It's a piece of socio-cultural trivia that occasionally I am reminded of. Southern Europeans, supposedly, have less appreciation of personal space than their northern European counterparts. I don't recall the origin of this insight into behaviour, but it has stuck with me nonetheless.
A place where personal space is most obviously an issue is the beach. By some peculiar rule of attraction, it is possible to be on a largely empty beach and for someone to arrive and place him or herself within body odour proximity to you. Why this magnetism? Heaven only knows. But on the south v. north principle, the assumption would be that the one invading your personal space is Spanish. Or Italian. Or some other southern European sort. Were it someone from Sweden, the positioning would be as far away as possible.
Personally, I am unconvinced by this theory. It seems applicable or unapplicable to anyone, from whichever country. Much would depend on the individual's sense of territory, and as such this is the common to everyone, regardless of nationality.
The beach, being a public space, has no legislation for the maximum number of people who should be on it at any given time or for minimum space requirements. There are rules, such as no playing football, no taking a boat out in non-nautical sport areas, no dogs, no taking a leak (you and the dog), but the beach isn't private accommodation with mandated regulation as to living space, except, in a sense, with the positioning of sunbeds, the number of which can invade space to such a degree that non-sunbed users complain about the "privatising" of areas that are, by law, in the public domain.
In addition to this physical territorialism, for which there can be no practically applied rule, there is what one might call the invasion of mental space. Close proximity of others is one thing, what they do is another. No sooner have they arrived on the beach and they, for example, unpack the paddle tennis rackets and knock-knock their way into your mental space, into your hearing.
Ultimately, the only solution to this invasion of mental space is to simply not bother going to the beach. The alternative, if you are a holidaymaker that is, is the hotel, the poolside, the grounds. The sardining of humanity into some hotel areas beggars all belief of personal space principles. Tourism massification, be it on a beach or by a hotel pool, is such that you wonder why anyone would choose to spend good money on being subjected to this constant proximity and constant noise. It goes against all unwritten rules of personal territory.
But tourism has its own peculiarities that stem from a temporary suspension of normal behaviours. The herding instinct is, if you think about, unfathomable. Why would you put yourself through it in the pursuit of a suntan to show off to the neighbours when you get back?
There is now far greater incursion into mental space than previously. It comes thanks to technology. Any study of tourist demand that is conducted will reveal that high on the list of requirements is wifi. It is no longer an option, it is a necessity. Society is linked by the smartphone or tablet, and within the range of uses on which the holidaymaker places particular priority is the ability to communicate. This means Skype.
Some hotels have wifi zones. Enter them, and they are like any other social space. Considerable chatter. But they are different in that half of this chatter is of a rasping, tinny character. It is the cacophony of digital voice communication. Confined to an area, it is a communal experience, but it is a further example of the illogic of massification. Why do you want to listen to others' conversations? You can't avoid them, as both parties are typically conducting their conservations at high volume.
At least no one can object to the noise if they are all part of it, corralled into the wifi zone. But then there is the universally available wifi, and so the conversations conducted on balconies, by pools. My guess is that many who do so and inflict their communications on others would be the same who would object to someone shouting down a mobile (without a Skype response) or to the music coming from earphones in a train carriage.
The point is that a balcony, be it hotel or residence, is private space and not public, and so therefore one's neighbours have their private space. There is a vast difference between face-to-face conservations and those conducted digitally. The latter has an irritation factor that the former does not. It is also often more intimate in content than other conversations are, which might, when they dwell on the intimate, go to a whisper. It is an invasion of mental space brought about through an absence of consideration, through the neglect of the Spanish legal concept of "convivencia". Skype by all means, but not in earshot.
