"FIVE ... FOUR ... THREE ... TWO ... ONE. Thunderbirds are ..." sitting around the lavishly appointed family finca doing very little.
One theory about Thunderbirds and the Tracys is that they were based on "Bonanza", and there is a certain amount of truth to this. Jeff was indeed modelled on Ben Cartwright while Hop Sing, the Chinese cook at the Ponderosa who provided much of the light relief, could well have been the inspiration for Kyrano. Where the theory falls down is the fact that the Tracy brothers sort of looked like each other, whereas Hoss and Little Joe were about as unalike as you could get, even accepting that they had different mothers, and Ben did have some seriously bad luck with wives dying on him.
I would like to think that Tracy Island was in fact a combination of Bonanza and Mallorca. Had Thunderbirds been made thirty years later, then there would be more grounds for thinking this, but let's not be too concerned with historical accuracies.
The meaning of bonanza is great wealth and prosperity, and one meaning of bonanza in Spanish is the same as the English. The days of the "bonanza" are often referred to as the boom times thanks to the growth of tourism. One of the consequences of the bonanza was that a number of Mallorcans acquired serious wealth through land sales and occasionally through working hard. A further consequence was that these rich Mallorcans had offspring who needed to be found something to do with their lives rather than lounging around the poolside, living off the paternal or maternal millions. So, this is where Tracy Island comes in.
In my Thunderbirds Mallorcan parallel universe, Jeff, having become fabulously wealthy through the sale of land that he had dubious claims to in the first place and the acquisition of great chunks of shares in hotel companies, wondered how he was going to spend his time and, as importantly, what he was going to do with his five layabout sons who hadn't bothered with schooling as they were comfortable in the knowledge that papa would just keep on providing.
Jeff, therefore, came up with a mad scheme for a private international rescue service. Ostensibly funded with his millions, it wasn't to be. Instead, Jeff, together with Brains, presented the project as one for regional development to the powers-that-be in regional government and Europe (I know, there was no regional government or Europe in the 1960s, but I have already said that we shouldn't worry about accuracy). They duly handed over shedloads of public money to Jeff who then proceeded to build a dream home for him and his family and rip up whole loads of underground Mallorca, so destroying much of the water resource, on the pretext of building massive hangars for the pods for Thunderbird 2 and a launch pad for Thunderbird 1. And for good measure, several more million were spent on a retractable swimming-pool, heavy camouflage and gated security and palm trees that would fold down. Then, when they had finished with turning Mallorca into Tracy Island, a further massive tranche of public money was used to build a space station.
Of course, no one really ever believed that Jeff and his sons would ever actually do any rescuing. Or not very much anyway. And this was to prove to be the great flaw in Jeff's plan. His layabout sons were still layabouts, except once a week when some batty English socialite, Lady Penelope, would come on the extraordinarily expensive communications system (also paid for with public money) and insist that a cat up a tree needed rescuing or when Kyrano would suffer a bad case of neuralgia caused by his Chinese mafioso half-brother, The Hood, who was threatening the local Chinese shop owner over non-payment of protection money.
Apart from their once-a-week adventures, the Tracy boys did absolutely nothing. They still lounged around the pool, Virgil played the piano now and then and Alan tried to get off with Tin-Tin. Lord alone knows what John ever got up to on Thunderbird 5. It's probably best if we don't know. Even when they were doing a spot of rescue, they weren't all at it. Alan and Gordon were particularly idle in this regard.
Tracy Island was, therefore, a monument to Mallorcan waste, environmental destruction and parental indulgence. However, had there really been a Tracy Island, it would now be being converted into a giant theme park, one to which Parkers would come or would be employed to be at the service of enormously wealthy Russian tourists: "you rang, m'lady".
* Gerry Anderson, 14 April 1929 - 26 December 2012.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Payment to Pollensa auditorium architect queried
The architect for the aborted project to construct the auditorium in Pollensa, Rafael Moneo, is to receive a payment of 150,000 euros, the amount having been included in the town hall's budget for 2013. The Alternativa and opposition parties are querying this payment and indeed any commitment that the town hall has to make it, pointing to what the previous mayor, Joan Cerdà, said regarding the town hall not having a debt to Moneo because the town hall hadn't actually ordered the auditorium project.
