Thursday, November 30, 2006

Corruption / Weather

Well, more on the Andratx story. Seems that Sr. Massot, the planning chief, operated his own property business as well. Now, why would he do that? Moreover, Interpol’s been brought in as there are connections with bank accounts in Switzerland and France. All starts to get a tad murky. Apparently, other Mallorcan municipalities are also under suspicion, though neither Pollensa nor Alcúdia is one of them.

More worries also about the image that all this gives. Despite my positive spin yesterday, there is a real issue here, not least if it turns out that people have bought properties on land that was not registered for building purposes. That is a worry, and it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened in Spain (which is why one needs to be ever so careful when buying in Spain).


And weather ... November was warmer than usual, by up to and over 3 degrees in certain places. Global warming, I’m telling you ... global warming.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Corruption

For all you fans of this blog who might have wondered why there has been silence for a bit - well, I was in England, and not just in England but also taking a rest from the Internet. For those of us whose work revolves around the Net, it is good to get a break from something that can become too all-consuming.


So much for that. Back in Mallorca, and there is a ripping scandal unfolding in Andratx on the island’s south-west coast. The mayor, Eugenio Hidalgo, has been arrested on suspicion of corruption and money-laundering. For Spanish watchers, this will probably come as little surprise. However, the regularity with which those in public life are being collared is both alarming and reassuring. A senior police officer in Palma was recently arrested for taking bribes. Back on 6 September, I reported that the head of the Balearics Guardia Civil was under investigation for misuse of funds. On the mainland, there was the scandal that hit Marbella (surprise, surprise) earlier this year.

Arrested along with Hidalgo was Jaume Massot, the Balearics director-general for planning. Apparently, some 40 people are under suspicion.

This all has to do with alleged kickbacks in the classification of land for building, while the money-laundering charge has also to do with the possible purchase of winning lottery tickets in the days before winners’ names were published. Hidalgo claims that his wealth came from winning a Christmas lottery, but was it his ticket or someone else’s?

Of course, he has not been found guilty, nor has Massot, but the arrests have led to some soul-searching here regarding the image of the island. But it isn’t just a Mallorcan problem; it is a Spanish problem.

My take on this is that there is still a feeling - held by some - that it is ok to flout rules in the hope that mates in high places will take no action. In Hidalgo’s case, he was once a member of the Guardia Civil. If he had felt that this was a good cover, then he was wrong. It is the Guardia’s Serious Fraud Squad which is pursuing the investigation. The fact also that the scandal is headlining across Spain means that there is unlikely to be a lack of transparency.

While acknowledging that corruption can occur anywhere, this latest case highlights - possibly - the last throes of the old way of thinking. I have commented before on the immature nature of Spanish democracy, which is not a criticism but a fact. Corruption is a facet of the undemocratic society, and Spain is still only 30 years into its learning curve. More worrying would be the lack of will to pursue corruption. But this is not the case. The strength of actions, led by the Guardia, to tackle corruption is evidence of a strengthing institutional basis that is fundamental to a functioning democracy. (It should also be noted that both Hidalgo and Massot are associated with the Partido Popular, the ruling party in the Balearics.)

Whither Hidalgo? Who knows? But the case, far from being seen as a negative comment on Mallorcan life, should be seen as a positive - one that may finally rid the island and the country of the mentality that it is acceptable to treat the rules as options.


Weather note: November has seen almost unbroken calm and warm weather. But that old thing of the month’s end bringing a change is at it again. Overnight, there was lightning and thunder, and the temperature has dropped significantly, bearing in mind that Sa Pobla was registering 24 degrees three days ago.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Building work / Tourism economics / La Placeta

Winter time. Time for construction.

Most building work is not permitted during the season, so there is always a flurry of activity out of season. Just some of the main bits of work are the development of Alcúdia’s industrial estate, the roundabouts on the Carrtera Arta in Puerto Alcúdia, and the redevelopment of Costa Nord’s offices also in Puerto Alcúdia.

Much of the groundwork for the industrial estate seems to have been done, the road layout now quite discernible; the roundabout at the intersection of Puerto Alcúdia and Playa de Muro has been roughly laid out awaiting its actual construction; the old Costa Nord office has been totally demolished and will be rebuilt. Meantime, the estate agency is in offices on C/. Barques next to Es Cap Roig. One trusts that when the new building is done, one will be able to close the door properly.