Showing posts with label WiFi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WiFi. Show all posts
Friday, October 09, 2015
Friday, February 15, 2013
MALLORCA TODAY - Widening Wifi coverage in Pollensa
Free Wifi access to the internet in Pollensa is to be widened, an agreement having been signed by the town hall and provider IB-Red. It will take in, for example, the sports centre in Pollensa town and will also be broadened in the port.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
Monday, September 01, 2008
This Is Not A Story, This Is Not A Book
Flags. You get quite a few flags on houses here. By the beach near me is a group of holiday chalets on top of which is a flag. An ancient German tourist once asked me what the flag was. Mallorcan, said I, but it could be the Balearic one; I can never remember the difference. Along the coast there is another flag, a flag that has caused a bit of a kerfuffle, sufficient for the boys in green to be asked to intervene.
By the roundabout as one enters Can Picafort coming from Playa de Muro is a road down to what is known as Ses Casetes des Capellans which is actually in Muro. It is a strange enclave of small holiday homes, some like glorified beach-huts. They surround an area that is used as parking; some disappear along tracks into the forest. There is a feel of Jaywick Sands about Ses Casetes. It is the flag on one of these holiday homes that has caused the problem. And the problem is? Well the flag is the Spanish flag but it features also a pro-Franco symbol. Such symbols are now effectively banned. Neighbours have complained, Muro town hall have said it basically isn't their problem and so the Guardia are now involved.
All this Francoism lingers on. Muro council is also being cajoled into renaming streets that have their origins in the Generalissimo era, which may be fair enough but would add to the confusion that has also come from streets having dual names (Catalan and Castilian) or having been changed from one to the other, and then back again, depending upon the prevailing political mood and complexion of the local council. Street names may not necessarily offend or their connotations be apparent, but a flag is a pretty overt statement of affiliation.
There was something else the other day that acted as a reminder of the days of fascism. It was a weird letter in "Euro Weekly" from some body calling itself the Historian Group Mallorca. The letter was in response to a review of Victoria Hislop's novel "The Return". Let me quote: "She (Hislop) is only concerned with the cowardly socialists." This may give you a flavour. It goes on to say that atrocities were perpetrated by the Republicans and to imply that Spain would, without Franco, have been like Russia. Now no one would deny that both sides were culpable of some dreadful acts during the Civil War, but, as I understand it, Hislop does chronicle this fact, though as she's writing a novel, she's entitled to take whatever angle she wishes; she is not writing a history textbook. Moreover, to say that Spain would have been like Russia has some truth only insofar as the Republican ranks were populated with Communists and received Soviet support (and the Nationalists were bolstered by the Nazis and the Italians). The Republicans were, however, a rather more eclectic mix than only outright Marxist-Leninists. But for any historian to extrapolate that a defeat of Franco would have resulted in a Communist state akin to the old USSR or that it would have lasted for any great time is purely hypothesis. This speculation though is revealing for one thing - the assumption that Spain would have swapped one form of totalitarianism for another; a sympathetic view of the Franco period should not allow the dreamt-up guise of a different tyranny to pardon the Nationalists their sins. One can theorise all one likes. Had the Republicans won, the battle lines of the Second World War would have been different. Hitler, who in any event didn't always see eye to eye with Franco and had indeed once threatened Spain with invasion, would surely have invaded. Or a Spanish front might have invaded occupied France. From there, who knows what would have transpired? We can all speculate, but it isn't history.
I don't know who this group is, but as it is a letter in good English to an English publication, I have to assume that it comprises English speakers, possibly and rather alarmingly expats. Whoever they are, the adoption of a title "Historian Group Mallorca" suggests an intent to speak for Mallorca. I don't think so.
THE WIFI WHITE ELEPHANT
You could have predicted this. The much-hyped WiFi zone on Puerto Alcúdia's beach has to date attracted ... Well how many do you think have bought the cards that allow you to get the connection? Today's "Diario" tells us. 72. How many people do you suppose have been on the beach since the connection was established in June? Until such time as great hordes of laptop users are cyberspacing on the sand, I will continue to believe that this has been nothing more than a vanity project on behalf of the town hall.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Brian Wilson, "Midnight's Another Day". This song is so poignant. Wilson's voice has gone, but you can almost imagine The Beach Boys circa mid-60s singing this. Go to the website and it plays - http://www.brianwilson.com. Today's title - this is a line from a brilliant early 90s song by a female group whose name is Spanish: think flags and Antonio.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
By the roundabout as one enters Can Picafort coming from Playa de Muro is a road down to what is known as Ses Casetes des Capellans which is actually in Muro. It is a strange enclave of small holiday homes, some like glorified beach-huts. They surround an area that is used as parking; some disappear along tracks into the forest. There is a feel of Jaywick Sands about Ses Casetes. It is the flag on one of these holiday homes that has caused the problem. And the problem is? Well the flag is the Spanish flag but it features also a pro-Franco symbol. Such symbols are now effectively banned. Neighbours have complained, Muro town hall have said it basically isn't their problem and so the Guardia are now involved.
