We All Fall Down

The collapse of the XL Leisure Group pretty much says all that we need to know. If the UK's third largest tour operator is forced into administration, then it is confirmation of the dire state of the general economy - credit crunch, rising fuel prices, inability to re-finance. There are doubtless some holidaymakers stranded in Mallorca as a consequence, and others who may have no holiday or refund, if they booked direct. This news comes on the back of the troubles at two Mallorca-based airlines. Spanair's travails have been well-publicised. Futura is facing its own collapse and also some questions as to the motives of the Highbury Investment Group. A further company, another UK tour operator, Seguro, has been a victim of Futura entering administration, as the airline was the carrier for the bulk of Seguro's customers. Unfortunately, there is probably more of all this to come, and it was rather predictable. If anything, it may well push those looking to book next year into the hands of companies who would appear to be totally stable - TUI and Thomas Cook most obviously.


MORE ABOUT CATALAN
The promotion of Catalan. It's not the first time we've been here, and it won't be the last. This week, the Balearic Government rejoined the consortium of the Ramón Llull Institute. As reported in "Ultima Hora", the previous administration of Jaume Matas (Partido Popular) had left the consortium because of a "lack of political will"; it's reckoned that the real reason was the promotion of the Catalan language. The current president, Francesc Antich, called the return to the fold an "historic day" for the Catalan language and culture. The institute does indeed exist to promote the Catalan language.

Llull is someone I have spoken about before. He is not only one of the most famous of Mallorcans in history, he is also one of the most interesting characters of all European history of the Middle Ages. He is rightly celebrated, and he is rightly associated with the promotion of Catalan - up to a point. That Llull was a highly significant mover in the development of the language is beyond dispute. He wrote in Catalan, and indeed his novel "Blanquerna", written in Catalan, is often referred to as the first European novel. This all said, Llull, I fear, might be looking down on this latest political manoeuvre in promoting Catalan with some disquiet.

A polymath, considered to have been an early influence on later computation and logic theories, Llull was also a multi-linguist who pressed for the creation of teaching in languages other than Catalan at major European universities. He was a far from one-dimensional person; his outlook went well beyond the confines of his island or his "country" (Aragon, of which Mallorca was a part).

Figures from history are invoked for all manner of reasons and co-opted by all manner of movements. Llull is very much one of these. His Catalan credentials are unimpeachable, but, intellectually and for reasons of religious convergence, he was not wedded to Catalan alone. It is for this reason that I express some misgiving. Iconic he was and is, but as a figurehead for an exclusiveness of his native tongue, I am not so sure that he would approve.

But don't let us, as I have been accused of, seek some anti-Catalan agenda. Let me say this: I find Catalan an intriguing language. It is more satisfying than Castilian as it possesses a sort of coarse refinement. It is rough-edge language, rooted in the relative obscurity of Occitan. It has little of the flair, grandeur and drama of Castilian. It is far less rounded; literally, in the instances where it dispenses with an "o" that would be found in Castilian. It has the feel of the underground, a sense of subversion. No wonder Franco sought to proscribe it.

It is said that the Catalan-speaking areas, especially that of Catalonia around Barcelona, have a more liberal tradition in various ways, be it art or thinking: more liberal, that is, than other parts of Spain. Defence of the language is understandable; it is understandable at emotional, cultural and intellectual levels. Yet this liberal tradition seems to run counter to a mono-linguistic dialectic, one in which the name of Ramón Llull is taken. Against his better judgement quite probably.


SEPTEMBER STORMS
It's started. With uncanny regularity, the middle of September heralds a change in weather. It is the time of the "gota fría" (cold drop). There is thunder about and brooding clouds and a distinct fall in temperature. 12 September - on at least two occasions before I can remember this being the date when the weather went pear-shaped. And what is today? The island has been put on a state of yellow alert, with the threat of major "inundations." Well, I guess we needed the rain.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Ace of Base (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96jFtzVa80A). Today's title - "we all fall down like ...?" Superb song.

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