MALLORCA TODAY - Balearics ports reduce taxes to attract more cruises
Cruise ship traffic having fallen in 2012, the Balearics Ports Authority is to reduce more than 40% of taxes in 2013 in order to try and boost the number of cruises coming into Palma and the ports on the other Balearic islands.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 27 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (9.00am): 9.5C
Forecast high: 17C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): West 3 to 4, occasional surge and waves to one metre reducing.
Back to sun this morning, chillier in parts than others, temperatures between 5 and 10C. Remaining sunny today and for the next few days, but New Year's Day has a greater risk now of rain with temperatures slipping back and snow on the peaks.
Afternoon update (17.30): A clear, sunny and quite warm day, the maximum having been 19.5C (Puerto Pollensa).
The Great Depression: Spain in 2013
New year celebrations promise renewal, optimism, better fortune. We wish each other a prosperous new year and at midnight on New Year's Eve, we will do so between munching on twelve grapes and engaging in the national pastime of the party.
The grapes are going to taste sour this time. The endless party in fact came to an end a few years ago. Not that everyone has wanted to admit this. While there's a fiesta, there's always hope. Or more accurately, an avoidance of reality. I don't much like having to appear to be a party-pooper but I am dreading 2013.
I have re-watched "The Great Spanish Crash" and this time I watched it with a growing sense of anger. Nothing that Paul Mason revealed was new. Most of it I have spoken about in the past. But when pictures are put to words, the story becomes more powerful. The pictures might be carefully chosen but they do not lie.
It is uncomfortable for a nation to be exposed by a foreigner, but if it is exposure which helps to shake off denial, then so be it. The chances are that it won't, because the defence is one of the reporter deflecting attention from problems in his own backyard or of affecting a superiority. And so the denial continues, except among those who understand the realities of where Spain is at the end of 2012: on life support with little sign of recovery. And this metaphor only deals with the economy. There is far more.
The UK Centre for Economic and Business Research has released its latest world economic league table, one which ranks countries by GDP. It is not terribly encouraging. Spain is set to slide by four places to seventeenth by 2022, which may not sound that bad when compared with other European countries but is when you consider that the country's GDP growth is set to be negligible over the next ten years; by far the lowest of any country currently in the top fifteen.
This very low growth would be far worse were the worst case to occur; the scenario in which Catalonia secedes and is then followed by the Basques. Spain would be plunged into a wholly different economic crisis; the country simply cannot afford to lose either or both of Catalonia and the Basque Country.
The economics are one matter, the politics a very different one. The nuclear option for Spain would be one which requires Spain to leave the Euro. Conceivably, this might bring advantages; it would certainly permit a badly needed devaluation rather than the current internal devaluation through looking to lower labour costs. But the consequences could be extreme. Spain exits, the Euro collapses along if not completely with the political momentum and will behind the European Union. The nuclear option would then turn to nuclear winter were Catalonia and then the Basques to press ahead. Just consider this, as an example. Through which two regions of Spain do the main transport networks to France and therefore the rest of Europe pass?
It is an imperative, as much as any negotiation regarding a bailout, that the Spanish Government finds a rapprochement with Artur Mas and Catalonia. It may be too late, especially now that Mas has got into bed with the altogether more independence-fanatic ERC, but it has to be found. Rather than playing hardball with Catalonia, Rajoy might have been wiser seeking to form some type of government of national unity which embraced Catalonia (and the Basques). Instead, the end game, one in which the European Union may have become marginalised, could be truly disastrous.
But even were this worst case to be avoided, what real hope does Spain have for a genuine recovery? Zapatero attempted to build Spain out of trouble with the so-called Plan E but succeeded only in creating debt. Construction achieves only so much, and as we now know can also bring a country to its knees. And it doesn't address a fundamental lack of competitiveness. Lower labour costs might be helping exports (and they have risen), but Spain, for the size of its economy, has relatively low levels of exports in any case. It also has an underperforming educational system, to which the government's reaction is diversionary - the language issue - or simply wrong; increasing school hours and class sizes will solve nothing. And after school, it has employment that owes more to favouritism rather than merit.
The boom years showed how well Spain can do, but the boom was ultimately built on sand. Literally built. Spain's on life support with potential multiple-organ failure. No amount of partying can disguise the fact. Happy new year.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The grapes are going to taste sour this time. The endless party in fact came to an end a few years ago. Not that everyone has wanted to admit this. While there's a fiesta, there's always hope. Or more accurately, an avoidance of reality. I don't much like having to appear to be a party-pooper but I am dreading 2013.
