BEING SPANISH - PART FOUR (THE BAR)
The bar. When we talk of "being Spanish", it is the bar, perhaps more so than any other symbol of the tourist experience, that should typify - or not - what might be meant as being Spanish. It is to the bar to which the tourist feels drawn, as if by instinct. The bar defines holiday, and it is the bar within which the tourist can feel comfort, camaraderie and a collective expression of that holiday. But it is precisely for these reasons that the bar, the chosen bar (or bars), is rarely one that can be classified as being Spanish.
In Barcelona one time, I suggested to a friend of 30 years living there that we and some chums went for a "crawl". The idea was readily accepted, but not that of heading for the Ramblas and the likes of Michael Collins. I was being a tourist. My friend, who claims never to spend more than a euro on a beer, had his own route of bars, all of which would adhere to the description "Spanish". And these bars would be otherwise difficult to describe, except in terms of highly unremarkable, too bright, dull, smoky, and full of Spaniards. So it is here. If one dares to look around or even into a "Spanish" bar, what does one see or rather what does one not see? One does not see the sort of cosiness, the plushness, the intimacy of, say, a British pub (albeit one that is fast dying out). The Spanish bar is uniform in its graceless functionality. There are exceptions, but not many.
The only television programme in Spain worth watching is something called "Cuentame Como Pasó", a better class of soap set in the '70s. In one episode I happened to catch, there were scenes in a bar. I have no reason to assume that it was anything other than authentic. The only obvious difference to today was that the television was not plasma. Spanish bars are caught in a time-warp of Franco-era austerity. In a word, they are unattractive.
The local Spanish bar is, strictly speaking, Mallorcan Spanish, and being full of Mallorcans it is also very noisy because all Mallorcans shout. John, ex-Highlander, once sent me a story about a couple of customers who went to a locals bar and left because of what they perceived as unfriendly shouting. John subsequently rang the bar-owner who told him that there hadn't been a problem, they had just been discussing the weather!
The Spanish bar is intimidating in its sheer ordinariness and also in it actually being Spanish and being full of Spaniards, many of them shouting. The tourist is uncomfortable with such a clear expression of a different culture; it's why most avoid them and would never dream of setting foot in one. Colin, who has been providing me with some highly insightful thoughts on the notion of " being Spanish", refers to "cultural clues" that the tourist can gain. The cultural clues that are emitted from a Spanish bar are not difficult to appreciate, and if these clues suggest something with which the visitor might be uncomfortable, then he or she will not enter.
Of course, there is a difference between day and night, times of the year, days of the week and location. On a market day in summer in old-town Alcúdia, for example, people will of course go to a Spanish bar. They don't have much option. But they can sit outside, and there is security in numbers. Given a choice though, for the most part the tourist would head for the default bar that doesn't look too Spanish. There is another "of course", and that is that there are tourists and there are tourists. It would be quite wrong to suggest that everyone reacts negatively to the cultural clues, and, coincidentally, "culture" is a clue here. Take, for example, the square in Puerto Pollensa, Here, there are two bars diametrically opposite and pretty much diametrically opposed in the eyes of some tourists. Bar (café) Cultural is about as Spanish in the ways I describe above as it can get. Yet in its simplicity it is the counterpoint to Bony which, although also Spanish, is brash, comedic and almost Spanish parodic given José's "olés". It may also have something to do with prices, but that's perhaps by the by; the showy Spanishness of Bony is not to everyone's liking and, for some, they want their being Spanish understated.
But in general, the everyday tourist, your typical Brit, wlll defer to a style and to cultural clues that are more than just clues; they are strong statements. It is not just Britishness which attracts, it is also tribalism, for which there are bars - Canny Lad (Newcastle), Foxes (Leicester), Highlander (Scotland), for instance. There is a need for familiarity and for association. At the top of this piece I referred to those three "c's" - comfort, camaraderie and a collective expression. These are no more evident than in bars where the banter can centre on the football team, the towns or cities back home and also the folks back home. None of this can be obtained in a Spanish bar.
A further dimension in the search for the bar is that of internationalisation. The tourist, as with those who live locally, have, in many cases, bought into a bar transnationalism. How else can one explain the proliferation of Irish bars which, with one or two exceptions, are not Irish? A French neighbour of mine loves O'Hara's in Puerto Pollensa for example. One might expect her to opt for the Spanish bar, but no she revels in the garish opportunism of Grupo Boulevard who have taken this to an extreme state with its Australian Boulevard. But, once again, we come back to those cultural clues, and Irish, even Australian, are familiar statements, more so, one suspects, than Spanishness.
My whole thinking behind this series of features is that elusive concept of "being Spanish" and the fact that one hears an admonishment that things are not Spanish enough. Yet the tourist, overwhelmingly it seems, opts for the familiarity of the non-Spanish. There is an apparent contradiction in all this, but the explanation may lie with something that Colin has offered, and I finish with his observation:
"They (tourists of a mass variety) don’t actually want to see another culture - it is different and as such they don’t feel comfortable with it. They avoid places that feel too foreign, although at the same time bemoaning the fact that the tourist centres as not foreign enough. I don’t think that they are blind to it - they see it all too well, but view it with innate suspicion."
REAL MALLORCA - COMMENT
As most of you will know, I much prefer comments to be posted directly to me. However, an "anonymous" one for yesterday's piece, posted for the comments box, offered the opinion that the press failed to challenge Paul Davidson's claims and to also enquire as to whether he actually had the money to make the bid in the first place. To be fair, I think the Spanish press did at least raise this line of enquiry. How diligently they may have delved into Mr. Davidson's affairs is another matter, but certainly doubts had been circulating in the local media as to his financial capability. However, it should be noted that the press, in the UK at any rate, had said that Mr. Davidson had received 42 million pounds in return for the sale of shares in his company. I think it fair to say, though, that the local press lack the forensic journalistic abilities or resources for an examination of the financial situation.
The comment also suggests that Mr. Davidson was either fronting the whole exercise on behalf of someone else or was engaged in a "charade intended to get him publicity". As to the former, he had always insisted that he, and he alone, would be purchasing the club, and as for the latter, if the publicity was designed to raise his profile in Mallorca or Spain - for whatever reason - then it was an expensive way of going about it, while I reiterate the point - why would he have gone to the lengths he did, including appointing Keith Wyness as a non-exec, just for publicity?
I have yet to be convinced that he was anything other than sincere in his intentions, even if some of the thinking behind the failed takeover seemed somewhat odd.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Pink Floyd. Today's title - Yorkshire-born, sadly passed away, soul and blues singer.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Showing posts with label Paul Davidson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Davidson. Show all posts
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Never let it be said that things always go swimmingly here. Take yesterday, for example. Flicker, flicker - out. Power. Out. Seven hours. No power. Fantastic. It was a "breakdown" in the system. Yes, I think we gathered that. According to the "Diario", the outage was caused by a lightning strike on the power station in Alcúdia, and this caused a loss of electricity to the whole island, some parts of which had service restored more quickly. The thing is that the storm was not that violent, by Mallorcan standards, and indeed it had eased off when the lights went out.
It's rubbish though really, isn't it. The electricity company, GESA-Endesa, has form. Back in 2003, during that horrendously hot summer, there was an outage that lasted for some twelve hours in some parts of the island (six where I was concerned). They put that down to demand because of air-con systems. Whatever. The company was given a sound metaphorical public thrashing, pants down, by the government and told that under no circumstances must this happen again. Well, what do you know?
Meantime, I couldn't of course let the Real Mallorca story lie. So, with rather more sober an assessment ...
It has ended in the mess some had predicted. Paul Davidson was not prepared to make a ten per cent deposit, and so the deal is off. Grande is talking of seeking compensation.
How did it come to this? Without wishing to boast of any great foresight, I recall saying to someone in the very early days of the Davidson bid that it would end in tears. There was something that was never quite right about the whole thing. The bid seemed to be made almost on a whim, the price was significantly higher than that offered by Freddy Shepherd, the Davidson strategy for branding and recycling through the club's name and in Mallorca, while intriguing, was always questionable in its peculiarity and its vagueness. And why were there no other serious bidders, other than Shepherd with his lower valuation? Was it the price, or is Real Mallorca just simply not a great investment?
One is left to conclude that he was serious in purchasing the club. Why otherwise would he have gone to the lengths of the legal costs he has had to pay and why would he have appointed the former Everton chief executive to the board of his company as a non-exec? Is it all down to a difficulty in raising the money? It would be understandable that his circumstances might have changed over the months of the pursuit of the club which have been coincidental with the full impact of the economic and credit crises. He has himself pointed to the economic conditions. Perhaps he had hoped for some assistance, and his connections to the Middle East and the presence of a sheikh on that same board of directors have not gone uncommented upon. But Mr. Davidson insisted that it would be he, and he alone, who financed any deal.
There are no winners in any of this, only losers - Mr. Davidson, Vicente Grande, the club, the fans, the reputation of British investment and, I'm sorry to have to say, the "Majorca Daily Bulletin". Or maybe there have been some winners - those elements of the Spanish media that cast doubt on the whole deal.
When the Davidson bid first surfaced, it was painted as an indication of the willingness of the British to invest in Mallorca and of the attractions of the island as a place for investment - it could sure do with some hefty foreign investment. The abandonment of the purchase leaves a general British reputation in tatters. The failure to go through with the deal is likely to be taken as evidence that British investors cannot be trusted. It's a harsh conclusion, but not an impossible one. There was hostility to a foreigner buying the club, but a willingness to go along with this if it brought the club stability and success. Now all that is left is a "told-you-so" xenophobia.
Stories like the Davidson saga don't come along often in Mallorca. For The Bulletin it was manna from heaven. Along the tortuous path to the denouement we now have, there were headlines of the "real deal" variety and the eight-page special that greeted the arrangement that has now not been consummated. The paper was generally dismissive of the negativity in the Spanish press, despite legitimate doubts that were being expressed, and as recently as 1 November offered reasons as to why the deal would still proceed. The problem, however, is that there had been an absence of objectivity; it was as though the paper was in thrall to the idea of a British owner and cast aside the sort of balance that the story demanded. The tone of its reporting changed yesterday in light of the collapse of the deal; maybe they realised that, having been a cheerleader, all that was left were boos and having being made to look daft. It had probably been lining up its regular "new dawn" headline to herald the once-and-for-all acquisition. I have one. For Mr. Davidson, the plumber and the man of the piping business - "Piper at the gates of dawn". Except there is no dawn, until, that is, or if the deal is revived. That would seem most unlikely.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Eagles, "Desperado" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umw1-Do3-ho). Today's title - an album by?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
It's rubbish though really, isn't it. The electricity company, GESA-Endesa, has form. Back in 2003, during that horrendously hot summer, there was an outage that lasted for some twelve hours in some parts of the island (six where I was concerned). They put that down to demand because of air-con systems. Whatever. The company was given a sound metaphorical public thrashing, pants down, by the government and told that under no circumstances must this happen again. Well, what do you know?