More predictions of an even better season next year come from MyTravel and TUI, though the latter concedes that there may be a slight increase in all-inclusive offers.


Another change of ownership to announce, also in Pollensa. La Placeta restaurant is now under Katie and Marshall, and they offer a more British-style menu which looks extremely enticing. The previously rather drab interior has been given a bit of a facelift, largely via the simple expedient of not arranging the tables like in a classroom. There is an altogether lighter feel to the place. And La Placeta does benefit from its position on the small square next to the church. The hotel has not changed hands.


And the weather ... It really has been remarkable. I bumped into Andy from MYCT (Mallorca Yacht Charter Training) today, and he was in flip-flops and t-shirt. But word is tomorrow it all changes.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Reviews scam

Here’s something really interesting; something really interesting I’m surprised it’s taken so long to be exposed. “The Sunday Times” reports today on a “scam” whereby reviews of hotels and restaurants are posted onto various websites, not by discerning guests but by owners or marketing companies operating on their behalf, or by those with an axe to grind or to knock the competition. Well, tell me something surprising.

Among the sites mentioned is TripAdvisor, one of the biggest. The shock - to me - is that anyone is shocked, except of course that biased info is being offered, which isn’t always fair in love, war and business. There are sites, like HolidayTruths, which - it seems to me - do their utmost to weed out unreliable posts and stick to those from the punter. But of course even those aren’t really that reliable. One man’s meat is another’s vomit, or something like that.

I have an interest in all this. On the main websites, as linked here, such as www.thealcudiaguide.com, comments can be made about named establishments. There are also forums. Frankly, and maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I have always been a tad wary of forums as they can be abused, so one has to watch posts like a hawk. And that’s the thing. If you’re going to go down the route that Amazon set in train all those years ago, and accept reviews or comments you have to be prepared to scrutinise every one. And that I do, though even then you can’t be entirely sure, except if something is so gushing or so critical, you have to question it. That’s why, for instance, I email back - I suspect not everyone knows their email address can be accessed (as with the charmer who said of one restaurant’s chefs that they were all pigs and working illegally) - and sometimes it bounces, or sometimes it is anonymous, or sometimes you just know ...

Most sites will claim to be moderated, but there is moderation, and there is automation and moderation. I practise no automation. I won’t say that nothing will get past me, but I’ll do my damnedest to stop it.


Weather check: after several days of glorious weather, a shift to a bit of grey, but still pretty pleasant for the time of year.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

All-inclusives / Tourism economics

There are times I wonder about the local published media. Back on 30 September I referred to the non-story about dog-fouling in Alcúdia that “Euro Weekly” had produced as a front-page splash. In the latest issue there is something about all-inclusives: they should be banned. Hmm, interesting you might think, until you become aware that the call for this ban comes from the owner of a bookshop in Palmanova. Now, she’s quite entitled to her opinion, but that opinion carries no weight; certainly not enough to base a newspaper item around. What can we expect next? Lenny of Bar Poop in Magaluf* calls for British troops to be pulled out of Iraq?

If it were, let’s say, the Balearic Tourism Minister making such a call for ban, then it would merit some attention, but seriously this ... Ok as a letter, but as an article?

To make matters worse, the same lady is then quoted as saying that the government should influence tour operators in order to boost winter tourism. They can influence all they like, but a key reason why Mallorca is no longer a significant winter destination is because people can fly to warmer climes that much more cheaply than they used to be able to and because people are offered that much wider a choice. That’s tour operators for you.

And then ... she also calls for a cap on prices.

Oh, gawsh. If one wishes to, one can go back to 30 August when the subject of price controls came up, and I begged to differ.

But what I also wonder, taking account of this gem of an item and the previous front page story, is whether I am guilty of an irony by-pass. Are they intended to be ironic? Must be.

Now, I might be open to a charge that what I blog is just my opinion, and that would be right. But blogging and newspaper reports are two different things. Newspapers form opinion far more strongly than certainly this blog ever will, and so there is an obligation to be journalistic not just in choice of source but also in the pursuit of balance.

(* As far as I am aware, there is neither a Bar Poop in Magaluf nor a Lenny.)