All this Francoism lingers on. Muro council is also being cajoled into renaming streets that have their origins in the Generalissimo era, which may be fair enough but would add to the confusion that has also come from streets having dual names (Catalan and Castilian) or having been changed from one to the other, and then back again, depending upon the prevailing political mood and complexion of the local council. Street names may not necessarily offend or their connotations be apparent, but a flag is a pretty overt statement of affiliation.
There was something else the other day that acted as a reminder of the days of fascism. It was a weird letter in "Euro Weekly" from some body calling itself the Historian Group Mallorca. The letter was in response to a review of Victoria Hislop's novel "The Return". Let me quote: "She (Hislop) is only concerned with the cowardly socialists." This may give you a flavour. It goes on to say that atrocities were perpetrated by the Republicans and to imply that Spain would, without Franco, have been like Russia. Now no one would deny that both sides were culpable of some dreadful acts during the Civil War, but, as I understand it, Hislop does chronicle this fact, though as she's writing a novel, she's entitled to take whatever angle she wishes; she is not writing a history textbook. Moreover, to say that Spain would have been like Russia has some truth only insofar as the Republican ranks were populated with Communists and received Soviet support (and the Nationalists were bolstered by the Nazis and the Italians). The Republicans were, however, a rather more eclectic mix than only outright Marxist-Leninists. But for any historian to extrapolate that a defeat of Franco would have resulted in a Communist state akin to the old USSR or that it would have lasted for any great time is purely hypothesis. This speculation though is revealing for one thing - the assumption that Spain would have swapped one form of totalitarianism for another; a sympathetic view of the Franco period should not allow the dreamt-up guise of a different tyranny to pardon the Nationalists their sins. One can theorise all one likes. Had the Republicans won, the battle lines of the Second World War would have been different. Hitler, who in any event didn't always see eye to eye with Franco and had indeed once threatened Spain with invasion, would surely have invaded. Or a Spanish front might have invaded occupied France. From there, who knows what would have transpired? We can all speculate, but it isn't history.
I don't know who this group is, but as it is a letter in good English to an English publication, I have to assume that it comprises English speakers, possibly and rather alarmingly expats. Whoever they are, the adoption of a title "Historian Group Mallorca" suggests an intent to speak for Mallorca. I don't think so.
THE WIFI WHITE ELEPHANT
You could have predicted this. The much-hyped WiFi zone on Puerto Alcúdia's beach has to date attracted ... Well how many do you think have bought the cards that allow you to get the connection? Today's "Diario" tells us. 72. How many people do you suppose have been on the beach since the connection was established in June? Until such time as great hordes of laptop users are cyberspacing on the sand, I will continue to believe that this has been nothing more than a vanity project on behalf of the town hall.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Brian Wilson, "Midnight's Another Day". This song is so poignant. Wilson's voice has gone, but you can almost imagine The Beach Boys circa mid-60s singing this. Go to the website and it plays - http://www.brianwilson.com. Today's title - this is a line from a brilliant early 90s song by a female group whose name is Spanish: think flags and Antonio.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, August 08, 2008
A Secret Place
Ok, let's not get over-excited; calm down, chill-out. There was even some interest coming out of Puerto Pollensa this morning, and a lady mailed me wanting more information, which was fair enough. What, what, what? Yes, friends, the chill-out zone on Puerto Alcúdia beach. The photo above, the one that isn't La Villa, may rather give you an impression. Sorry, the weather was not great this morning; mercifully there were clouds and wind after all the extreme heat. It may not show the chill-out area at its best, but to be honest I'm not sure what the fuss is all about.