Meantime, I couldn't of course let the Real Mallorca story lie. So, with rather more sober an assessment ...
It has ended in the mess some had predicted. Paul Davidson was not prepared to make a ten per cent deposit, and so the deal is off. Grande is talking of seeking compensation.
How did it come to this? Without wishing to boast of any great foresight, I recall saying to someone in the very early days of the Davidson bid that it would end in tears. There was something that was never quite right about the whole thing. The bid seemed to be made almost on a whim, the price was significantly higher than that offered by Freddy Shepherd, the Davidson strategy for branding and recycling through the club's name and in Mallorca, while intriguing, was always questionable in its peculiarity and its vagueness. And why were there no other serious bidders, other than Shepherd with his lower valuation? Was it the price, or is Real Mallorca just simply not a great investment?
One is left to conclude that he was serious in purchasing the club. Why otherwise would he have gone to the lengths of the legal costs he has had to pay and why would he have appointed the former Everton chief executive to the board of his company as a non-exec? Is it all down to a difficulty in raising the money? It would be understandable that his circumstances might have changed over the months of the pursuit of the club which have been coincidental with the full impact of the economic and credit crises. He has himself pointed to the economic conditions. Perhaps he had hoped for some assistance, and his connections to the Middle East and the presence of a sheikh on that same board of directors have not gone uncommented upon. But Mr. Davidson insisted that it would be he, and he alone, who financed any deal.
There are no winners in any of this, only losers - Mr. Davidson, Vicente Grande, the club, the fans, the reputation of British investment and, I'm sorry to have to say, the "Majorca Daily Bulletin". Or maybe there have been some winners - those elements of the Spanish media that cast doubt on the whole deal.
When the Davidson bid first surfaced, it was painted as an indication of the willingness of the British to invest in Mallorca and of the attractions of the island as a place for investment - it could sure do with some hefty foreign investment. The abandonment of the purchase leaves a general British reputation in tatters. The failure to go through with the deal is likely to be taken as evidence that British investors cannot be trusted. It's a harsh conclusion, but not an impossible one. There was hostility to a foreigner buying the club, but a willingness to go along with this if it brought the club stability and success. Now all that is left is a "told-you-so" xenophobia.
Stories like the Davidson saga don't come along often in Mallorca. For The Bulletin it was manna from heaven. Along the tortuous path to the denouement we now have, there were headlines of the "real deal" variety and the eight-page special that greeted the arrangement that has now not been consummated. The paper was generally dismissive of the negativity in the Spanish press, despite legitimate doubts that were being expressed, and as recently as 1 November offered reasons as to why the deal would still proceed. The problem, however, is that there had been an absence of objectivity; it was as though the paper was in thrall to the idea of a British owner and cast aside the sort of balance that the story demanded. The tone of its reporting changed yesterday in light of the collapse of the deal; maybe they realised that, having been a cheerleader, all that was left were boos and having being made to look daft. It had probably been lining up its regular "new dawn" headline to herald the once-and-for-all acquisition. I have one. For Mr. Davidson, the plumber and the man of the piping business - "Piper at the gates of dawn". Except there is no dawn, until, that is, or if the deal is revived. That would seem most unlikely.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Eagles, "Desperado" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umw1-Do3-ho). Today's title - an album by?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Why Don't You Come To Your Senses?
Curses. I had already penned today's piece, anticipating an end, but no. No end. Whassup? Real Mallorca, friends. Yes, once again, with lack of feeling. Real bloody Mallorca and the so-called plumber. No, he didn't show up to hand over the moolah, and there was no surprise there, but he did send a fax to ask for yet another extension. The great Real Mallorca farce drags on, and on, and on ... Does anyone give a toss any longer? Did they ever? Doubtful. But the panto season has started early. Will he buy it? Oh no, he won't. Oh yes, he will (insert "Bulletin" editorial).
To cut to the chase. Paul Davidson, for the second time, has requested a prolongation of the whole debacle that has become the mooted takeover of Real Mallorca. There are some explanations for this: he still hasn't got the money; he still hasn't constituted the right corporate vehicle for effecting the purchase; he's having a laugh. I leave it to you decide. Personally, I can't see how it can be the third of these, though there are plenty who might believe so - fans, the current owners, various journos, lawyers etc. No, it probably is still his intention to buy this stupid club. God knows why, but that's another issue.
The thing is, though, that if he does finally part with the money, the whole process, the whole pantomime, has seriously undermined him in the eyes of the people who matter, e.g. the fans and a highly sceptical Spanish media. Forget the Bulletin, it's the locals that need charming not a few nutty expats who turn up to watch an average team, and for reasons best known to them. Whatever goodwill may have been extended to him is fast evaporating, if it hasn't already. And many will doubt that, if the sale does go through, there will be loads of readies available for the team's development. If it's so problematic to buy the club, what does this say for the future?
The real sadness of all this is that Vicente Grande is likely to go along with it, albeit that he wants a deposit as a declaration of some sort of goodwill. Of course he does. No one else is willing to hand over close on 40 million euros for a club that doesn't even own its own ground. Grande's desperate - desperado - and one suspects that the other party knows this.
I am, to be honest, hacked off with the whole thing, mainly because I had crafted a hugely intelligent piece for today that I can now not use. And I had been next door to sample some glasses of vino tinto before I saw the news. I shouldn't write when under the influence, but I've got a blog to do, so that's why I'm hacked off. But why don't I include a bit from what I would have written? It refers to a commentator in "The Diario" who says, about the whole fiasco "that he can be included among the other journalists, 'administrators, jurists, lawyers, bankers and creditors' who have been made to look foolish".
The end.
Anyway, Plan B, folks. Don't for one moment think that a mere hiccup in the complex and absurd world of Real Mallorca can deter me from some other story of massive import. First rule of editorial. Always have another story up your sleeve or sitting on your desktop. So here goes ...
Remember that film with Steve McQueen. "Bullitt." The one with the car chase through the streets of San Francisco. Well, they tried a re-enactment - of sorts - through the streets of Alcúdia the other day and also along the motorways of Mallorca. To be honest, it shouldn't be much of a story, but given that locally "dog bites man" passes for headlines, it is. So, the story is that some lunatic Colombian hammered along the motorway from Palma and then around Alcúdia in a Volvo at some 200 kilometres an hour, whilst a couple of boys from the Guardia in a 4x4 were in hot pursuit. And hot it was, because there has been many a column inch devoted to the state that the Guardia's engine was getting into. Which does rather beg a question, but let's not go into that. But the nutter in the Volvo finally made his way up to La Victoria before hurtling off the mountainside in what turned out to be a vain attempt at suicide. He was detained for psychiatric reports, whilst the Guardia fellows were being heralded as "heroes". For what? Presumably because they were in charge of an overheating Nissan X-Trail. 200 kilometres an hour. Have they never driven on a German autobahn?
Mind you, hurtling around the streets of Alcúdia would have been some sport to watch. I have searched youtube, but am unable to find any blurry mobile footage of the chase. Shame. It would have all been worthwhile.
Normal service will, may, resume tomorrow.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Cream, "Sunshine Of Your Love" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI8SUc2SV4k). Today's title - the title's in the article.
Oh, and here's the car chase from "Bullitt" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMc2RdFuOxI
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
To cut to the chase. Paul Davidson, for the second time, has requested a prolongation of the whole debacle that has become the mooted takeover of Real Mallorca. There are some explanations for this: he still hasn't got the money; he still hasn't constituted the right corporate vehicle for effecting the purchase; he's having a laugh. I leave it to you decide. Personally, I can't see how it can be the third of these, though there are plenty who might believe so - fans, the current owners, various journos, lawyers etc. No, it probably is still his intention to buy this stupid club. God knows why, but that's another issue.
The thing is, though, that if he does finally part with the money, the whole process, the whole pantomime, has seriously undermined him in the eyes of the people who matter, e.g. the fans and a highly sceptical Spanish media. Forget the Bulletin, it's the locals that need charming not a few nutty expats who turn up to watch an average team, and for reasons best known to them. Whatever goodwill may have been extended to him is fast evaporating, if it hasn't already. And many will doubt that, if the sale does go through, there will be loads of readies available for the team's development. If it's so problematic to buy the club, what does this say for the future?
The real sadness of all this is that Vicente Grande is likely to go along with it, albeit that he wants a deposit as a declaration of some sort of goodwill. Of course he does. No one else is willing to hand over close on 40 million euros for a club that doesn't even own its own ground. Grande's desperate - desperado - and one suspects that the other party knows this.
I am, to be honest, hacked off with the whole thing, mainly because I had crafted a hugely intelligent piece for today that I can now not use. And I had been next door to sample some glasses of vino tinto before I saw the news. I shouldn't write when under the influence, but I've got a blog to do, so that's why I'm hacked off. But why don't I include a bit from what I would have written? It refers to a commentator in "The Diario" who says, about the whole fiasco "that he can be included among the other journalists, 'administrators, jurists, lawyers, bankers and creditors' who have been made to look foolish".
The end.
Anyway, Plan B, folks. Don't for one moment think that a mere hiccup in the complex and absurd world of Real Mallorca can deter me from some other story of massive import. First rule of editorial. Always have another story up your sleeve or sitting on your desktop. So here goes ...
Remember that film with Steve McQueen. "Bullitt." The one with the car chase through the streets of San Francisco. Well, they tried a re-enactment - of sorts - through the streets of Alcúdia the other day and also along the motorways of Mallorca. To be honest, it shouldn't be much of a story, but given that locally "dog bites man" passes for headlines, it is. So, the story is that some lunatic Colombian hammered along the motorway from Palma and then around Alcúdia in a Volvo at some 200 kilometres an hour, whilst a couple of boys from the Guardia in a 4x4 were in hot pursuit. And hot it was, because there has been many a column inch devoted to the state that the Guardia's engine was getting into. Which does rather beg a question, but let's not go into that. But the nutter in the Volvo finally made his way up to La Victoria before hurtling off the mountainside in what turned out to be a vain attempt at suicide. He was detained for psychiatric reports, whilst the Guardia fellows were being heralded as "heroes". For what? Presumably because they were in charge of an overheating Nissan X-Trail. 200 kilometres an hour. Have they never driven on a German autobahn?