Anyway, to weightier matters. Rafael Nadal, well-known Mallorcan tennis-player, pitched up at the Balearics stand at the World Travel Fair in London to lend support to Joan Flaquer (the tourism minister) and his chums. It is not known if Rafa had anything to say about all-inclusives, Iraq or global warming, but Sr. Flaquer waxed favourably about the prospects for 2007 tourism, despite rises in hotel prices. The major British and German operators are pointing to rise in demand; the level of Brit tourism to the islands is expected to be up by two to three per cent. Record year. Record year. Same old record. But if the all-inclusives were to be banned ...

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Pollensa Fair

Well, managed to get hold of a copy of the fair leaflet - thanks to Shirley at Waves. Have translated it as best I can given my almost total absence of Catalan/Mallorquin. As ever, the publicity is hardly linguistically-friendly but also as ever an arm and a leg has been spent on producing it. In the size of a CD cover, it comes in a plastic CD-style holder. Bearing in mind Pollensa town hall’s seriously in the red, it does seem a tad OTT.

Anyway, that arm and a leg. The cover shows what is thought to be the arm from some doll or other. I don’t know what the hell it is; looks to me like a plumbing implement or a sex toy. Utterly strange.

For the programme go to www.wotzupnorth.blogspot.com (What’s On Blog). The fair starts 10 November and closes 13 November.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Environment

The environment. Suddenly this has zoomed into prominence on this blog. Already this month I have alluded to the potential impact of rising sea levels in the north Mallorca area. And by the way, when I spoke about the coastal areas of Playa de Muro and Can Picafort maybe being overwhelmed by the sea, I failed to point out that 300 years ago the sea did encroach.

But there is another thing. In “The Sunday Times” (5 November), the admirable Simon Jenkins discussed the implications of the Stern report. In essence, he argued that - inter alia - the cost of mobility, especially air travel, must once again become the privilege of the rich. The emissions created by cheap and an abundance of aviation fuel have to be tackled. One way of doing so is to pass on the costs of curbing climate change to the individual, thus creating much higher costs of air travel. This runs counter to a free market, something of which Jenkins is generally a wholehearted supporter; it also runs counter to the growth of cheap air travel. It is cheap air travel that has helped to make overseas holidays affordable to those who were previously excluded - on the grounds of price. It is cheap air travel that now fuels - as it were - the holiday industry. It is cheap air travel that brings with it the record numbers passing through Palma Airport and the need to extend the airport’s terminal.

Take away that cheap air travel, and this can only be done by significant governmental intervention co-ordinated across nations, and we would never again witness a record year of visitors to Mallorca, as has been the case this year.

Some while ago I outlined the use of the simple SWOT technique as a way for businesses to assess themselves. The “T” refers to threats. Here is one such. Not just a small “t”, but a whacking great big one. Make air travel that much more expensive, and all the gripes about the impact of all-inclusives will seem like playground spats. This would be grown-ups’ stuff. The impact on economies such as the local one would be immense.

Is there anyone thinking about this? Spanish Government, Balearic Government, Mallorca council, local authorities, tour operators, airlines, hotels, island’s businesses? Richard Branson is at least looking to start a discussion, from which British Airways has notably excluded itself, but as for others - if they are not thinking about all this, I suggest that they start.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Christmas presents

Christmas presents. AAAGHH! Every year, it just gets more difficult. And for those of us planning to take pressies back to Blighty, the news that Palma Airport is to come under the new hand-luggage restrictions as from 6 November means that choice gets that bit more tricky. For the sake of avoiding any hassle or carrying too big an item of hand-luggage, out really go the breakables that might otherwise have been taken on board. So, the only thing is to go small, go unbreakable and pack it in the suitcase. Some help is at hand - the Little Britain mini-market features Aurora’s soaps. Now, Aurora is taking a back-seat at Little Britain to concentrate on the soap business started by her daughter in Inca. Called Jabon Bon, the soaps are quite remarkable, so much so that they are getting orders to supply from across the island. But the packs of soaps make great gifts, and they are easily transportable. The mini-market each Saturday morning on the terrace in front of Little Britain in Puerto Alcúdia.

Friday, November 03, 2006

End of season / Lu-Lu’s / Pollensa Fair

The season over, and the weather just seems to have given up. Nothing dramatic, just a sudden slip into the middling grey mixed with some sun that can be something of the norm, temperatures down to about 18 degrees. At least the mosquitoes seem to have pissed off, for which one should be extremely grateful. They were barely about for most of the summer, but in September and October they made up for their earlier inactivity in a frenzy of biting, though there appears to be little evidence that the tiger mosquito has crossed the seas from the mainland - yet.

