10 things you might not know about MARBELLA

THE shops are empty, the fuel pumps are dry, the steel industry’s about to close down, nobody can afford gas, inflation’s about to soar.

There’s nobody to slaughter the pigs and we are we’re about to go to war with France…

So naturally the PM has decided to go on holiday.

Boris has taken his family off to the sun- soaked beaches of Marbella.

But what do we know about this playground of the rich?

Here are a few things you might not have heard about it... 1PEOPLE

first settled in Marbella in the Stone Age.

2

IT may be spelled Marbella but it’s properly pronounced Mar- BAY- a, on account of the Spanish refusing to speak like normal human beings.

3THE

name comes from the Moors, muslims from north Africa, who conquered the area in

771. They called it Marbilha.

4MARBELLA

used to be the centre of the steel industry, which hard to get your head round. It’s a bit like Sheffield becoming a plush resort for the rich and famous. 5MARBELLA

has 24 beaches and 17 golf courses.

6

A GREEN and yellow sea slug, Tambja marbellensis, is named after Marbella, very likely because the rare beast was found there. 7CELEBRITIES

who own houses near Marbella include Eva Longoria, Wayne Rooney, the Saudi Royal Family and Vladimir Putin.

8

AFTER the famous Alhambra in Granada, the second most visited place in Spain is the La Cañada shopping centre on the outskirts of Marbella. 9

MARBELLA is on the Costa Del Sol ( Coast of Sunshine). It used to be called the Costa del Viento ( Windy Coast) but they smartly changed the name so the tourists wouldn’t be put off.

10THERE

are six Michelin- starred restaurants in

Marbella. This, along with the profusion of golf courses, means there are more c** ts per square yard in the city than anywhere else in Europe.