Mind you, hurtling around the streets of Alcúdia would have been some sport to watch. I have searched youtube, but am unable to find any blurry mobile footage of the chase. Shame. It would have all been worthwhile.
Normal service will, may, resume tomorrow.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Cream, "Sunshine Of Your Love" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI8SUc2SV4k). Today's title - the title's in the article.
Oh, and here's the car chase from "Bullitt" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMc2RdFuOxI
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, October 31, 2008
True Blue
The Conservatives are coming to Mallorca. Rejoice, rejoice.
In autumn of next year, the Conservatives Abroad organisation will, reports "The Bulletin", be holding its annual conference on the island for the first time. Among those attending may be eminent members of the party, such as "Oik" Osborne or the boy Hague. Just as well that it's in the autumn and not in August, in case any Russian oligarchs happen to cruise into a quiet Mallorcan cove and prove too much of a temptation for Oik to go scraping and bowing with his begging bowl.
True to form, the arrival of overseas Tories is being given some wholly hyperbolic spin. The local branch chairman believes that it will bring "political benefits" to the island, to which one might ask - what political benefits and for whom? He adds that there will also be benefits for hotels and business. How many delegates are expected? One hundred. Sufficient to fill a floor or two of a medium-sized hotel. As for business. Hmm, no I don't know either. I will concede, however, that the conference might prove positive in terms of promoting the island (for which read Palma and the immediate environs) as a convention centre. Now I think of it though, maybe it would be a good idea if Oik (or Gideon, to give him his actual first name) were once again to be exposed seeking to trouser some aluminium-made moolah. I suspect that a certain part of Corfu is enjoying record levels of enquiry for next summer.
One would imagine that the Mallorcan toryist, sorry tourist authorities, will leap on the Conservative bandwagon. "Come to Mallorca, where the sky is always blue and so are you." Might not play too well, however, with those with a red or orange preference. But why stop with the Conservatives Abroad? Get the real things over here. Labour could pack out Bellevue in Alcúdia for a week, no problem. And the likes of Prezza and "Two Pizzas" Clarke would keep the tills of the Mile's troughs ticking over faster than you could suck a small glass of sangria through a Jack Straw. Now that would be good for business.
OH GOD NO, MORE REAL MALLORCA
Yes, afraid so, the saga continues. Paul Davidson's non-payment of the money was, apparently, due to the fact that he wishes to establish a separate company to effect the transaction. Well, that's up to him, but it does seem a little odd that there seemed to be no prior warning of this potential glitch in the grand ceremony of the handing over of the wonga. All the parties had gathered for this - except one. Now, Mallorcans may have rather flexible notions of time-keeping, but when there's the small matter of 38 million euros to be handed over, then you can bet that they'll break a non-punctuality habit of a lifetime. That it has taken to this late stage though for it to emerge that a different vehicle is desired for completing the takeover - which effectively means the signed documents are null and void as new ones will have to be drawn up - should not, one might have thought, have prevented a quick phone call, like on Tuesday perhaps, to let everyone know that they need not attend the gathering. All very strange.
I am wondering though if the regular mentions of Real Mallorca here on the blog are not in danger of losing my vast local readership. I say this as, if I ask your everyday expat what thoughts he or she may have on this burning issue, the response is always the same. Couldn't care less. Couldn't care less whether a Brit takes the club over. Couldn't care less about Real Mallorca. This does all rather suggest that the grand plan of all those Brit expats schlepping off to the ONO stadium is a pipedream, which I have indeed suggested it might be on previous occasions. And then there are the Mallorcans themselves. Want to know who the Most Famous Mallorcan In The World, Manacor muscle, tennis number one Rafael Christmas, supports? Real Madrid. And where Nadal goes, others follow.
WIND AND MORE WIND
The island has been getting a damn good kicking from winds these past couple of days. On Wednesday, there was mayhem at the market in Puerto Pollensa when particularly malevolent gusts scattered some stalls and their products. There is, around and about, a fair old amount of damage, though reports of the winds being unlike anything people have experienced before seem somewhat exaggerated. High winds are not uncommon, and there has not been a repeat of last October's seriously damaging blast.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Doors, "The End" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHFK1yKfiGo). Today's title - a number one song by?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Index for October 2008
Asociación de Britanicos Irlandeses Residentes Empresarios y Trabajadores en las Baleares - 24 October 2008
Attacks on women - 1 October 2008
Australian Boulevard - 27 October 2008
Balearic Government - 8 October 2008, 26 October 2008
Ball de bot - 11 October 2008
Banks - 5 October 2008
Bribery - 17 October 2008
Buses - 12 October 2008
Catalan - 1 October 2008
Civil War - 14 October 2008, 18 October 2008
Closed down - 25 October 2008
Conservatives Abroad - 31 October 2008
Corruption - 8 October 2008
Credit crunch - 5 October 2008, 29 October 2008
Crisps - 10 October 2008
Cyclists - 17 October 2008, 18 October 2008
Diet - 26 October 2008
Driving - 17 October 2008
Economic crisis - 5 October 2008, 20 October 2008, 28 October 2008
Elderly tourists - 10 October 2008
Eroski - 10 October 2008
Expatriates - 4 October 2008, 6 October 2008, 15 October 2008, 24 October 2008
Football - 7 October 2008, 16 October 2008, 21 October 2008, 30 October 2008, 31 October 2008
Football shirts - 2 October 2008, 29 October 2008
Franco - 14 October 2008, 18 October 2008
Gardens - 19 October 2008
Gay clubs - 29 October 2008
German bars - 22 October 2008
GOB - 13 October 2008
Gotmar - 15 October 2008
Hunting - 13 October 2008
Integration - 4 October 2008
International Brigades - 14 October 2008
Judge Baltasar Garzón - 18 October 2008
Languages - 1 October 2008
Local democracy - 3 October 2008, 15 October 2008
Maya civilisation - 30 October 2008
Menú del día - 26 October 2008
Mobile phones - 17 October 2008
Momo Gay Club - 29 October 2008
Mosquitoes - 27 October 2008
October - 18 October 2008, 19 October 2008
Parking - 17 October 2008, 22 October 2008, 23 October 2008
Paul Davidson - 7 October 2008, 9 October 2008, 16 October 2008, 30 October 2008, 31 October 2008
Pedestrianisation - 3 October 2008, 5 October 2008, 8 October 2008, 16 October 2008, 29 October 2008
Playa de Muro - 1 October 2008, 25 October 2008
Political parties - 3 October 2008, 26 October 2008
Pollensa town hall - 16 October 2008, 23 October 2008
Power station - 23 October 2008
Prices - 12 October 2008
Product labels - 1 October 2008
Puerto Portals - 6 October 2008
Racism - 21 October 2008, 28 October 2008
Rambling - 14 October 2008
Real Mallorca - 7 October 2008, 16 October 2008, 30 October 2008, 31 October 2008
Recycling - 9 October 2008
Residents associations - 15 October 2008, 24 October 2008
Roads - 3 October 2008, 5 October 2008, 8 October 2008, 16 October 2008
Scandal - 8 October 2008
Second World War - 17 October 2008
Son Real - 13 October 2008
Storms - 19 October 2008, 31 October 2008
Supermarkets - 10 October 2008
Tourist wants - 12 October 2008
Traditions - 11 October 2008
Trees - 24 October 2008
Unemployment - 28 October 2008
Unió Mallorquina - 3 October 2008
Winter tourism - 2 October 2008, 24 October 2008
In autumn of next year, the Conservatives Abroad organisation will, reports "The Bulletin", be holding its annual conference on the island for the first time. Among those attending may be eminent members of the party, such as "Oik" Osborne or the boy Hague. Just as well that it's in the autumn and not in August, in case any Russian oligarchs happen to cruise into a quiet Mallorcan cove and prove too much of a temptation for Oik to go scraping and bowing with his begging bowl.
True to form, the arrival of overseas Tories is being given some wholly hyperbolic spin. The local branch chairman believes that it will bring "political benefits" to the island, to which one might ask - what political benefits and for whom? He adds that there will also be benefits for hotels and business. How many delegates are expected? One hundred. Sufficient to fill a floor or two of a medium-sized hotel. As for business. Hmm, no I don't know either. I will concede, however, that the conference might prove positive in terms of promoting the island (for which read Palma and the immediate environs) as a convention centre. Now I think of it though, maybe it would be a good idea if Oik (or Gideon, to give him his actual first name) were once again to be exposed seeking to trouser some aluminium-made moolah. I suspect that a certain part of Corfu is enjoying record levels of enquiry for next summer.
One would imagine that the Mallorcan toryist, sorry tourist authorities, will leap on the Conservative bandwagon. "Come to Mallorca, where the sky is always blue and so are you." Might not play too well, however, with those with a red or orange preference. But why stop with the Conservatives Abroad? Get the real things over here. Labour could pack out Bellevue in Alcúdia for a week, no problem. And the likes of Prezza and "Two Pizzas" Clarke would keep the tills of the Mile's troughs ticking over faster than you could suck a small glass of sangria through a Jack Straw. Now that would be good for business.
OH GOD NO, MORE REAL MALLORCA
Yes, afraid so, the saga continues. Paul Davidson's non-payment of the money was, apparently, due to the fact that he wishes to establish a separate company to effect the transaction. Well, that's up to him, but it does seem a little odd that there seemed to be no prior warning of this potential glitch in the grand ceremony of the handing over of the wonga. All the parties had gathered for this - except one. Now, Mallorcans may have rather flexible notions of time-keeping, but when there's the small matter of 38 million euros to be handed over, then you can bet that they'll break a non-punctuality habit of a lifetime. That it has taken to this late stage though for it to emerge that a different vehicle is desired for completing the takeover - which effectively means the signed documents are null and void as new ones will have to be drawn up - should not, one might have thought, have prevented a quick phone call, like on Tuesday perhaps, to let everyone know that they need not attend the gathering. All very strange.