The tourist office in Bellevue was also not sure. I went and had a word with Pilar this morning; Pilar who is a tower of knowledge and help. So, Pilar, asks I, this chill-out zone on the beach? Chill-out, she says, and begins to tell me about the chill-out bars Playero, in the marina and in Bonaire. No, no, says I, the chill-out zone, the one on the beach, the one that the town hall has started. What chill-out zone? There isn't one. Yes there is. Oh no there isn't. Oh yes there is. It was in the "Ultima Hora" or "Diario" months ago and there was something in "The Bulletin" the other day. Pah, or something like that, and muttering about English newspapers. But there is, Pilar, and it's the town hall's. The head of town planning was quoted the other day. What's his name? What? I can't remember, but he was talking about the chill-out zone. Give Magdelena (her boss) a call. She's on holiday. So there was a call to a lady who's something to do with technical services on the beach. I get passed to her. Hello, this chill-out zone on the beach. Why do you want to know? Eh? Because people are asking about it, because it's in the newspapers. One moment ... ... ... The phone gets cut off. I tell you what, Pilar, I'll go find it and take a photo. So I do; photos in fact. How does one find it? There is no sign anywhere. Don't whatever you do go left on the beach at the top of The Mile, go right. Go right, over the canal, and then some. Past the Playero and then a bit, and there it is. You know it is as it says so. Well some signs flapping in the wind say so. The loungers look quite nice, wooden-framed and well-cushioned with the town hall's logo on. There are a couple of speakers hanging somewhat apologetically from poles. There is no bar attached. Don't know where you get your drinks from. Remember what I said about the Son Real necropolis the other day? Is that it? The chill-out zone is a contemporary equivalent. Twelve grand for ... Well, let's just say that maybe the weather didn't show it at its best.
Anyway I go back and see Pilar and show her the photos. So now the tourist office in the area knows. Hats off for internal town hall communications. While I'm there I also ask about the WiFi zone. Why, I wonder, aren't there any signs about that either? There is publicity in the hotels. But not on the beach, as such. No. Fine. So how do you actually know about it? Pause. Em, how do you pay for it, assuming you know about it? The sunbed men. You pay them and they give you cards. Well that's something, I guess. Good to know that the million euros or whatever it was has at least got some chaps who will take your money for something that isn't publicised, unless you are in one of the hotels.
Later on, when in Puerto Pollensa and there is somewhat unexpected interest in the chill-out one, I'm told that it (the chill-out zone) has a WiFi zone. Well yes, I say, but it's the beach area not just the chill-out zone; there's a network for the beach and the hotels next to the beach. So not just the chill-out zone? No, no. Oh.
Fabulous. Publicity is everything, or would be. Someone said to me today that these things get put in place but they remain "top secret". Secret places. Strange.
