200 more from Ojén. Mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, said all had now returned home and there were no injuries, ‘even though the flames had arrived at their doorways’.

Monday was the seventh day with no power supply to four public areas of Coín, because of the Town Hall’s failure to pay its debt to the Endesa electricity company. El País gives the amount owed as 280,000 € and said the local Partido Popular Mayor was negotiating with Endesa to re-establish supply. This summer Mayor of Coín, Fernando Fernández, announced a total debt to suppliers of more than 27 million € which had been run up by the previous local government. One of the Town Hall’s largest monthly costs is the municipal workforce, whose wages come to around 1 million € a month. It’s understood that the 500 employees have not yet been paid their August wages, although La Opinión de Málaga indicates that part of the amount owed will be paid next week. The Hacienda tax authority has meanwhile agreed to stay its tax embargo on Coín’s monthly share of state taxes next month, which will free up just under 300,000 € towards the September wages. The remainder will come from the Town Hall’s share of local taxes and a restructuring of the municipal workforce.

Glasgow's former WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison has been freed from jail in Spain after spending 2½ years behind bars. Harrison, 34, was a highly decorated but much troubled boxer whose descent towards incarceration seemed sadly predictable. It will be interesting to see if he has anything left to offer the sport. The Scottish Sun newspaper snapped Harrison on his release from Botafuego prison near Algeciras and 'The Real McCoy' told them, "It's great to be a free man." The father of three was imprisoned in 2009 for attacking a policeman and a member of the public near his holiday home near Malaga. Harrison evenutally admitted attacking factory worker Jose Manuel Ortega, 39, in a rather misguided and allegedly drink-fuelled attempt to steal his car. The police officer claimed he had been left with a debilitating eye injury after the incident. Harrison's uncle, Jack McGill, was also arrested over the incident but failed to appear at a court hearing. An international warrant was issued for his arrest. McGill's body was found hanging from a tree in woods south of Glasgow in May 2008. Alcohol always appears to be at the root of Harrison's well publicised problems, which have also included a drink-driving conviction, a fight in a brothel on the Costa del Sol in 2007, and a two-month sentence for assaulting his then girlfriend (now fiancee) Stacey Gardner and a police officer in Cambuslang. On his release he met Stacey, two-year-old son Jack, mum Agnes and his father and well respected trainer, Peter.

investigation is under way into a forest fire which destroyed four homes and 400 hectares of land on the Costa del Sol. The blaze – which affected parts of Mijas, Marbella and Ojen – saw more than 300 people evacuated from their homes after starting at around 8.30pm on Sunday evening in the Entrerrios area of Mijas. Andalucia’s Councillor for the Environment Jose Juan Diaz Trillo, suggested the fire had been started deliberately, before confirming that nobody had been injured. Around 300 firefighters from across Andalucia were hampered by high winds as they tackled the blaze, which caused the temporary closure of part of the A7 highway. Residents of La Mairena and La Bugancilla urbanisations were evacuated and parts of Calahonda were also briefly affected, although residents are now being allowed to return to their homes. Around 260 firefighters are involved in dampening down the fire, which is understood to have affected 900 hectares in total.

British real estate fund asked for a price for La Manga Club in Murcia. La Manga is one of the main tourist and sports complexes in the region and is under bankruptcy protection. The fund which is showing an interest is London and Regional (L&R) Properties. They talks with the owners, MedGroup, are reported to be currently on hold, but La Verdad reports that the workers’ union CGT consider the sale as signed and sealed. The union would welcome the purchase, and notes that L&R already has some 60 hotels including the Hilton chain. Antonio Ros, the General Director of La Manga Club, told the paper that ‘It’s true that there were conversations, but at this time we have no information’. L&R Properties are reported to be interested in a greater holding in the Spanish market. The fund is owned by Ian and Richard Livingstone, and completed their first purchases in Spain last June with the purchase of two FCC offices in Madrid and Barcelona, to then rent them back to the same company. La Manga Club applied for bankruptcy protection at the end of 2008 when it was unable to finance its debt of 97 million €.

TWELVE of the Marbella Casino’s 14-strong board face charges of document falsification. The Casino, one of the town’s oldest but with no links to the Casino de Marbella in Nueva Andalucia, has been at the centre of internal conflict for several years. Differences over renting out of part of its La Alameda installation to a restaurant business resulted in the sacking of the Casino’s former president Antonio Ric and ex-secretary Manuel Porras in April 2010. Both started legal proceedings against the remaining board members, claiming that their rights had been violated and they were excluded from the meeting which decided to remove them. After examining the dismissal document, the judge from Marbella’s Number Two Court decided there were grounds for suspecting forgery. He has now summonsed 12 board members, including the current president, Agustín de la Fuente Perucho, for questioning on September 19.