I am wondering though if the regular mentions of Real Mallorca here on the blog are not in danger of losing my vast local readership. I say this as, if I ask your everyday expat what thoughts he or she may have on this burning issue, the response is always the same. Couldn't care less. Couldn't care less whether a Brit takes the club over. Couldn't care less about Real Mallorca. This does all rather suggest that the grand plan of all those Brit expats schlepping off to the ONO stadium is a pipedream, which I have indeed suggested it might be on previous occasions. And then there are the Mallorcans themselves. Want to know who the Most Famous Mallorcan In The World, Manacor muscle, tennis number one Rafael Christmas, supports? Real Madrid. And where Nadal goes, others follow.
WIND AND MORE WIND
The island has been getting a damn good kicking from winds these past couple of days. On Wednesday, there was mayhem at the market in Puerto Pollensa when particularly malevolent gusts scattered some stalls and their products. There is, around and about, a fair old amount of damage, though reports of the winds being unlike anything people have experienced before seem somewhat exaggerated. High winds are not uncommon, and there has not been a repeat of last October's seriously damaging blast.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Doors, "The End" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHFK1yKfiGo). Today's title - a number one song by?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Index for October 2008
Asociación de Britanicos Irlandeses Residentes Empresarios y Trabajadores en las Baleares - 24 October 2008
Attacks on women - 1 October 2008
Australian Boulevard - 27 October 2008
Balearic Government - 8 October 2008, 26 October 2008
Ball de bot - 11 October 2008
Banks - 5 October 2008
Bribery - 17 October 2008
Buses - 12 October 2008
Catalan - 1 October 2008
Civil War - 14 October 2008, 18 October 2008
Closed down - 25 October 2008
Conservatives Abroad - 31 October 2008
Corruption - 8 October 2008
Credit crunch - 5 October 2008, 29 October 2008
Crisps - 10 October 2008
Cyclists - 17 October 2008, 18 October 2008
Diet - 26 October 2008
Driving - 17 October 2008
Economic crisis - 5 October 2008, 20 October 2008, 28 October 2008
Elderly tourists - 10 October 2008
Eroski - 10 October 2008
Expatriates - 4 October 2008, 6 October 2008, 15 October 2008, 24 October 2008
Football - 7 October 2008, 16 October 2008, 21 October 2008, 30 October 2008, 31 October 2008
Football shirts - 2 October 2008, 29 October 2008
Franco - 14 October 2008, 18 October 2008
Gardens - 19 October 2008
Gay clubs - 29 October 2008
German bars - 22 October 2008
GOB - 13 October 2008
Gotmar - 15 October 2008
Hunting - 13 October 2008
Integration - 4 October 2008
International Brigades - 14 October 2008
Judge Baltasar Garzón - 18 October 2008
Languages - 1 October 2008
Local democracy - 3 October 2008, 15 October 2008
Maya civilisation - 30 October 2008
Menú del día - 26 October 2008
Mobile phones - 17 October 2008
Momo Gay Club - 29 October 2008
Mosquitoes - 27 October 2008
October - 18 October 2008, 19 October 2008
Parking - 17 October 2008, 22 October 2008, 23 October 2008
Paul Davidson - 7 October 2008, 9 October 2008, 16 October 2008, 30 October 2008, 31 October 2008
Pedestrianisation - 3 October 2008, 5 October 2008, 8 October 2008, 16 October 2008, 29 October 2008
Playa de Muro - 1 October 2008, 25 October 2008
Political parties - 3 October 2008, 26 October 2008
Pollensa town hall - 16 October 2008, 23 October 2008
Power station - 23 October 2008
Prices - 12 October 2008
Product labels - 1 October 2008
Puerto Portals - 6 October 2008
Racism - 21 October 2008, 28 October 2008
Rambling - 14 October 2008
Real Mallorca - 7 October 2008, 16 October 2008, 30 October 2008, 31 October 2008
Recycling - 9 October 2008
Residents associations - 15 October 2008, 24 October 2008
Roads - 3 October 2008, 5 October 2008, 8 October 2008, 16 October 2008
Scandal - 8 October 2008
Second World War - 17 October 2008
Son Real - 13 October 2008
Storms - 19 October 2008, 31 October 2008
Supermarkets - 10 October 2008
Tourist wants - 12 October 2008
Traditions - 11 October 2008
Trees - 24 October 2008
Unemployment - 28 October 2008
Unió Mallorquina - 3 October 2008
Winter tourism - 2 October 2008, 24 October 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The West Is The Best
The Maya civilisation of central America is a very small footnote in Spanish history. By the time Columbus and the other early Spanish adventurers encountered the Maya, their great civilisation was long past - by some 600 years - and their population was massively smaller than it had once been; the surviving Maya were their own footnote of succession. Yet the story of the Maya, their rise and fall, has long fascinated historians. And the reasons for the decline of what had been a great civilisation are still debated.
Into all of this comes an article in "The Guardian", which draws comparisons with the Maya's decline and current-day Western civilisation, that of a wavering system of capitalism and the overuse of resources. One needs to be cautious. "The Guardian" is almost an environmental-lobby house magazine. But the thrust of the argument, that it was environmental and population factors which led to the downfall of the Maya, has some clear enough similarities with our own civilisation. There is a rather convenient conclusion to the article - that civilisations last, at most, for 600 years. The glory years of the Maya amounted to a bit more than 600; current Western civilisation, starting with the Renaissance, is reaching its terminal point of decline.
It is a seductive argument, but it could of course be total bollocks. The alternative explanations for the fall of the Maya are based on attacks from other tribes (akin, perhaps, to Rome) and natural disasters. However, the article deserves to be read if only for the characterisation of our own "kings" (Brown and the G8) as being incapable of reading the signs of decline - as the Maya kings were similarly tunnel-visioned.
Ok, leap of imagination time. Mallorca is a footnote in the history of Western civilisation. Indeed it is another footnote in Spanish history. Yet, following the argument of the Maya analogy, it could be seen as one of the last great follies of Western civilisation, a one-time backward but sustainable island propelled suddenly into the world of big money with scant or no regard for its resources.
And so they came to build their temples of tourism and palaces by the sea, and all this was done in a period, a tiny fraction of history, with a speed that choked the island's resources and made them groan under the pressure of this haste. What the "kings" did not know, until very late, was that the island's location made it more susceptible than others to the impact of voracious anti-nature, artificial climate change; one that could mean that the great period of Mallorcan civilisation comes to last a mere 70 years or so.
A neighbour, who lives closer to the sea than do I, asked me the other day why anyone would now want to buy a property right by the sea. It's a fair question, as no one can say with any certainty what might happen to sea levels. We only have the predictions, and they, as also those for extreme temperatures, are far from comforting.
Yet there is one great flaw in the Maya parable, and it concerns - ironically enough - technological innovation. While this may have caused the circumstances of potential decline, it is also the potential saviour. The point about the Maya, which is perhaps being overlooked, is that, despite their great achievements, they seemed to reach a plateau of innovation. The Mexico that the Spanish discovered was a wheel-less society. The tribes, not just the Maya, lacked curiosity. Though they traded, they were not seafarers. When the first Spanish ships appeared off the coasts of the Americas, they were alien things to the Mexican peoples. It could be argued that the great civilisations of the past, such as the Maya, had an in-built and finite time span. The same cannot be said of a technologically innovative and curious Western civilisation. It can be facile to believe that "something will turn up" that prevents its collapse, but the chances of that something turning up are vastly greater than was the case with old civilisations.
The Maya comparison is an interesting one, but it maybe is no more than just that: interesting.
Here is the article from "The Guardian":
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/28/climatechange-population
REAL MALLORCA - NOT YET THE END
Well, having myself said that the end had been reached - an end also echoed by the press - it looks as though as everyone is being made to look a chump. The takeover of the club by Paul Davidson was supposed to have been consummated yesterday by the transfer of the 38 million euros agreed price. Then there was an email which asked for an extension of a further ten days, the reasoning being - apparently - "unforeseen circumstances of the global economy" (as quoted in translation from the report in the "Diario" this morning). The extension has been agreed to, but now obviously some doubts are being raised, both by the press and from within the club.
It is all somewhat extraordinary not to say somewhat farcical. And one guesses that, if the payment is indeed made, there are those who will be wondering quite what the delay indicates in terms of the future. The sale price of Real Mallorca is not, when one considers English clubs, that high, but there are also those who will argue it is still too high, especially for a club that does not actually own a key asset - its ground.
Still more to run on this one.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Death Cab For Cutie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfBw0IWwO5U). Today's title - a line from a terminal song by one of the great US bands.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Into all of this comes an article in "The Guardian", which draws comparisons with the Maya's decline and current-day Western civilisation, that of a wavering system of capitalism and the overuse of resources. One needs to be cautious. "The Guardian" is almost an environmental-lobby house magazine. But the thrust of the argument, that it was environmental and population factors which led to the downfall of the Maya, has some clear enough similarities with our own civilisation. There is a rather convenient conclusion to the article - that civilisations last, at most, for 600 years. The glory years of the Maya amounted to a bit more than 600; current Western civilisation, starting with the Renaissance, is reaching its terminal point of decline.
It is a seductive argument, but it could of course be total bollocks. The alternative explanations for the fall of the Maya are based on attacks from other tribes (akin, perhaps, to Rome) and natural disasters. However, the article deserves to be read if only for the characterisation of our own "kings" (Brown and the G8) as being incapable of reading the signs of decline - as the Maya kings were similarly tunnel-visioned.
Ok, leap of imagination time. Mallorca is a footnote in the history of Western civilisation. Indeed it is another footnote in Spanish history. Yet, following the argument of the Maya analogy, it could be seen as one of the last great follies of Western civilisation, a one-time backward but sustainable island propelled suddenly into the world of big money with scant or no regard for its resources.
And so they came to build their temples of tourism and palaces by the sea, and all this was done in a period, a tiny fraction of history, with a speed that choked the island's resources and made them groan under the pressure of this haste. What the "kings" did not know, until very late, was that the island's location made it more susceptible than others to the impact of voracious anti-nature, artificial climate change; one that could mean that the great period of Mallorcan civilisation comes to last a mere 70 years or so.
A neighbour, who lives closer to the sea than do I, asked me the other day why anyone would now want to buy a property right by the sea. It's a fair question, as no one can say with any certainty what might happen to sea levels. We only have the predictions, and they, as also those for extreme temperatures, are far from comforting.