I have re-watched "The Great Spanish Crash" and this time I watched it with a growing sense of anger. Nothing that Paul Mason revealed was new. Most of it I have spoken about in the past. But when pictures are put to words, the story becomes more powerful. The pictures might be carefully chosen but they do not lie.
It is uncomfortable for a nation to be exposed by a foreigner, but if it is exposure which helps to shake off denial, then so be it. The chances are that it won't, because the defence is one of the reporter deflecting attention from problems in his own backyard or of affecting a superiority. And so the denial continues, except among those who understand the realities of where Spain is at the end of 2012: on life support with little sign of recovery. And this metaphor only deals with the economy. There is far more.
The UK Centre for Economic and Business Research has released its latest world economic league table, one which ranks countries by GDP. It is not terribly encouraging. Spain is set to slide by four places to seventeenth by 2022, which may not sound that bad when compared with other European countries but is when you consider that the country's GDP growth is set to be negligible over the next ten years; by far the lowest of any country currently in the top fifteen.
This very low growth would be far worse were the worst case to occur; the scenario in which Catalonia secedes and is then followed by the Basques. Spain would be plunged into a wholly different economic crisis; the country simply cannot afford to lose either or both of Catalonia and the Basque Country.
The economics are one matter, the politics a very different one. The nuclear option for Spain would be one which requires Spain to leave the Euro. Conceivably, this might bring advantages; it would certainly permit a badly needed devaluation rather than the current internal devaluation through looking to lower labour costs. But the consequences could be extreme. Spain exits, the Euro collapses along if not completely with the political momentum and will behind the European Union. The nuclear option would then turn to nuclear winter were Catalonia and then the Basques to press ahead. Just consider this, as an example. Through which two regions of Spain do the main transport networks to France and therefore the rest of Europe pass?
It is an imperative, as much as any negotiation regarding a bailout, that the Spanish Government finds a rapprochement with Artur Mas and Catalonia. It may be too late, especially now that Mas has got into bed with the altogether more independence-fanatic ERC, but it has to be found. Rather than playing hardball with Catalonia, Rajoy might have been wiser seeking to form some type of government of national unity which embraced Catalonia (and the Basques). Instead, the end game, one in which the European Union may have become marginalised, could be truly disastrous.
But even were this worst case to be avoided, what real hope does Spain have for a genuine recovery? Zapatero attempted to build Spain out of trouble with the so-called Plan E but succeeded only in creating debt. Construction achieves only so much, and as we now know can also bring a country to its knees. And it doesn't address a fundamental lack of competitiveness. Lower labour costs might be helping exports (and they have risen), but Spain, for the size of its economy, has relatively low levels of exports in any case. It also has an underperforming educational system, to which the government's reaction is diversionary - the language issue - or simply wrong; increasing school hours and class sizes will solve nothing. And after school, it has employment that owes more to favouritism rather than merit.
The boom years showed how well Spain can do, but the boom was ultimately built on sand. Literally built. Spain's on life support with potential multiple-organ failure. No amount of partying can disguise the fact. Happy new year.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 26 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (9.00am): 14C
Forecast high: 17C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): North 4 to 5 backing by midday to West. Surge strong at times. Waves to one metre.
A change this morning. Some light rain around, cloudy and quite windy. Due to improve by around midday. The rest of the week forecast to be mostly sunny but the temperature down a touch for New Year. The forecast for New Year's Eve remains good with a high of 16C. New Year's Day there could be rain.
Afternoon update (17.30): It remained cloudy for a good deal of the day. Some reasonable sun later on but a high of just 15.7C (Albufera).
The Mallorca Quiz Of 2012
1: Off which Mallorcan resort was Roman buried treasure located under the seabed?
Puerto Alcúdia. A radar survey suggested that treasure and the great wall of the Roman port had been found.
2: Who is José Manuel Soria?
The national government tourism minister.
3: What did Alejandro Campos patent in 1937?
Table football, the version in which the legs of the "players" are separated and which is the version that will normally be found in Spain.
4: At which sport played internationally by Spain have Talat Ali and Tanvir Iqbal excelled?
Cricket.