For some, the season’s end is a new experience. Kevin at JKs in Puerto Pollensa was saying how places like the Miramar hotel were open one moment and then suddenly closed the next and there was nobody around. It is a curious thing - the season’s end; for those of us living here it does take a bit of adjustment from the constant bustle of the previous seven months. It is almost like a bereavement: one moment it’s there, the next moment it’s gone, but life still carries on.


A change of ownership in Pollensa. The former Tetera, then The Tavern and 7 under Darren, and more recently still 7 under “Military Intelligence” Tony, has transformed itself into Lu-Lu’s Bistro, with Chris and Lucy. And very nice it looks, too. A new menu and a cosy feel should make it go well during the winter months.


One beef that has knocked around on this blog has been the lack of promotional material in different languages produced by the town halls. Absence of languages and absence of material at all, at least in the case of Pollensa’s fair, which is coming up. I spied a copy of a little brochure in Pollensa’s Cafë L’Illa, but it was the only they had, so I had to take my dirty paws off of it. So, I trooped round to the tourist office and asked Pep for a copy. He didn’t have one; nor could he find anything on the marvellous (!?) town hall website. Hey ho. Anyway, when and if I get one I’ll translate it and shove the info onto wotzupnorth.blogspot.com.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Environment

Sir Nicholas Stern’s report into the impact of climate change is as welcome as it is deeply alarming. I am not a rabid environmentalist. Like many I suspect, my environmentalism burrows gently under the surface, a largely neglected Swampy creating an itch I can’t quite eliminate. But I have started to take more notice. Those stand-by devices are now all switched off; the kettle is filled with what water is needed; any thoughts of a 4x4 have been turned off.

All small things in the wider system, but a worry is just how swiftly the environment could now change. In Britain, the temperatures for September and October were up by an average 0.7 degrees; we have just registered the hottest Mallorcan October on record. Of course it could just be “one of those things”, but the scientific community (and others) seem to think differently. A 2-degree increase in temperatures would wreak some pretty damaging changes.

The sea. The sea levels would rise. Coastal areas would be at risk. I live by the sea. Many people in Mallorca live by the sea. Many people in Mallorca live at sea level. Many people who live at sea level in Mallorca have very expensive properties. Many people who live at sea level in Mallorca can find no sea defences next to or near to where they live.

Imagine: a society (Mallorca) which - apart from fishing - used to find no use for the coast. Areas like Playa de Muro and Can Picafort were untouched; they were useless - nothing could grow. And then they found a use - tourism, hotels, luxury houses, less-than-luxury houses. And then one day ... the waters come.

Simple answer is to move. But so perhaps should many others, leaving behind worthless houses, worthless hotels and worthless land.

Far-fetched? Could you say for sure it wouldn’t happen?

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Tourism economics / Roads / Blog Anniversary / Index for October

And so it was, after all, a record year. Mallorca and the Balearics received more visitors than at any time in the past, the Mallorcan numbers up by nearly 9% on last year, largely thanks to the Spanish and German markets. Moreover, spend was up, despite what everyone was saying. If businesses aren’t reaping the benefits then one has to draw certain conclusions, setting aside the all-inclusive influence: that there are too many businesses, and so demand is spread across too great a supply; or that prices are too high; or that quality isn’t that great. On 24 October, I reported that restaurant spend appeared to be down. So, if overall spend is up but that in restaurants is down - relatively - then perhaps it is a price issue.

A couple in Alcúdia who have been here for many a year and sampled many a restaurant maintain that, save for certain dishes in certain restaurants, they would not recommend one restaurant in Alcúdia. Bit harsh, I think, and these things do tend to be a tad subjective. But they also say that things are overpriced and that restaurants are cutting corners.

Whatever the reasons though, there is a dynamic at play that no-one seems able to explain satisfactorily. As next year is meant to be as good - in terms of numbers (or even a bit better if Thomas Cook can be believed), then maybe we will start to get some real answers.