Yet there is one great flaw in the Maya parable, and it concerns - ironically enough - technological innovation. While this may have caused the circumstances of potential decline, it is also the potential saviour. The point about the Maya, which is perhaps being overlooked, is that, despite their great achievements, they seemed to reach a plateau of innovation. The Mexico that the Spanish discovered was a wheel-less society. The tribes, not just the Maya, lacked curiosity. Though they traded, they were not seafarers. When the first Spanish ships appeared off the coasts of the Americas, they were alien things to the Mexican peoples. It could be argued that the great civilisations of the past, such as the Maya, had an in-built and finite time span. The same cannot be said of a technologically innovative and curious Western civilisation. It can be facile to believe that "something will turn up" that prevents its collapse, but the chances of that something turning up are vastly greater than was the case with old civilisations.
The Maya comparison is an interesting one, but it maybe is no more than just that: interesting.
Here is the article from "The Guardian":
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/28/climatechange-population
REAL MALLORCA - NOT YET THE END
Well, having myself said that the end had been reached - an end also echoed by the press - it looks as though as everyone is being made to look a chump. The takeover of the club by Paul Davidson was supposed to have been consummated yesterday by the transfer of the 38 million euros agreed price. Then there was an email which asked for an extension of a further ten days, the reasoning being - apparently - "unforeseen circumstances of the global economy" (as quoted in translation from the report in the "Diario" this morning). The extension has been agreed to, but now obviously some doubts are being raised, both by the press and from within the club.
It is all somewhat extraordinary not to say somewhat farcical. And one guesses that, if the payment is indeed made, there are those who will be wondering quite what the delay indicates in terms of the future. The sale price of Real Mallorca is not, when one considers English clubs, that high, but there are also those who will argue it is still too high, especially for a club that does not actually own a key asset - its ground.
Still more to run on this one.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Death Cab For Cutie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfBw0IWwO5U). Today's title - a line from a terminal song by one of the great US bands.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The End Is The Beginning ...
And once more with feeling ... the pedestrianisation in Puerto Pollensa. Perhaps there is one political group that the Gotmar radicals could seek ballot-box redemption from - Esquerra Unida-Els Verds (a Catalan socialist-greens amalgam; "esquerra" is Catalan for "left"). Sounds a bit unlikely for the villa folk of the urbanisation, but needs and interests must - maybe. Anyway, the EU-EV agitators have called for an "immediate paralysation" of the pedestrianisation scheme, as reported in the "Diario". Am I alone in thinking that any political group with the word "green" anywhere near it would rather the road was closed? Whatever, they point, among other things, to the loss of business for traders affected by the road closure, one of these being the chemists which faces the possibility of having to lay off staff. That would be understandable. It was the case that one could just pull up outside the chemists; it was very convenient, but not now it isn't.
What seems to have been lacking in this whole saga is an unequivocal statement as to precisely the objective of the pedestrianisation. It has been couched in terms of ridding the front line of noise and of promoting a better image and so on, but who is it really intended for? Are tourism concerns the priority - that image thing?
It's impossible to get away from the conclusion that the prime reason is the justification of the new bypass road. That the pedestrianisation was mooted ages ago does not pacify those who, now that it has come to pass (or not, as it were), object to it. The tourism-image angle is really just spin. It's also impossible to escape the conclusion that the town hall has handled the whole affair in a hopeless fashion. Seemingly it failed to consult, and then when it did, did not consult widely enough. It has successfully managed to ostracise the already disaffected communities of Gotmar and Pinaret and to antagonise some business interests. And for what? Were tourists demanding pedestrianisation? I somewhat doubt it. And even now I suspect tourists are more concerned with dog shit on the pavements and the price of a pint of Mahou. That the issue has created so much controversy, that it has led to so many column inches, not least here on this blog, that it has brought the threat of legal action all merely emphasise the fact that it has divided opinion and that the town hall has made a pig's ear of it. At heart, it is a rather silly, small local matter, but silly, small, local matters matter to many people.
The town hall is being criticised from all sides at present. The opposition Partido Popular recently demanded some answers in respect of what is happening about the La Gola park and the public swimming-pool, the latter which has been open and then not, has had its roof on the wrong way round and has generally been another cause célèbre of apparent incompetence. Yet amidst this non-resolution, the town hall goes and picks a fight with residents and business over something of questionable importance and which will cost money, that the town hall doesn't have, to make permanent. One does begin to understand why a local residents association might make an election pact with a party that might give the ruling body a bloody nose.
REAL MALLORCA - THE END
Another story that has been followed here for what seems an age does, finally, seem to have drawn to a close. The judge presiding over the affairs of Real Mallorca's owner, Vicente Grande, has given the green light to the takeover by Paul Davidson. It's not totally the end in that Davidson has now to pay, but after all the haggling and the possibilities of other buyers, the club is now British-owned. So we can all feel very proud of that I suppose. And yet, do we?
"The Bulletin" celebrated the judge's decision with an eight-page special; it is doubtful that it would have done so had the new owner been anything other than British. Is the local expat really that bothered? For the most part, I would question it. Which is not to say that the story shouldn't have been covered; it has been and will be interesting, and the profile of the team will have been raised in the eyes of the expat. It has been a godsend to an English newspaper. But this English/British angle has made its coverage rather one-dimensional; the nationality thing has been THE story, the rest largely by the by. Yet the rest is far from inconsequential. That rest includes, apart from the obvious of the team's development and performance, the extent to which Paul Davidson can win over the local fans and opinion against a foreign owner and the strategy surrounding the club's purchase, which I went into the other day (7 October: Match Of The Day). For example, Mr. Davidson wants to increase the numbers of British and German fans coming to matches. All well and good, but how does that play with the Mallorcans?
While opposition to the takeover has been referred to and the strategy mentioned in passing, the essential Anglo-centricity of the story has glossed over these aspects. The paper itself featured a letter expressing concern as to the planned plastics recycling plant, but this has not been followed up. The strategy has not been scrutinised, simply mentioned as a mark of Mallorca's attraction to a British investor. It is one thing to hear and present Paul Davidson's own views, and in this regard the paper has acted in a sort of unofficial PR capacity. But it is quite another to analyse what he's about. The story hasn't really begun.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Ball Of Confusion", The Temptations (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BJOXopGW8g). Today's title - "... Is The End"; American rock outfit; Halloween's on its way.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
What seems to have been lacking in this whole saga is an unequivocal statement as to precisely the objective of the pedestrianisation. It has been couched in terms of ridding the front line of noise and of promoting a better image and so on, but who is it really intended for? Are tourism concerns the priority - that image thing?
It's impossible to get away from the conclusion that the prime reason is the justification of the new bypass road. That the pedestrianisation was mooted ages ago does not pacify those who, now that it has come to pass (or not, as it were), object to it. The tourism-image angle is really just spin. It's also impossible to escape the conclusion that the town hall has handled the whole affair in a hopeless fashion. Seemingly it failed to consult, and then when it did, did not consult widely enough. It has successfully managed to ostracise the already disaffected communities of Gotmar and Pinaret and to antagonise some business interests. And for what? Were tourists demanding pedestrianisation? I somewhat doubt it. And even now I suspect tourists are more concerned with dog shit on the pavements and the price of a pint of Mahou. That the issue has created so much controversy, that it has led to so many column inches, not least here on this blog, that it has brought the threat of legal action all merely emphasise the fact that it has divided opinion and that the town hall has made a pig's ear of it. At heart, it is a rather silly, small local matter, but silly, small, local matters matter to many people.
The town hall is being criticised from all sides at present. The opposition Partido Popular recently demanded some answers in respect of what is happening about the La Gola park and the public swimming-pool, the latter which has been open and then not, has had its roof on the wrong way round and has generally been another cause célèbre of apparent incompetence. Yet amidst this non-resolution, the town hall goes and picks a fight with residents and business over something of questionable importance and which will cost money, that the town hall doesn't have, to make permanent. One does begin to understand why a local residents association might make an election pact with a party that might give the ruling body a bloody nose.
REAL MALLORCA - THE END
Another story that has been followed here for what seems an age does, finally, seem to have drawn to a close. The judge presiding over the affairs of Real Mallorca's owner, Vicente Grande, has given the green light to the takeover by Paul Davidson. It's not totally the end in that Davidson has now to pay, but after all the haggling and the possibilities of other buyers, the club is now British-owned. So we can all feel very proud of that I suppose. And yet, do we?
"The Bulletin" celebrated the judge's decision with an eight-page special; it is doubtful that it would have done so had the new owner been anything other than British. Is the local expat really that bothered? For the most part, I would question it. Which is not to say that the story shouldn't have been covered; it has been and will be interesting, and the profile of the team will have been raised in the eyes of the expat. It has been a godsend to an English newspaper. But this English/British angle has made its coverage rather one-dimensional; the nationality thing has been THE story, the rest largely by the by. Yet the rest is far from inconsequential. That rest includes, apart from the obvious of the team's development and performance, the extent to which Paul Davidson can win over the local fans and opinion against a foreign owner and the strategy surrounding the club's purchase, which I went into the other day (7 October: Match Of The Day). For example, Mr. Davidson wants to increase the numbers of British and German fans coming to matches. All well and good, but how does that play with the Mallorcans?
While opposition to the takeover has been referred to and the strategy mentioned in passing, the essential Anglo-centricity of the story has glossed over these aspects. The paper itself featured a letter expressing concern as to the planned plastics recycling plant, but this has not been followed up. The strategy has not been scrutinised, simply mentioned as a mark of Mallorca's attraction to a British investor. It is one thing to hear and present Paul Davidson's own views, and in this regard the paper has acted in a sort of unofficial PR capacity. But it is quite another to analyse what he's about. The story hasn't really begun.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Ball Of Confusion", The Temptations (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BJOXopGW8g). Today's title - "... Is The End"; American rock outfit; Halloween's on its way.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Plastic People
The marathon article about Real Mallorca the other day had a number of gaps. Deliberately, as it was long enough as it was. I am indebted though to a letter-writer to "The Bulletin" for raising an issue that I didn't pursue in that earlier article - that of the environmental aspect of Paul Davidson's proposed plastics recycling factory, the one that appears to play such an important part in the strategy for Real Mallorca.
The letter refers to the "outrage" of the recycling plant. Maybe it is, but maybe there is another side to the story. There is much science surrounding plastics recycling, some of it aimed at reducing or eliminating the environmental and health damage that can be a by-product of the recycling process. For example, there is one process being developed which seeks to remove the impurities both of the recycled product and also of the CO2 that is used in the process; the CO2 itself would be recycled, leading to an "environmentally benign procedure"*.