5: What culinary tradition is often considered to have come about through a decree by King Philip III?
Tapas. The idea was to cover ("tapar") drinks with a small piece of food that would help to reduce drunkenness.
6: A hotel complex and theme park dedicated to which Spanish "institution" is due to open in 2015 in the emirate of Ras-al-Khaimah?
Real Madrid Football Club.
7: The name of which Mallorcan resort is derived from the Arabic for filthy water?
Magalluf.
8: Which Mallorcan town celebrated its 200th anniversary of having gained independence?
Búger. It gained its independence from neighbouring Campanet and became a town in its own right.
9: What did King Juan Carlos apologise for in April this year?
His elephant-hunting trip to Botswana.
10: Who was supposedly snubbed by leading politicians at this year's Pollensa Festival?
Sir Norman Foster the architect to whom the introductory concert at the festival was dedicated.
11: Who did rapper Josemy Valtonyc Marx Beltrán suggest should be assassinated?
King Juan Carlos. (He also wished bad things for leading politicians.)
12: What, having been touted to other Mallorcan towns, appeared to have finally found a location in Inca?
Tierra Santa, the Christian theme park.
13: According to consultants Deloitte, which is Spain's leading retailer?
Mercadona. It was the highest placed Spanish retailer in a worldwide survey of retailers. Mercadona was number 42 overall.
14: What is the most popular surname in Mallorca?
Garcia. It is the most popular surname in the whole of Spain as well.
15: What is Manos Limpias?
A right-wing union which makes a big deal of pursuing corruption cases and issuing "denuncias" that allege corruption.
16: Who or what is the largest landowner in Spain and despite which doesn't pay property tax?
The Catholic Church.
17: The Council of Mallorca announced that 2013 would be the "year" of which famous Mallorcan?
The Fray Juniper Serra. It will be the 300th anniversary of this son of the town of Petra next year. Serra was a missionary to California.
18: In Sa Pobla, what can only be distributed between 8am and 2pm on the first and third Tuesdays of each month?
Publicity material.
19: Which is the most profitable airport in Spain?
Palma's Son Sant Joan.
20: What tax did Catalonia introduce in November?
A tourist tax that charges overnight stays in all forms of accommodation.
21: The Japanese ambassador to Spain said that the principal reason for Mallorca attracting more Japanese tourists would be what?
Shoes, the buying thereof, one guesses. Mallorcan footwear is said to be well-known and well-regarded in Japan.
22: Which renewable energy source was said to be capable of serving over 11,000 homes in Mallorca?
Biomass from woody debris in forests.
23: The UPyD party said that the merging of what in Mallorca would save public finances 18,000 million euros?
Town halls.
24: Which country did a report identify as Mallorca's main tourist competitor over the next 20 years?
Croatia.
25: Of 265 regions in Europe, in what do the Balearics rank as the eighth worst performing region?
Educational attainment, specifically among the over-15s. The Balearics have some of the worst educational standards in Spain.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Puerto Alcúdia. A radar survey suggested that treasure and the great wall of the Roman port had been found.
2: Who is José Manuel Soria?
The national government tourism minister.
3: What did Alejandro Campos patent in 1937?
Table football, the version in which the legs of the "players" are separated and which is the version that will normally be found in Spain.
4: At which sport played internationally by Spain have Talat Ali and Tanvir Iqbal excelled?
Cricket.
5: What culinary tradition is often considered to have come about through a decree by King Philip III?
Tapas. The idea was to cover ("tapar") drinks with a small piece of food that would help to reduce drunkenness.
6: A hotel complex and theme park dedicated to which Spanish "institution" is due to open in 2015 in the emirate of Ras-al-Khaimah?
Real Madrid Football Club.
7: The name of which Mallorcan resort is derived from the Arabic for filthy water?
Magalluf.
8: Which Mallorcan town celebrated its 200th anniversary of having gained independence?
Búger. It gained its independence from neighbouring Campanet and became a town in its own right.
9: What did King Juan Carlos apologise for in April this year?
His elephant-hunting trip to Botswana.
10: Who was supposedly snubbed by leading politicians at this year's Pollensa Festival?
Sir Norman Foster the architect to whom the introductory concert at the festival was dedicated.
11: Who did rapper Josemy Valtonyc Marx Beltrán suggest should be assassinated?
King Juan Carlos. (He also wished bad things for leading politicians.)