One of this blog’s targets has been the state of some of the roads locally, e.g. the carretera from the Magic Roundabout in Puerto Alcúdia. Well, it seems that there is some fair bit of work going to be done. A report doesn’t actually say that it will be resurfaced - though it badly needs it - but that there will be the introduction of more crossing-points and a new roundabout at the top of the Greasy Mile. The crossing-points are fine; trouble is, no one takes much notice of them. But if the risk of crossing the carretera can be reduced, the road development is to be welcomed.


And today is the first anniversary of this blog. It is, and always will be, somewhat eclectic in its coverage; it is, and always will be, a mix of hard facts (albeit that they are subject to some scepticism), opinion, and a touch of - at times I hope - humour. It is also a reflection of things that I am told, some of which have to be discarded as tittle-tattle or downright libels.

Anyway, I’ve looked at the index entries that are presented each month, and which I guess give a flavour of some of the more important topics I deal with and also some of the relatively shortlived ones and some of the less likely. The two most frequently indexed subjects for the year were weather and tourism economics, the latter being one of the reasons for starting the blog - namely to look to try and create something of a reference for what is such an important issue locally. Other regular entries were for driving and accidents (much of it shameful), all-inclusives (which some also categorise as shameful), and smoking/tobacco (and that was a “burning” topic for much of the last 12 months).

Those subjects that lasted only a fairly brief time were jellyfish, and the invasion that never was, and the World Cup, especially the bizarre coverage on the La Sexta television channel. Then there were some “targets”, such as Stupid Fat White Men (and the obesity issue) and “holiday brains” as well as baby buggies and beach tents, the ensaimada, Ecuadorean pipe musicians, the Garbi hole, and Elvis impersonators.

One topic that ran for much of the 12 months was the Pollensa branding exercise and the website - www.pollensa.com - which finally, after much slagging-off here, seems to now be available in different languages.

There was sadness - much of it to do with road deaths - the boys killed near to the Cala San Vicente turn, the Thomson reps run down in Puerto Alcúdia - and then there was the passing-away of Manolo of Costa Nord, the death (in a road accident) of William Giverin Sr., and the departure from the local scene of Ben Layton (and Michelle) and Liliane Delmas.

And finally there were mentions of bars, cafés, restaurants, shops, hotels etc. - not all of them honourable but usually so. Here’s the roll-call of those establishments that have been name-checked here: Algar, Bar Mallorca, Bar Pepe, Barquita, Brunel, Bon Camí, Bony, Boy, Burger King, Caliu, Calvari, Campsa Garage, Can Tomas, Canny Lad, Cas Capella, Chess, Chivas, Club Pollença, Colber, Columbus, Comics, Costa Nord, Crédito Balear, Cultural, Dakota Tex-Mex, Dreams, El 7, El Mojito, Epcot, Eroski Syp, Foxes, Galeria Joan XXIII, Gran Café (in both Puerto Alcúdia and Puerto Pollensa, the former now L’Illa), Guru, Habitacle, Hospital d’Alcúdia, Hotels/Aparthotels etc - Alcúdia Pins, Alcúdia Suite, Bellevue, Club Mac, Coral de Mar, Daina, Delfin Azul, Don Pedro, Dunas Park, Eden Playa, Estrella de Sur, Flora, Garden Lago, Habitat, Iberostars, La Moraleja, Lagomonte, Las Gaviotas, Niu, Orquidea Playa, Parc Natural, Playa Esperanza, Playa Garden, Pollensa Park, Siestas, Sunwing Resort, Viva Alcúdia Sun Village, Viva Bahía - Iona, Irish Tavern, JKs, Jam Bar, Jokers, Juma, Kashmir, Kudos, La Sala, L’Illa, Lineker’s, Little Britain, Llomgar, MM Foods, Makassar, Mestizo, Mulligans, Nag’s Head, Neptuno, O’Hara’s, Olivers, Open Holidays, Rancho Grande, Rose and Crown (which was closed all summer), Sa Pobla Cricket Club, Sa Taverneta d’es Moll, Scuba Mallorca, Special Divers, Tango, Temple, Tiberi, Tukys, U Gallet, Vogue Properties.