Nevertheless, there is an environmental question mark over the recycling process, and one does have to wonder if the Davidson plan has fully taken account of the environmental lobby in Mallorca; much of it is of an extreme environmental Carlist** nature. Have Mr. Davidson and his associates actually run the whole thing by any authority or is it, as it were, a pipe dream, given Mr. Davidson's success with pipes and tubing? The letter-writer also refers to the logistical sense of locating a plant in Mallorca; it's a fair point. To make economic sense, a plant would require the importing of much waste. Yet, not only is Mallorca typically an exporter of much of its waste for recycling, one of the business problems for plastic waste recyclers in other countries has been the actual shortage of waste. This stems, in large part, to a lack of consumer education, and nowhere is more lacking in this regard than Mallorca, and one imagines also on the mainland.
Despite the strength of the environmental voice on the island, the consumer-side mechanics of recycling are not well developed. Just to take plastics. Here you don't get numbers to denote different types of plastic. The local household here places its waste in different communal containers - general and garden; glass; paper; plastic and tin cans. Once, when the plastics truck appeared, I asked the chap if I could chuck in the legs of a broken plastic garden table. No problem. And yet, the chemical make-up of those legs is almost certainly not of a recyclable nature or wanted by a recycler. The US numbering system informs the consumer as to the type of plastic and its consequent recyclability. The easiest and most recyclable plastic products are things such as bottles for water and drinks, shampoos, detergents and those made from polystyrene. Others, e.g. shower curtains, film (as in cling film for example), supermarket bags and Tupperware (and garden tables), are, for differing reasons, not welcomed by recyclers, simply because of the low possibility of actually recycling the stuff. The best way of getting rid of them, other than chucking them in with the other plastics or general waste, and hoping no one notices, is to return them to the manufacturer who then has the headache as to what to do with them.
In Germany the system is altogether more rigorous, one of the strictest you can find. It was Germany, surprise, surprise, that originated the household waste Gestapo that comes and roots around in your containers to check that the waste is in order. The vast municipal dumps in Germany are like open-cast factories of control and organisation. First, they check the contents of your car boot and you have to pay for certain things. Second, you are instructed as to which enormous skip you must go to for which item of waste. Third, there are camp commandants barking out instructions to anyone foolish enough to try and deposit the wrong item in the wrong skip. But at least you know what to do. Every last conceivable product is allocated its own waste treatment.
By contrast, here, as with many other things Spanish, they make a lot of the recycling deal and then can't really be arsed to see it through. Take that exporting of Mallorca's waste. You may recall me mentioning before that during August a vast mountain of waste had grown next to Alcúdia's commercial port. It was there because the recycling firms on the mainland were on holiday. It was perhaps rather indicative of an apparent indifference. There are dumps here, but where is another matter. Whether many use them I very much doubt. One of the first "cultural shocks" on coming to Mallorca was with the disposal of garden waste. I had gathered together several sacks of the stuff, then thought where's the tip. It was only then that I realised you chucked it in with the general household stuff. Great. Much has been made of the increases in "rubbish tax" as a means of paying for more recycle processing, but quite what happens with the stuff that is collected I am not sure. For instance, I don't know if any plastics are currently being recycled on the island. I presume not as, of the stuff that grew into that mountain in Alcúdia, much of it comprised plastic bottles, the main constituent of the current consumer plastic recycling effort.
As a consequence of a not wholly efficient method of collection, lack of labelling, education and enforcement as well as apathy and laziness (you want to see the amount of plastic and glass that gets tossed into the general container), much that might otherwise be ready for recycling ends up as landfill. I have said before that the system here is excellent because you can just chuck any old thing in the rubbish, but I do get pangs of guilt. And all of these things contribute to costs of sorting and to the shortage of certain items, as with plastics for recycling. Which brings us back to the Davidson recycling plan. A lack of "raw material" is one thing, but one must ask if the exporting of plastics to the mainland is because of the absence of a recycling plant or because the island does not want it in its own backyard. Has the Davidson plan got some in-principle agreement or does it lack legs - plastic or otherwise?
* The quoted words come from an article on the emagazine.com website, a good resource for recycling and other environmental issues. I acknowledge this site and the sciencedaily site as sources of some information in the above - http://www.emagazine.com and http://www.sciencedaily.com.
** Carlism was a movement against liberalism in nineteenth-century Spain and which promoted a pure and traditional Catholic state.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Depeche Mode - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzHMhQOU1fE. Today's title - by one of the great weird American bands; maternal.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The letter refers to the "outrage" of the recycling plant. Maybe it is, but maybe there is another side to the story. There is much science surrounding plastics recycling, some of it aimed at reducing or eliminating the environmental and health damage that can be a by-product of the recycling process. For example, there is one process being developed which seeks to remove the impurities both of the recycled product and also of the CO2 that is used in the process; the CO2 itself would be recycled, leading to an "environmentally benign procedure"*.
Nevertheless, there is an environmental question mark over the recycling process, and one does have to wonder if the Davidson plan has fully taken account of the environmental lobby in Mallorca; much of it is of an extreme environmental Carlist** nature. Have Mr. Davidson and his associates actually run the whole thing by any authority or is it, as it were, a pipe dream, given Mr. Davidson's success with pipes and tubing? The letter-writer also refers to the logistical sense of locating a plant in Mallorca; it's a fair point. To make economic sense, a plant would require the importing of much waste. Yet, not only is Mallorca typically an exporter of much of its waste for recycling, one of the business problems for plastic waste recyclers in other countries has been the actual shortage of waste. This stems, in large part, to a lack of consumer education, and nowhere is more lacking in this regard than Mallorca, and one imagines also on the mainland.
Despite the strength of the environmental voice on the island, the consumer-side mechanics of recycling are not well developed. Just to take plastics. Here you don't get numbers to denote different types of plastic. The local household here places its waste in different communal containers - general and garden; glass; paper; plastic and tin cans. Once, when the plastics truck appeared, I asked the chap if I could chuck in the legs of a broken plastic garden table. No problem. And yet, the chemical make-up of those legs is almost certainly not of a recyclable nature or wanted by a recycler. The US numbering system informs the consumer as to the type of plastic and its consequent recyclability. The easiest and most recyclable plastic products are things such as bottles for water and drinks, shampoos, detergents and those made from polystyrene. Others, e.g. shower curtains, film (as in cling film for example), supermarket bags and Tupperware (and garden tables), are, for differing reasons, not welcomed by recyclers, simply because of the low possibility of actually recycling the stuff. The best way of getting rid of them, other than chucking them in with the other plastics or general waste, and hoping no one notices, is to return them to the manufacturer who then has the headache as to what to do with them.
In Germany the system is altogether more rigorous, one of the strictest you can find. It was Germany, surprise, surprise, that originated the household waste Gestapo that comes and roots around in your containers to check that the waste is in order. The vast municipal dumps in Germany are like open-cast factories of control and organisation. First, they check the contents of your car boot and you have to pay for certain things. Second, you are instructed as to which enormous skip you must go to for which item of waste. Third, there are camp commandants barking out instructions to anyone foolish enough to try and deposit the wrong item in the wrong skip. But at least you know what to do. Every last conceivable product is allocated its own waste treatment.
By contrast, here, as with many other things Spanish, they make a lot of the recycling deal and then can't really be arsed to see it through. Take that exporting of Mallorca's waste. You may recall me mentioning before that during August a vast mountain of waste had grown next to Alcúdia's commercial port. It was there because the recycling firms on the mainland were on holiday. It was perhaps rather indicative of an apparent indifference. There are dumps here, but where is another matter. Whether many use them I very much doubt. One of the first "cultural shocks" on coming to Mallorca was with the disposal of garden waste. I had gathered together several sacks of the stuff, then thought where's the tip. It was only then that I realised you chucked it in with the general household stuff. Great. Much has been made of the increases in "rubbish tax" as a means of paying for more recycle processing, but quite what happens with the stuff that is collected I am not sure. For instance, I don't know if any plastics are currently being recycled on the island. I presume not as, of the stuff that grew into that mountain in Alcúdia, much of it comprised plastic bottles, the main constituent of the current consumer plastic recycling effort.
As a consequence of a not wholly efficient method of collection, lack of labelling, education and enforcement as well as apathy and laziness (you want to see the amount of plastic and glass that gets tossed into the general container), much that might otherwise be ready for recycling ends up as landfill. I have said before that the system here is excellent because you can just chuck any old thing in the rubbish, but I do get pangs of guilt. And all of these things contribute to costs of sorting and to the shortage of certain items, as with plastics for recycling. Which brings us back to the Davidson recycling plan. A lack of "raw material" is one thing, but one must ask if the exporting of plastics to the mainland is because of the absence of a recycling plant or because the island does not want it in its own backyard. Has the Davidson plan got some in-principle agreement or does it lack legs - plastic or otherwise?
* The quoted words come from an article on the emagazine.com website, a good resource for recycling and other environmental issues. I acknowledge this site and the sciencedaily site as sources of some information in the above - http://www.emagazine.com and http://www.sciencedaily.com.
** Carlism was a movement against liberalism in nineteenth-century Spain and which promoted a pure and traditional Catholic state.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Depeche Mode - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzHMhQOU1fE. Today's title - by one of the great weird American bands; maternal.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Match Of The Day
After weeks of confusion, which have seen mysterious Uzbeks as well as a high-energy drinks manufacturer and of course Freddy Shepherd hovering around the club's perimeters, Real Mallorca finally does now appear to be the new pride and joy of Paul Davidson, aka "The Plumber". Debt-ridden owner, Vicente Grande, has signed the sale agreement, and all that is now needed is the final whistle to be blown by the judge signing off on Grande's affairs. There should be no surprise penalty shoot-out. Unfortunate perhaps that Mallorca should choose this past weekend to go down at home to Sporting Gijon, a side previously worse than Tottenham, having lost all five games of the season.
Mr. Davidson has been pursuing the club since July when, or so it would seem, he read about the Shepherd bid, and went along with a much higher one. At the time, it appeared almost like a whim. Since then, he has spoken about Champions League and branding; nothing new, you might think, but what are the prospects?
