Ashes To Ashes

It should probably come as no real surprise that young (and not so young) tourists rock up in Mallorca for a bit of a bundle, or at least find themselves involved in bundling. "The Diario" reports on a study by the "European Journal of Public Health" which, taking data from summer 2007, finds that one out of ten young tourists (defined as those between 16 and 35) ends up in a fight or is attacked. Perhaps the surprise is that the number is not higher.

The study compared the situations in Ibiza and Mallorca and found that violence is twice as likely to occur in Mallorca. Maybe that's because more tourists are stoned in Ibiza, where the consumption of drugs is higher. Despite the British origins of the study, it does not confine itself to British tourists; three groups were considered - Brits, Germans and Spanish. No conclusions seem to be drawn in respect of different nationalities; they are equally capable of getting paralytic and out of their heads. Indeed, this is a major reason for the holiday, during which the levels of alcohol and drugs imbibed and taken are higher than they would be "at home". In something of the bleeding obvious but with a rather bizarre description of differences, fights are more likely to occur in places with cheap booze, easy pick-ups and loud music as opposed to those with an "agreeable" atmosphere and "clean toilets".

What may be interesting about all this is the fact that violence, heavy drinking and drug abuse is not the preserve just of the Brits but also of the Spanish. One comes back to this rather misguided impression that many have of the civility and respect among Spanish youth when compared to their British counterparts. It is a bit of a myth, and this study seems to confirm this. Recently, there was another study, one of Spanish university students, conducted by the Galician university of Santiago de Compostela. It was interested in discovering the impact of alcohol and substance abuse on memory and attention, but it also found a significant number of students to be pretty much chronic alcoholics or those who would take on-board copious amounts at the weekends. Sounds rather familiar in terms of binge drinking, does it not? Furthermore, it should also come as no surprise to anyone familiar with student campuses in the UK to realise that Spanish students are as capable of getting tanked up as those in the UK.

But just to come back to the drinking and fighting clans of youth tourists, last year there was another study, one from the European Commission. It found that 12 per cent of Brits got into a scrap, mainly in "places of night entertainment" (with or without clean toilets, it wasn't made clear), and that the Brits were indeed league leaders in the bundling stakes. So the Spanish still have a way to go, it would seem.

Meanwhile over in Sa Pobla ...


Los Ashes
On Saturday evening there was the now traditional annual open-air supper in numerous streets of the town, but there were greater festivities on Sunday evening when the "Palmy Army" at the SPCC (Sa Pobla Cricket Club) celebrated England's famous Ashes victory with the now equally traditional burning of a potato, the remnants of which are deposited in a small terracotta urn (available from all good souvenir shops) on which is scratched "los Ashes" (there is some discussion as to whether the Mallorquín usage "els" should be used instead of "los"). The association between the SPCC and The Oval, scene of England's victory, is short but memorable, marked by one member of the SPCC who made a pilgrimage to the ground, couldn't find it and asked, with poor pronunciation, for directions to "The Offal". The president of the SPCC has sent his warm wishes to England's captain who can be assured both of a cheery welcome when he is next in Sa Pobla and of a bowl of eels. We understand that he is yet to take up the offer. Well done and play up, England, say the gentlemen of the SPCC.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Groovin' ", The Young Rascals: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15pd5_the-young-rascals-groovin_music
"Summertime", Fresh Prince (Will Smith) and DJ Jazzy Jeff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W9kcxdPPjk
Today's title - easy, and brilliant.

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