Olives And Almonds - Your Andalucia

On final approach to Malaga, Spain, the view from the 737's porthole is of countryside lately rained on. Getting closer to the ground, roads can be discerned as half-dry with damp patches. A 518-hp, mid-engined Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro supercar awaits outside the terminal building. Now normally, the prospect of piloting such a machine in these conditions would cause more apprehension than anticipation.

Not with this Audi though. The R8 has always been such a delightfully trustworthy machine -- an inanimate object that displays the animate characteristic of appearing to be on your side. So it seems reasonable today to put faith in it once again, even as its power scales more breathtaking heights than ever.

 CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY

In the cause of the extra combustion, the "sideblades" in the V-10 flare outward at the air intakes, channeling to bigger side-mounted radiators. That's probably the main recognition point over the V-8, though the list also runs to bigger, 19-inch Y-pattern rims. They're gorgeous-looking, too. The front grilles are also restyled, there are all-LED headlamps, and more pronounced sills and diffusers.

The new engine nestling at the heart of the R8's aluminum space frame is essentially the same direct-injection unit as in the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. But whereas the Lambo makes 552 hp in U.S. trim, the Audi manages with 518. And it weighs more too. Audi has traded this trivial 5% of power in order to make the noise levels more liveable day to day. And trust us, this is a car you'd want to use daily. The power deficit is almost entirely down to intake and exhaust differences.

But, hey, milder than a Lamborghini doesn't mean it isn't wild. The new R10 accelerates, its maker says, from 0-to-62 mph in 3.9 seconds, and if you keep going flat out it'll knock on the double-century mph door.

Some 8,000 families are affected by the Mijas council's plans to demolish illegal constructions or impose hefty fines their owners. It was just another incident in the increasingly confusing scenario surrounding illegal properties.

While Mijas and other councils are threatening demolition, Marbella Mayor Angeles Muñoz said two weeks ago she would do everything possible to regularise all illegal properties, and in the interior it seems the local councils are beginning to get tough as well.

At least two illegal home-owners in the Coín-Monda area are facing fines of just over €100,000. One of them said he had received notification from the regional tax collection office that he had to pay the fine by November 5th. Failure to do so would mean an added bill the following day for interest on that amount, which should have been paid three years ago. The property will be embargoed the same day and if the fine is not paid within six to eight nine months, it will be put up for auction.

But there's a catch. Not being legal, in the eyes of the law the building does not exist, therefore only the land will be auctioned.

The owner said he does not have that amount of money in the bank here and even if he had it in his account in England he would not be able to get it transferred in time. Given the amount involved, the transaction would have to be made through the Bank of Spain and he would have to present a document explaining why he wanted the money.

All that takes time, the owner said, adding that even if he abandoned the property and left the country, the Spanish authorities could still catch up with him further down the line. The worst thing of all is that he knows that all this could have been avoided if he had taken a friend's advice and tried to sort out his property's papers while there was still time.

Just to let everyone know about a new market taking place on the Coin-cartama road.

NEW MARKET AT VIVEROS Hnos INFANTES - WOODY´S

Coin-Cartama A355 KM 4.3

MARKET AND BOOTSALE.

EVERY THURSDAY 10 AM TILL 2PM  

THE ex-boyfriend of missing teenager Marta del Castillo has confessed to her murder.

Jealous former lover Miguel Carcaño, 20, admitted he had killed her in a fit of rage.

His confession to police on Valentines Day heralded a flurry of arrests in the case.

While police have still not found the body of Marta, 17, they have now made a total of four arrests in the case.

Carcano told police that he had thrown her body into the Guadalquivir River with the help of a friend Samuel Benitez, who is also now under arrest, accused of covering up the crime.

The pair had used a wheelchair belonging to the mother of Carcano, and a moped to take her body to the river from his house in the Macarena district.

Police are trying to establish whether Benitez could also be involved despite insisting that he was out with his girlfriend on the night of the murder.

Carcano himself admitted he had got into an argument with his ex girlfriend and hit her with an ashtray until she was dead.

He apparently finally confessed after being shown the heavy glass ashtray.

The current girlfriend of Carcano, a local 14-year-old called Rocio insisted that she knows he is the killer.