Real Mallorca is a moderately successful team. It managed seventh in La Liga last season and has featured in both the Champions League and UEFA Cup since the turn of the century. It would be wrong to discount chances of further European adventure. La Liga, though dominated by the big two of Barcelona and Real Madrid, does not present the same obstacles to European breakthrough as the Premier League. A current example is Villarreal who are in this season's Champions League and riding high in La Liga. This is a small-town club. Villarreal, the town, barely scrapes a 50,000 population; the ground holds 22,000. Yet money pumped into the club has helped it to where it is. How long Villarreal can continue to play with the big boys though is open to question. Other wannabes have come and gone. Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo, for example, have fallen out of the top flight and into major financial problems. Debt is an issue for most Spanish teams.
Like England, there is a whole wedge of TV money sloshing around the Spanish league. Making sense of it is another matter, as there have been interminable legal wranglings as to who has what rights, but money there is, and Madrid and Barça have tended to ensure that they get the lion's share of it. Welcome though the broadcasters' benefaction is, the big two have come to be not only Spain's wealthiest clubs but also among the world's wealthiest on the basis of other ingredients - their repeated successes, regular Champions League places, huge stadiums, worldwide brand recognition and tradition. It is when you consider these ingredients that the difficulties for a club like Mallorca become obvious. None of the factors noted above applies. Its stadium is not much bigger than Villarreal's and it is an unknown in world and therefore branding terms.
Villarreal have required substantial additional investment to enable them to compete. This has attracted players like Riquelme and Pires, but neither is exactly in the same league, so to speak, as a Beckham, a Zidane or a Figo. The team's captain is Marcos Senna, the excellent but unexciting bedrock of Spain's Euro Championship-winning side. With a small stadium (like Mallorca's), match-day revenue is a fraction of that which Madrid and Barça can receive. The lessons for Real Mallorca are obvious. Mr. Davidson would need to be prepared to plumb deeply into his coffers and inject a fair old amount of moolah over and above that of his acquisition to get the club anywhere near where he might wish to see it.
One might think that a bit of new stadium building or development might help, but that would be a long-term project and the potential for a new site is almost zero, especially given the environmental resistance here to anything that smacks of rather frivolous use of land. A proposal for a new stadium has been resisted, not least by Palma town hall who, it should be noted, actually own the current stadium. Mr. Davidson could not, even if he were to wish to, move the club out of Palma; his purchase agreement forbids it. Yet even were there to be a larger stadium, it is questionable how easily it might be filled. The club has trouble doing that as it is. Coming back to the Villarreal situation, that club gets regular attendances a couple of thousand under capacity. But it is a club in a small town. Real Mallorca has a whole island to draw on, but cannot. Part of the reason, besides a lack of success, may well be because many Mallorcan football fans side with Barça. When Manchester United played the Catalan side in the last Champions League semi-finals, I went along to a bar in Alcúdia. The people there were watching "their" team. An identification here with things Catalonian is not as readily made as you might think, except when it comes to football and also the quasi-political nature of Barcelona football club. To support Barça is as much about not supporting Real Madrid, and therefore the Spanish mainstream establishment, as it is about a football team.
Creating a larger fan base may mean that the ONO stadium gets close to regular full attendances, but where might these fans come from? If not Mallorcans, then how about the expats? There is a small expat following for Real Mallorca, and an increase in this is something to which Mr. Davidson has alluded, but how realistic is it to think in terms of more becoming regular club supporters? One sticking-point is that many an expat football fan is devoted to one club already - the one back home - and even if that club may not be featuring on Sky, the chances are that this football fan will watch an English game that clashes with a Real Mallorca match. Just because the club will be English-owned does not mean that whole hordes of new, expat fans will flock to the ONO. There is undoubtedly a tourist interest in Real Mallorca, but this is temporary and also determined by the main tourist season. Apart from a handful of games at the start and the end of the football season, there is otherwise no meaningful tourism that might provide short-lived Real Mallorca fans.
One of the Holy Grails of the new breed of football club owners is that of branding and merchandising, with much of it being snapped up by fans in remote parts of the world. For Real Mallorca, the issue starts very much closer to home; in Palma, for example. There was, a while back, a piece in "The Bulletin" which suggested that there was scope for greater merchandising, asking where one could buy a replica shirt in Palma. I don't know the answer as to where one can buy such a thing, except from the club probably. And perhaps that's it. Anyone who wants a shirt has got one. Who else would? The club is, if you like, about the size of a Premier team such as Stoke. With the greatest of respect to Real Mallorca, I imagine that there are Stoke fans dispersed throughout the UK and across the globe who crave the latest shirt; I can't imagine there is the same demand for a Mallorca kit. But shirts are really the least of it. The branding of football clubs is an exercise in selling success, tradition, legacy and great players. The merchandise that flows along with this branding is dependent upon these elements. There are few clubs in the world that can pull this off with any degree of success; their names are obvious - Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal at a pinch, Real Madrid and Barça, Juventus, AC Milan and maybe Inter. Critically, what these clubs have in common is a legacy. It's why Chelsea, for instance, have ground to make up on them in terms of global awareness. And the players that such clubs can attract is vital. Beckham, and the Beckham image, were crucial to Real Madrid as a business.
Paul Davidson's branding aims seem to be rather different. In a piece in "El Mundo" a while back, he explained that he intends to create a new business, based in Mallorca, which will recycle and manufacture plastic products and also, one presumes, to act as a name for marketing his current businesses. The new business will take the name of the football club. In a way he seems about to create a sort of factory team in a reverse fashion to those such as PSV Eindhoven (Philips) or Bayer Leverkusen. He says that this business will make "mucho dinero" in selling to the whole world, and that this mucho will find its way to the team.
In this regard, Mr. Davidson is certainly an original in being willing to invest in the local economy over and above the sole acquisition of the club. But I doubt if I am alone in wondering about the strategy; it sounds curious, but being curious does not mean it is wrong, it could be brilliant. That said, it will still require, firstly, that the club is marketed well and is successful; he is effectively buying the goodwill of the name as a vehicle for other business. Secondly, were he to sell the football club, what would happen to the business? Without the football club, how could he still trade as Real Mallorca S.A.? Thirdly, if he sees Mallorca as a sound place to invest in for the plastics business, why not just do that? Why go to the trouble of buying a football club? The answer to that lies, once again, in the value of the club's name, and the added value it must generate through branding and on-the-pitch success.
I'm sure he knows the answers to these things as he's a shrewd businessman. He is to be wished well in his venture. I, for one, hope he succeeds, and even if he doesn't it will be fascinating to follow a left-field entrepreneurial approach to club ownership backed by a to-be-applauded commitment to the local economy. There has been a fair degree of negative comment in the Spanish press regarding his acquisition. In part, this reflects a parochial perspective in Mallorca. It shouldn't matter who the owner is if the club is successful. But that, I suppose, is the real problem. If it's successful. If not, that press will turn very quickly. Then there will be issues regarding the management of the club. Sr. Grande is to stay as chairman. This might seem wise as it maintains an obvious local element, but Sr. Grande is not universally popular with the Mallorca fans and if the team struggled, would heads roll? Sr. Grande's for example. Much has also been made in the press of the fact that Mr. Davidson should not be attacked as there were no Mallorcans or Spaniards who came forward to buy the club. It's a fair point, but the other way of looking at it is - why didn't they?
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Lightning Seeds - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z28cGUc0Ri0. Today's title - who recorded a song with this title?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Mr. Davidson has been pursuing the club since July when, or so it would seem, he read about the Shepherd bid, and went along with a much higher one. At the time, it appeared almost like a whim. Since then, he has spoken about Champions League and branding; nothing new, you might think, but what are the prospects?
Real Mallorca is a moderately successful team. It managed seventh in La Liga last season and has featured in both the Champions League and UEFA Cup since the turn of the century. It would be wrong to discount chances of further European adventure. La Liga, though dominated by the big two of Barcelona and Real Madrid, does not present the same obstacles to European breakthrough as the Premier League. A current example is Villarreal who are in this season's Champions League and riding high in La Liga. This is a small-town club. Villarreal, the town, barely scrapes a 50,000 population; the ground holds 22,000. Yet money pumped into the club has helped it to where it is. How long Villarreal can continue to play with the big boys though is open to question. Other wannabes have come and gone. Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo, for example, have fallen out of the top flight and into major financial problems. Debt is an issue for most Spanish teams.
Like England, there is a whole wedge of TV money sloshing around the Spanish league. Making sense of it is another matter, as there have been interminable legal wranglings as to who has what rights, but money there is, and Madrid and Barça have tended to ensure that they get the lion's share of it. Welcome though the broadcasters' benefaction is, the big two have come to be not only Spain's wealthiest clubs but also among the world's wealthiest on the basis of other ingredients - their repeated successes, regular Champions League places, huge stadiums, worldwide brand recognition and tradition. It is when you consider these ingredients that the difficulties for a club like Mallorca become obvious. None of the factors noted above applies. Its stadium is not much bigger than Villarreal's and it is an unknown in world and therefore branding terms.
Villarreal have required substantial additional investment to enable them to compete. This has attracted players like Riquelme and Pires, but neither is exactly in the same league, so to speak, as a Beckham, a Zidane or a Figo. The team's captain is Marcos Senna, the excellent but unexciting bedrock of Spain's Euro Championship-winning side. With a small stadium (like Mallorca's), match-day revenue is a fraction of that which Madrid and Barça can receive. The lessons for Real Mallorca are obvious. Mr. Davidson would need to be prepared to plumb deeply into his coffers and inject a fair old amount of moolah over and above that of his acquisition to get the club anywhere near where he might wish to see it.
One might think that a bit of new stadium building or development might help, but that would be a long-term project and the potential for a new site is almost zero, especially given the environmental resistance here to anything that smacks of rather frivolous use of land. A proposal for a new stadium has been resisted, not least by Palma town hall who, it should be noted, actually own the current stadium. Mr. Davidson could not, even if he were to wish to, move the club out of Palma; his purchase agreement forbids it. Yet even were there to be a larger stadium, it is questionable how easily it might be filled. The club has trouble doing that as it is. Coming back to the Villarreal situation, that club gets regular attendances a couple of thousand under capacity. But it is a club in a small town. Real Mallorca has a whole island to draw on, but cannot. Part of the reason, besides a lack of success, may well be because many Mallorcan football fans side with Barça. When Manchester United played the Catalan side in the last Champions League semi-finals, I went along to a bar in Alcúdia. The people there were watching "their" team. An identification here with things Catalonian is not as readily made as you might think, except when it comes to football and also the quasi-political nature of Barcelona football club. To support Barça is as much about not supporting Real Madrid, and therefore the Spanish mainstream establishment, as it is about a football team.