12: What, having been touted to other Mallorcan towns, appeared to have finally found a location in Inca?
Tierra Santa, the Christian theme park.
13: According to consultants Deloitte, which is Spain's leading retailer?
Mercadona. It was the highest placed Spanish retailer in a worldwide survey of retailers. Mercadona was number 42 overall.
14: What is the most popular surname in Mallorca?
Garcia. It is the most popular surname in the whole of Spain as well.
15: What is Manos Limpias?
A right-wing union which makes a big deal of pursuing corruption cases and issuing "denuncias" that allege corruption.
16: Who or what is the largest landowner in Spain and despite which doesn't pay property tax?
The Catholic Church.
17: The Council of Mallorca announced that 2013 would be the "year" of which famous Mallorcan?
The Fray Juniper Serra. It will be the 300th anniversary of this son of the town of Petra next year. Serra was a missionary to California.
18: In Sa Pobla, what can only be distributed between 8am and 2pm on the first and third Tuesdays of each month?
Publicity material.
19: Which is the most profitable airport in Spain?
Palma's Son Sant Joan.
20: What tax did Catalonia introduce in November?
A tourist tax that charges overnight stays in all forms of accommodation.
21: The Japanese ambassador to Spain said that the principal reason for Mallorca attracting more Japanese tourists would be what?
Shoes, the buying thereof, one guesses. Mallorcan footwear is said to be well-known and well-regarded in Japan.
22: Which renewable energy source was said to be capable of serving over 11,000 homes in Mallorca?
Biomass from woody debris in forests.
23: The UPyD party said that the merging of what in Mallorca would save public finances 18,000 million euros?
Town halls.
24: Which country did a report identify as Mallorca's main tourist competitor over the next 20 years?
Croatia.
25: Of 265 regions in Europe, in what do the Balearics rank as the eighth worst performing region?
Educational attainment, specifically among the over-15s. The Balearics have some of the worst educational standards in Spain.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 25 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (9.00am): 9C
Forecast high: 19C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): Southwest 3 to 4 backing in the night to North.
Fog affecting most of the island this morning. Due to burn off but may linger in parts. Otherwise sunny and quite warm. Boxing Day may see some rain early on but sun later, then the rest of the week up to New Year's Eve fine with temperatures down a degree or two.
Afternoon update (17.30): The sun shone but some cloud came in during the afternoon. A high of 19.5C in Sa Pobla; two degrees lower by the coast.
Twelve Days Of Christmas - Mallorca Style
The thing with Christmas carols is that they tend to be international. Hence, for example, "Silent Night" is "Noche de paz" in Spanish. I am unaware, however, of the "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" having been internationalised or specifically, and for my purposes, Catalanised or Castellanised.
There is some evidence to suggest that "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" wasn't originally English but French. Given a certain similarity between French and Catalan, then it may be that a version has slipped into Catalan consciousness. Or did, and then very rapidly fell out again.
In the absence of there being a local version, we'll have to do with the English, which itself causes a problem as there isn't one wholly (or even holy) agreed-to set of twelve days. The Lords, for instance, can amount to ten as well as twelve or even only nine. For the most part, however, it is just the later days of Christmas that can cause some controversy as to how many of what are actually involved. The earlier days are generally consistent across their different versions, though there are some variants on the four number of birds - colly (whatever a colly bird is - Paul Collingwood scoring a duck?), corley, collie (which is a dog) or canary (which is a bird, unless it's an island).
Anyway, let's just settle on one set of twelve days and consider how applicable "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" are to Mallorca. So here goes, and remember to sing along.
A Partridge In A Pear Tree. Yep, well partridge is certainly Mallorcan. There is even a fair devoted to its slaughter; it takes place in Montuïri in December, appropriately enough for Christmas. Of fruit trees, one is more inclined to think of oranges or lemons, but pear trees there are. Muro town hall, for instance, has held courses on the organic growing of pear trees, among other things, which is terribly ecologicially sound of them.
Two Turtle Doves. No problem with these. They are regular visitors and are best observed in May and June time at different locations, e.g. the Galatzó finca in Calvià or Albufera.
Three French Hens. There are plenty of chickens knocking around of course. Whether they are specifically French or not is hard to say. We'll place a query against the hens.