And who has had a personal name-check? Here is a list of local folk, celebs, dead people, bands that have all appeared during the past 12 months:

Bryan Adams; Florian Albert (former Hungarian footballer); Luis Aragones; Danny Baker; Julie and Michel, Barquita; The Beach Boys; David Beckham; Captain Beefheart; Ben, formerly of Jacks and Comics; Richie Benaud; Alastair Black, Germany; Tony Blair; Suzanne, Bon Camí; Garry Bonsall; Francesc de Borja Moll; Cati, Boy; Manuel Bragado (“Estrella del Sur”); Marcus Brigstocke; Gordon Brown; John and Em, Brunel; Graham Burgess (former cricketer); George W. Bush; Mick Channon; Ian, Chess/El 7/Iona; Christian, Campsa Garage; Billy Cobham; Christopher Columbus; Julio and Matt, Comics; Chick Corea; Manolo, Costa Nord; Mateu Crespí (politician); Marjorie Dawes; Jack Dee; Liliane Delmas, Aguafun; Francisca Díauno de Abril (April Fool); Michael Douglas; Paco, Dreams; Michael, Epcot; Samuel Eto’o; Enrique Fajarnés (politician); Percy Faith and his Orchestra; Joan Flaquer (Balearic Minister for Tourism); Louise Foster, Vogue Properties; James and Karen, Foxes; General Franco; Fresh Prince of Bel Air; Geralt (director of Crédito Balear branch that was closed after a raid); George Giri (“Daily Bulletin”); William Giverin, Kudos; Monica Gonzalez (“Ultima Hora”); Tim Hames (“The Times”); Jimi Hendrix; Ian Hislop; Jane and Kevin, JKs; Simon Jenkins (“The Times”); Josep, Pollensa Tourist Office; Anatole Kaletsky (“The Times”); Gabriel, Kashmir; King Juan Carlos; Jürgen Klinsmann; Anna Kournikova; Trevor and Stuart, La Sala; Riki Lash (“Daily Bulletin”); Leapy Lee; Gary Lineker; Wayne Lineker; Aurora, Tony, Steve, all of Little Britain; Dave and Polly, MM Foods; Juan, Makassar and Tiberi; The Mamas and the Papas; Tomas, Marinas in Cala San Vicente; Jaume Matas (leader of the Balearic Government); Ian McEwan; Kenneth McKellar; Jonathan Meades; Lt-Gen Mena; Jim Morrison; María Antonia Munar (head of the Mallorca council); Mungo Jerry; Rupert Murdoch; Ardal O’Hanlon; Mick et al, Olivers; Matthew Parris (“The Times”); Pau, Supermarket Colber; Jonathan Pearce; Graham Philips (letter writer to the “Daily Bulletin”); Elvis Presley; Gori, Rancho Grande; The Residents; Cliff Richard; Right Said Fred; The Rubettes; Manu, Sa Taverneta d’es Moll; Julio Salinas; Pere Sampol (politician); Martin Samuel (“The Times”); Sant Sebastià; Maria Sharapova; Sandie Shaw; The Style Council; Sylvia; Derek Taylor (former cricketer); Hugh Thomas (author); The Thompson Twins; Throbbing Gristle; Fred Trueman; Brian Wilson; Harold Wilson; Steve Wright; Mike Yarwood; The Young Rascals; José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero


Index for October 2006

Bars - 6 October 2006
Bonsall, Garry - 19 October 2006
Can Ramis - 19 October 2006
Car-rental tax - 26 October 2006
Cycling - 6 October 2006
Driving - 2 October 2006, 6 October 2006, 18 October 2006
Elvis Presley impersonators - 3 October 2006
Energy - 29 October 2006
Ensaimada - 22 October 2006
Environment - 29 October 2006
Fire station - 18 October 2006
Foreign Office - 10 October 2006
Gotmar - 19 October 2006
Noise - 6 October 2006
Obesity - 12 October 2006
Palma Airport - 6 October 2006
Parking - 19 October 2006
“Part Forana” - 19 October 2006
Payment - 24 October 2006
Power station - 29 October 2006
Rape - 10 October 2006, 12 October 2006
Rental-accommodation regulations - 18 October 2006
Restaurants - 24 October 2006
Road accidents - 6 October 2006, 29 October 2006
Ryanair - 6 October 2006
Season’s end - 19 October 2006, 30 October 2006
Speeding - 18 October 2006
Tobacco selling - 26 October 2006, 29 October 2006
Tourism economics - 11 October 2006, 18 October 2006, 22 October 2006, 24 October 2006
Trafico - 2 October 2006, 6 October 2006
Weather - 2 October 2006, 10 October 2006, 12 October 2006, 22 October 2006, 26 October 2006, 30 October 2006