LA VILLA
To other matters. A while back I mentioned that La Villa, the Chinese restaurant in Puerto Alcúdia, had a new place in Puerto Pollensa. Tonight is the official opening. There are many who will know La Villa in Alcúdia, many who will know Ray who is one of the nicest people you could meet. I would go the inauguration but I have a visceral dislike for these occasions; not because of the restaurant or bar owners, but because of the freeloaders who pitch up. I know that they are something that has to be done, but there are those who make a career of attending them. Not for me except to take some photos. But Ray has sent me some, one of which is above. La Villa in Alcúdia has long enjoyed an excellent reputation, and now it is in Puerto Pollensa.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Madonna - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJgzJTg-plc. Today's title - jazz man who was mentioned here recently in connection with Bill Withers.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Circle In The Sand
Well with something of a soggy and muted fanfare which meant that the launch had to be transferred to the Auditorium, Alcúdia town hall proudly unveiled its new WiFi system for the beach a couple of days ago. Some of you may recall my reporting on this back in March (11 March: "Beach Baby Beach"). It was as well that they hightailed off to the Auditorium, didn't want any rain getting in and gumming up or flooding the works of a laptop or having their parade of keyboards rained on. Which does rather beg the question ... I mean a beach WiFi zone may sound like being at the forefront of technology and all that, but are people seriously going to be taking their computers onto the beach? Any electrical or electronic device on a beach is a wind-blown and Factor-50 recipe for disaster. Equipment may be more robust than it once was, but years ago I soon put paid to a Walkman when sand got inside it. It seems daft. Take a few hundred quid or euros' worth of computer with you, smear it with suntan oil, expose it to direct sunlight, threaten it with sand or spray or turn your back and let some light-fingered opportunist scurry off into the cover of the hotels and trees with your Dell or Toshiba. Perhaps I am wrong; perhaps there are sufficient numbers who wish to conduct their affairs from a beach-towel that they will fill the 500 connections that will be available at any one time (price 17.95 euros for 500 minutes of use). At least the network that has been established on the beach, which includes video surveillance, may be able to spot the chap legging it with the laptop. One advantage of the WiFi system is that it is meant to be very high-speed. Well, I trust that it will be and that it will not be prone to interruption. Local ADSL connections are basically pretty dire. Spain has one of the poorest broadband infrastructures in Europe, as I can testify to when I lose my connection, which is not uncommon. Otherwise we might yet be treated to those with their laptops walking round and round in circles on the sand trying desperately to pick up a signal as though they were looking to tune in a TV set of years ago.
And still on matters Alcúdia, the fiesta season is very nearly upon us. The first biggy of the season starts on 24 June, the week of Sant Pere or San Pedro if you prefer. Finally, the weather looks as though it may just have turned the corner and not be likely to throw up a tsunami or something that would disrupt the boat procession on the main night of the 29th of June. As ever, the town hall have very kindly sent me the programme (in Mallorquín) that I have battled to translate, not without having to email them to ask what certain things mean: there is no such thing as an English-Mallorquín dictionary, at least not one I've ever found. Anyway, duly done it is now going onto the WHAT'S ON BLOG and the fiestas section of the main website. This year sadly, there don't appear to be any former contestants from local "Pop Idol" equivalents, as was the case last year. But, as ever, the main gig will be the night of the 29th with its boats and fireworks. It is well worth attending, so let's just hope that those visitors away from the port area, i.e. in Bellevue or elsewhere, get to know about it. I do my bit, but it remains a largely under-publicised event where the tourist is concerned.
QUIZ
Chain - Jimmy McCulloch was in Wings and also Stone The Crows with whom Maggie Bell made her name. And what's her connection to P.J.Proby? Yesterday's title - Wham (see this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIzVoNq9f9s). Today's title - who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
And still on matters Alcúdia, the fiesta season is very nearly upon us. The first biggy of the season starts on 24 June, the week of Sant Pere or San Pedro if you prefer. Finally, the weather looks as though it may just have turned the corner and not be likely to throw up a tsunami or something that would disrupt the boat procession on the main night of the 29th of June. As ever, the town hall have very kindly sent me the programme (in Mallorquín) that I have battled to translate, not without having to email them to ask what certain things mean: there is no such thing as an English-Mallorquín dictionary, at least not one I've ever found. Anyway, duly done it is now going onto the WHAT'S ON BLOG and the fiestas section of the main website. This year sadly, there don't appear to be any former contestants from local "Pop Idol" equivalents, as was the case last year. But, as ever, the main gig will be the night of the 29th with its boats and fireworks. It is well worth attending, so let's just hope that those visitors away from the port area, i.e. in Bellevue or elsewhere, get to know about it. I do my bit, but it remains a largely under-publicised event where the tourist is concerned.
QUIZ
Chain - Jimmy McCulloch was in Wings and also Stone The Crows with whom Maggie Bell made her name. And what's her connection to P.J.Proby? Yesterday's title - Wham (see this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIzVoNq9f9s). Today's title - who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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