Four Colly Birds. The question is: what is a colly bird? It isn't a calling bird, though the blackbird has a call, and a colly bird is a blackbird. I get blackbirds in the garden.
Five Gold Rings. Easy. Many a gold ring, especially on the fingers of Russian tourists who, I would advise, should start to become wary about their blatant displays of bling as there will be those disposed to divesting them of it.
Six Geese A Laying. Geese, there are.
Seven Swans A Swimming. As there are also swans.
Eight Maids A Milking. It is probable that one could round up at least eight maids who engage in milking. As for cows, yes, but when do you ever actually see a cow in Mallorca?
Nine Drummers Drumming. Nine, nine hundred, nine thousand. Absolutely no shortage of drummers. Local music bands, batucada samba bands, the folk music drummers who hammer out an incessant beat during fiesta celebrations such as the demons of Sant Antoni.
Ten Pipers Piping. Like the drummers, there are pipers in abundance. The Mallorcan bagpipe, the xeremia, is a familiar sound at fiesta time.
Eleven Ladies Dancing. Not a lot of problems finding eleven women. Not sure about ladies, but females certainly. The Mallorcan traditional dance, ball de bot, has many a lady, as does any club you care to mention and any collection of British expatriates who are obsessed with "Strictly Come Dancing".
Twelve Lords A Leaping. This is really the only tricky one. There aren't any Lords as such, unless you include Lord Archer or Lord Lloyd-Webber when in residence.
The Lords notwithstanding, "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" does pretty much stack up in a Mallorcan context, and so here is your chance to annoy everyone by trying your hand at "Els Dotze Dies De Nadal". One, two, three ...
Una perdiu en una perera
Dues tórtores
Tres gallines franceses
Quatre merles
Cinc anells d'or
Sis oques ponent
Set cignes nedant
Vuit donzelles munyint
Nou tamborers tocant (la bateria)
Deu xeremiers tocant (sa xeremia)
Onze dames ballant
Dotze senyors saltant
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
There is some evidence to suggest that "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" wasn't originally English but French. Given a certain similarity between French and Catalan, then it may be that a version has slipped into Catalan consciousness. Or did, and then very rapidly fell out again.
In the absence of there being a local version, we'll have to do with the English, which itself causes a problem as there isn't one wholly (or even holy) agreed-to set of twelve days. The Lords, for instance, can amount to ten as well as twelve or even only nine. For the most part, however, it is just the later days of Christmas that can cause some controversy as to how many of what are actually involved. The earlier days are generally consistent across their different versions, though there are some variants on the four number of birds - colly (whatever a colly bird is - Paul Collingwood scoring a duck?), corley, collie (which is a dog) or canary (which is a bird, unless it's an island).
Anyway, let's just settle on one set of twelve days and consider how applicable "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" are to Mallorca. So here goes, and remember to sing along.
A Partridge In A Pear Tree. Yep, well partridge is certainly Mallorcan. There is even a fair devoted to its slaughter; it takes place in Montuïri in December, appropriately enough for Christmas. Of fruit trees, one is more inclined to think of oranges or lemons, but pear trees there are. Muro town hall, for instance, has held courses on the organic growing of pear trees, among other things, which is terribly ecologicially sound of them.
Two Turtle Doves. No problem with these. They are regular visitors and are best observed in May and June time at different locations, e.g. the Galatzó finca in Calvià or Albufera.
Three French Hens. There are plenty of chickens knocking around of course. Whether they are specifically French or not is hard to say. We'll place a query against the hens.
Four Colly Birds. The question is: what is a colly bird? It isn't a calling bird, though the blackbird has a call, and a colly bird is a blackbird. I get blackbirds in the garden.
Five Gold Rings. Easy. Many a gold ring, especially on the fingers of Russian tourists who, I would advise, should start to become wary about their blatant displays of bling as there will be those disposed to divesting them of it.
Six Geese A Laying. Geese, there are.
Seven Swans A Swimming. As there are also swans.
Eight Maids A Milking. It is probable that one could round up at least eight maids who engage in milking. As for cows, yes, but when do you ever actually see a cow in Mallorca?
Nine Drummers Drumming. Nine, nine hundred, nine thousand. Absolutely no shortage of drummers. Local music bands, batucada samba bands, the folk music drummers who hammer out an incessant beat during fiesta celebrations such as the demons of Sant Antoni.
