The Black Spot

A familiar theme - road accidents. The Council of Mallorca is apparently going to prioritise the elimination of accident blackspots on the island’s main roads. Quite how is not exactly clear, but the public works chaps are involved and there is a possibility that speed radars will be installed. What is interesting, from a map produced in Ultima Hora, is where the main concentrations of accident occur. The stretch from Sa Pobla alongside Albufera to the roundabout by the new industrial estate in Alcúdia is one of the worst. Not that far behind is the road between Muro and Can Picafort. (The highest concentration, not surprisingly, is on the roads immediately in and out of Palma).

I have mentioned my own blackspots before now, such as the road between Alcúdia and Puerto Pollensa, and I confess I had not considered either of the two above-mentioned as being that bad; not, that is, until the report made me think. One thing both these roads has in common is that there are sharp hairpins, neither is that wide for most of its length, neither has lighting. In the case of the road past Albufera, there is also a one-lane bridge and the height of the grass at the edge of Albufera which obscures vision. They are both roads, furthermore, where you do get drivers hacking along at tremendous speed.

We wait with interest for plans that are not, as yet, concrete.


Yesterday, I noted the discovery of Sara Cooper’s body. This information actually went onto the blog before, for instance, it was reported on BBC radio or on the BBC website. Not that I am claiming any sort of one-upmanship (especially not in what is a tragic case). What it does highlight is the speed with which news moves and can be spread; the internet being especially important. What it also highlights is how difficult it is for traditional printed media to keep up. This is brought home by the fact that today’s “Euro Weekly” (which, as the title suggests, is only a weekly) had only the story of her disappearance as front-page news. By the time of distribution, it was already yesterday’s news. In the face of 24-hour news coverage on the internet, television and radio, it is hard enough for the dailies to keep up, but for a weekly to follow a dynamically shifting news story ... not possible.


QUIZ
Yesterday - Yes, it was Lesley Gore (no relation as far as I know). Today’s title - ok, a different sort of question: which author came up with The Black Spot and in which novel?

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It's My Party

If it’s Monday it must be Palma, or rather it was. Ah, the life of a world figure bringing his gospel to the masses with the help of a fair-sized wad of folding notes. Al Gore duly pitched up at a conference for family businesses in Palma and gave his views to a select group of the worthy. Nobel Prize or no Nobel Prize, there is something that worries me about Al Gore, but that is not for here. More importantly, his evangelistic climate-change message has not met with universal agreement. Notably, the leader of the Partido Popular nationally, Mariano Rajoy, questioned the whole problem of climate change. Seemingly, he bases his opposition on the opinion of his cousin who works as a physicist at the University of Seville. Now, I am sure there is more to it (at least I would hope there would be), and I have no reason to query the cousin’s qualifications, but for a politician (who could be Spain’s leader this time next year) to use this opinion strikes me as a tad thin. It is stronger than quoting the opinon of a bloke he met in the pub, but one does expect a little more from leading politicos.

Anyway, back to Al Gore. The former US vice-president came, he spoke and he went. Like many of his fellow (tourist) countrypeople, it was a case of ticking off another place, albeit that he didn’t hang around to get a few snaps. I wonder if Al really knew who he was talking to. I say this as I have a Henry Kissinger story that is similar. Some years ago in my then publishing role, I attended a management conference in New Orleans. Kissinger was the keynote speaker. It became clear as he was speaking that he didn’t know what the conference was all about; just gave us his speech on whatever it was and was off, save for a short press conference which I attended. The members of the press were thin on the ground - a handful of local hacks and a TV crew, myself and a journalist colleague from the UK. The conference stuttered along, so I stood up to ask what I doubtless thought was some searching question (I cannot remember what it was). When I announced who I was and where I was from, Kissinger interrupted me, asking: “What are you doing HERE?” I wanted to reply: “Well, I might ask what YOU are doing here?”, but thought better of it. I bring this up because, big splash though Gore’s visit has made, it would have probably meant little to him. Just another day, just another speech.


To other matters. Another disappearance, this the curious case of Sara Cooper who has gone missing from her hotel in Cales de Mallorca following the fall from a fifth-floor balcony of her daughter Gianna. The little girl is out of danger, but the mother ... her body has now been found at Cala Domingo.

And tourist figures ... Mallorca registered over 83% hotel occupancy in September, the highest in Spain. Intriguingly (though we are talking percentages here), the two parts of the island that did the best were not Calvia nor Alcúdia nor Pollensa, but Santanyí in the south-east and Capdepera in the north-east. Whatever.


QUIZ
Yesterday - The Zombies. Today’s title - what connection does this have with Al Gore? The answer is not the Democratic Party, but a singer.

(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)