Creating a larger fan base may mean that the ONO stadium gets close to regular full attendances, but where might these fans come from? If not Mallorcans, then how about the expats? There is a small expat following for Real Mallorca, and an increase in this is something to which Mr. Davidson has alluded, but how realistic is it to think in terms of more becoming regular club supporters? One sticking-point is that many an expat football fan is devoted to one club already - the one back home - and even if that club may not be featuring on Sky, the chances are that this football fan will watch an English game that clashes with a Real Mallorca match. Just because the club will be English-owned does not mean that whole hordes of new, expat fans will flock to the ONO. There is undoubtedly a tourist interest in Real Mallorca, but this is temporary and also determined by the main tourist season. Apart from a handful of games at the start and the end of the football season, there is otherwise no meaningful tourism that might provide short-lived Real Mallorca fans.
One of the Holy Grails of the new breed of football club owners is that of branding and merchandising, with much of it being snapped up by fans in remote parts of the world. For Real Mallorca, the issue starts very much closer to home; in Palma, for example. There was, a while back, a piece in "The Bulletin" which suggested that there was scope for greater merchandising, asking where one could buy a replica shirt in Palma. I don't know the answer as to where one can buy such a thing, except from the club probably. And perhaps that's it. Anyone who wants a shirt has got one. Who else would? The club is, if you like, about the size of a Premier team such as Stoke. With the greatest of respect to Real Mallorca, I imagine that there are Stoke fans dispersed throughout the UK and across the globe who crave the latest shirt; I can't imagine there is the same demand for a Mallorca kit. But shirts are really the least of it. The branding of football clubs is an exercise in selling success, tradition, legacy and great players. The merchandise that flows along with this branding is dependent upon these elements. There are few clubs in the world that can pull this off with any degree of success; their names are obvious - Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal at a pinch, Real Madrid and Barça, Juventus, AC Milan and maybe Inter. Critically, what these clubs have in common is a legacy. It's why Chelsea, for instance, have ground to make up on them in terms of global awareness. And the players that such clubs can attract is vital. Beckham, and the Beckham image, were crucial to Real Madrid as a business.
Paul Davidson's branding aims seem to be rather different. In a piece in "El Mundo" a while back, he explained that he intends to create a new business, based in Mallorca, which will recycle and manufacture plastic products and also, one presumes, to act as a name for marketing his current businesses. The new business will take the name of the football club. In a way he seems about to create a sort of factory team in a reverse fashion to those such as PSV Eindhoven (Philips) or Bayer Leverkusen. He says that this business will make "mucho dinero" in selling to the whole world, and that this mucho will find its way to the team.
In this regard, Mr. Davidson is certainly an original in being willing to invest in the local economy over and above the sole acquisition of the club. But I doubt if I am alone in wondering about the strategy; it sounds curious, but being curious does not mean it is wrong, it could be brilliant. That said, it will still require, firstly, that the club is marketed well and is successful; he is effectively buying the goodwill of the name as a vehicle for other business. Secondly, were he to sell the football club, what would happen to the business? Without the football club, how could he still trade as Real Mallorca S.A.? Thirdly, if he sees Mallorca as a sound place to invest in for the plastics business, why not just do that? Why go to the trouble of buying a football club? The answer to that lies, once again, in the value of the club's name, and the added value it must generate through branding and on-the-pitch success.
I'm sure he knows the answers to these things as he's a shrewd businessman. He is to be wished well in his venture. I, for one, hope he succeeds, and even if he doesn't it will be fascinating to follow a left-field entrepreneurial approach to club ownership backed by a to-be-applauded commitment to the local economy. There has been a fair degree of negative comment in the Spanish press regarding his acquisition. In part, this reflects a parochial perspective in Mallorca. It shouldn't matter who the owner is if the club is successful. But that, I suppose, is the real problem. If it's successful. If not, that press will turn very quickly. Then there will be issues regarding the management of the club. Sr. Grande is to stay as chairman. This might seem wise as it maintains an obvious local element, but Sr. Grande is not universally popular with the Mallorca fans and if the team struggled, would heads roll? Sr. Grande's for example. Much has also been made in the press of the fact that Mr. Davidson should not be attacked as there were no Mallorcans or Spaniards who came forward to buy the club. It's a fair point, but the other way of looking at it is - why didn't they?
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Lightning Seeds - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z28cGUc0Ri0. Today's title - who recorded a song with this title?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Let's Make Lots Of Money
On the back of what I was saying about the lamentable state of the property market (21 July) comes further confirmation of the difficulties in this sector. In the "Diario", a spokesperson for the Balearic college of estate agents reckons that the "crisis" will last two more years and observes that sales of older dwellings (as opposed to new builds) have slumped 60% and that there are 5,000 new properties unsold. He also makes the point that, unlike in the rest of Spain, there is a resistance among owners to drop their prices, something that is preventing any form of kick-start to the local market.
Well this latter point comes as very little surprise. Indeed had he said that the prices of unsold properties had actually gone up that would also not have come as a surprise. It is far from uncommon for a property that has been on the market for some time without a buyer to have its price increased. It may not seem to make much sense, but for the Mallorcan it appears to (though one cannot rule out the fact that other nationalities are also holding firm on their prices). Having spoken to many an estate agent over the months and years, one is struck by the degree to which some agents classify the Mallorcan owner as greedy. I'll cite an example - a Mallorcan gentleman touted his property around three different agents, opting in the end for a Mallorcan company; one of the three, British-run, had given a price a half of that which he obtained from the "winning" agency. Perhaps neither valuation was realistic, but when you're talking about the difference of some two and a half million I suppose you might be inclined to go for the higher figure even if it is a nonsense.
This greed thing is something one hears a lot. Anecdotally one learns of it in respect of various dealings, be they rents on bars or the sale of a house. But perhaps there is a whole cultural element that one fails to appreciate. I have looked for clues in "Beloved Majorcans" as to an explanation of the conundrum as to high prices being maintained even during economically hard times. There is nothing specific, but the indifference to time pressures may indicate a willingness to wait, while there is some suggestion that a Mallorcan would rather not sell to someone who seems overly keen. Whatever the truth or the possible cultural dimension, perhaps it just all comes down to wanting to secure as much as possible - and that's no different anywhere.
One Mallorcan who seems to have extracted as much as possible is the owner of Real Mallorca, Vicente Grande. Apparently he's set to get 50 million quid for a 96% stake in the club, a fair bit more than Freddy Shepherd had tabled. The buyer is also British, namely Paul Davidson, known as "The Plumber" because of his pipe-fitting business. According to the BBC's site, Mr Davidson sees this as a chance to promote his business interests in Spain. Maybe it is, but it seems an awful lot and rather tangential to pipes. But who knows. I was going to run this item yesterday as a link with the Patrona piece - leaks and pipes and plumbing and what have you - but it sits just as well with the property angle.
As a corollary to this ... In an interview with the "Diario" Mr. Davidson says that he prefers not to divulge the amount he has offered for the club, except that it is much more than the Shepherd offer. He has ambition for the club - champions and all that - which for a team with a generally unremarkable recent history is probably pushing it. The interview concludes by observing that he talks of the intention to buy (it also refers to the process of due diligence that may take some time), and so asks if he really is the new owner. Unequivocally yes is the answer. The question that was not put is whether this new owner has the financial clout to elevate Real to the level of his stated ambition. Grabbing a club that finished seventh in La Liga for an amount far less than for a similar club in the Premier League is one thing, but the price of success in football is high, be it in Spain or England.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-EKd2n0urs). Today's title - who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Well this latter point comes as very little surprise. Indeed had he said that the prices of unsold properties had actually gone up that would also not have come as a surprise. It is far from uncommon for a property that has been on the market for some time without a buyer to have its price increased. It may not seem to make much sense, but for the Mallorcan it appears to (though one cannot rule out the fact that other nationalities are also holding firm on their prices). Having spoken to many an estate agent over the months and years, one is struck by the degree to which some agents classify the Mallorcan owner as greedy. I'll cite an example - a Mallorcan gentleman touted his property around three different agents, opting in the end for a Mallorcan company; one of the three, British-run, had given a price a half of that which he obtained from the "winning" agency. Perhaps neither valuation was realistic, but when you're talking about the difference of some two and a half million I suppose you might be inclined to go for the higher figure even if it is a nonsense.
This greed thing is something one hears a lot. Anecdotally one learns of it in respect of various dealings, be they rents on bars or the sale of a house. But perhaps there is a whole cultural element that one fails to appreciate. I have looked for clues in "Beloved Majorcans" as to an explanation of the conundrum as to high prices being maintained even during economically hard times. There is nothing specific, but the indifference to time pressures may indicate a willingness to wait, while there is some suggestion that a Mallorcan would rather not sell to someone who seems overly keen. Whatever the truth or the possible cultural dimension, perhaps it just all comes down to wanting to secure as much as possible - and that's no different anywhere.
One Mallorcan who seems to have extracted as much as possible is the owner of Real Mallorca, Vicente Grande. Apparently he's set to get 50 million quid for a 96% stake in the club, a fair bit more than Freddy Shepherd had tabled. The buyer is also British, namely Paul Davidson, known as "The Plumber" because of his pipe-fitting business. According to the BBC's site, Mr Davidson sees this as a chance to promote his business interests in Spain. Maybe it is, but it seems an awful lot and rather tangential to pipes. But who knows. I was going to run this item yesterday as a link with the Patrona piece - leaks and pipes and plumbing and what have you - but it sits just as well with the property angle.
As a corollary to this ... In an interview with the "Diario" Mr. Davidson says that he prefers not to divulge the amount he has offered for the club, except that it is much more than the Shepherd offer. He has ambition for the club - champions and all that - which for a team with a generally unremarkable recent history is probably pushing it. The interview concludes by observing that he talks of the intention to buy (it also refers to the process of due diligence that may take some time), and so asks if he really is the new owner. Unequivocally yes is the answer. The question that was not put is whether this new owner has the financial clout to elevate Real to the level of his stated ambition. Grabbing a club that finished seventh in La Liga for an amount far less than for a similar club in the Premier League is one thing, but the price of success in football is high, be it in Spain or England.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-EKd2n0urs). Today's title - who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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