Publicity Seekers: Leafleting in Sa Pobla

You may have noticed that there are certain things that you have to do according to what date it is or what period of a month it is. One such thing is where you can park on some streets. During the first half of the month, it is one side, during the second half, the other. Why is this? If someone can offer a sensible explanation, I'd love to know. I guess I know the answer - street cleaning - but when does this happen?

There is to be something else that is to be determined by day and time of the month and even by the hours of days. This something else is to be introduced in Sa Pobla and it concerns the distribution of publicity material. The town hall is introducing a local by-law which stipulates that such material can only be distributed between the hours of eight in the morning and two in the afternoon on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. Seriously, I'm not making this up.

The publicity material concerned is, or at least I think it is, the type that gets deposited in letter-boxes, or not as the case may be. It could, therefore, be the I'm Pedro, I'll paint your house for 200 euros type of thing or the I'm Juan, I'll perform house reforms (sic) and then not charge you when the place collapses because I forgot to put an RSJ up.

What actually is the problem? According to Sa Pobla town hall, there have been many complaints because of the lack of control regarding the distribution of such material. It is perhaps understandable. Wander past an apartment-block entrance and the letter-boxes will be stuffed with literature and the entrance itself is likely to be littered with it. Most of it isn't of the type by which local builders, gardeners, painters or whatever are trying to get some work; most of it is for shops, electrical ones or supermarkets in particular.

But as I neither live in Sa Pobla nor in an apartment block, I can't personally say I have any complaint about the distribution of publicity material. Indeed, so little is there, that what there is does tend to grab my attention. And it seems harsh if local people trying to drum up business (of the Pedro and Juan type) should be penalised because of severe limitations as to when they can distribute publicity, as will be the case in Sa Pobla. And of course penalties there will be. Up to six grand for the worst offenders.

Sa Pobla isn't confining its clampdown on publicity to what gets delivered door to door. It is also going to prohibit that which uses the likes of lamp posts and also prohibit display units on the "public way". Is there really an overabundance of all this in Sa Pobla? What harm is there if a display stand is stuck on the edge of a pavement? You just ignore what's in it or not. Don't you? Of course, there is a further reason why the town hall would object to this type of display. Public way means belonging to the town hall, which in turn means you should pay the town hall for the privilege of using its space; it was this argument that Alcúdia town hall once used to stop people parking cars with damn great for-sale signs in the windows.

Sa Pobla town hall is justifying its move in part on environmental grounds and on account of the cost of collecting the rubbish that all the bits of publicity create. It may have a point, but one reason why there is so much rubbish from promotional literature is because so many houses don't have letterboxes. Perhaps the town hall might consider insisting that they do.

While I am not in the slightest bit concerned about publicity distribution, there is one example that I have long wondered about. It's probably not an issue in Sa Pobla, but have you ever seen those leaflets for excursions that are often just left on low walls under stones. Some Scandinavian thing. How does this work exactly? As in, how is it possible to just place the leaflets all over the place and then let them fly all over the place when the stone gets dislodged and the wind gets up? Like the monthly parking restrictions, if anyone can explain to me how this is permitted, I would dearly like to know.

To come back to Sa Pobla, my guess is that the town hall is sensing the opportunity of an earner. Its burka ban having been a failure in that it hasn't been able to issue a single fine, it's been on the lookout for other sources of income. First it was the introduction of the plainclothes police doggy-doo patrols and now the publicity seekers. And the town hall will need some seekers. Won't it? I mean, how does anyone know if a leaflet gets placed in a letterbox at one minute past two on the first or third Tuesday of each month?

More than this, how many businesses will be aware that they should only be delivering between eight and two on these days each month. Sa Pobla town hall will hope that it won't be many. A six grand fine, anyone?


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.