Ten Pipers Piping. Like the drummers, there are pipers in abundance. The Mallorcan bagpipe, the xeremia, is a familiar sound at fiesta time.
Eleven Ladies Dancing. Not a lot of problems finding eleven women. Not sure about ladies, but females certainly. The Mallorcan traditional dance, ball de bot, has many a lady, as does any club you care to mention and any collection of British expatriates who are obsessed with "Strictly Come Dancing".
Twelve Lords A Leaping. This is really the only tricky one. There aren't any Lords as such, unless you include Lord Archer or Lord Lloyd-Webber when in residence.
The Lords notwithstanding, "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" does pretty much stack up in a Mallorcan context, and so here is your chance to annoy everyone by trying your hand at "Els Dotze Dies De Nadal". One, two, three ...
Una perdiu en una perera
Dues tórtores
Tres gallines franceses
Quatre merles
Cinc anells d'or
Sis oques ponent
Set cignes nedant
Vuit donzelles munyint
Nou tamborers tocant (la bateria)
Deu xeremiers tocant (sa xeremia)
Onze dames ballant
Dotze senyors saltant
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, December 24, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Cladera resigns as Real Mallorca president
Jaume Cladera, who, along with major shareholder and director of football Llorenç Serra Ferrer, has been under pressure over the handling of the club, has resigned as president of Real Mallorca and left the board, citing personal reasons. The question arises as to who will succeed him, a decision which may bring to an end the blood-letting at board level or make it worse.
See more: El Mundo
See more: El Mundo
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 24 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (8.30am): 12C
Forecast high: 20C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): South and then Southwest 3 to 4.
A sunny morning, some wispy cloud and should be a fine, warm Christmas Eve though breezes will be quite chilly. Christmas Day is due to be a bit foggy to begin with but should be mostly fine, though there is a chance of some light rain.
Afternoon update (17.45): Plenty of sun but plenty of breeze as well. The high, 20.7C (Sa Pobla).
MALLORCA TODAY - Cala Molins apartments are legal
A judge has declared that building permits issued by Pollensa town hall for apartments by Cala Molins in Cala San Vicente were legal. A challenge to the permits and the building has existed ever since - one which argued that the licences had been issued too quickly and without all procedures having been adhered to. The judge's decision brings the challenge to a close.
See more: Ultima Hora
A Mallorcan Letter From 1912
Guy Wood wrote a letter on 12 December 1912, one that has been handed down through generations as a record of the times. The story of the letter is told in an article* in "The Guardian" which outlines its content: the rise of Germany, the sinking of the Titanic, the war in the Balkans.
Had there been a Mallorcan Guy Wood who had left a letter for his descendants, what would he have spoken about? One imagines that a knowledgeable Mallorcan of the time wouldn't have been ignorant of events that Guy Wood detailed, but what would he have had to say about Mallorca specifically? This is what Guido Fusta might have written in 1912.
"How I wish I could see into the future. What is life like in 2012? What has happened during one hundred years? I cannot look into a crystal ball, but I would speculate that science has had a dramatic effect on our island. There have been more innovations this year. At the fiesta of Sant Jaume the electricity system in Sa Pobla was lit for the first time, and it had come about so quickly. Sr. Enric Ordines had only presented his plan for an electricity factory to the town council on 30 April!
"And this year the new train between Palma and Sóller has started. What a Godsend for Sóller and for those of us who love to visit its orange groves. It has been so difficult to travel by stagecoach along the steep road over the Coll de Sóller. Now there is a steam train, but you have to hold your breath when the train passes through all the tunnels. And now also in Sóller is a radiotelegraphy station. It opened earlier this year at Cap Gros.
"The train started to bring fruit into Palma this summer. There are many families in Sóller who have bought shares in Sr. Estades' railway company. It is a pity I have none myself. It is said that the orange trade will become greater than ever and it is also said that the train will help to bring more of what are called tourists to Mallorca. It is seven years since the Sociedad Fomento del Turismo de Palma was founded. They believe this "tourism" will become a grand trade in its own right. There is much publicity being given to the natural beauty of the island; the Archduke Louis Salvador has certainly helped this. Foreigners are coming to the island and new hotels are being built. Sr. Borras and Sra. Martínez have opened a grand one this year in Puerto Pollensa. It is called the Hotel Miramar.
"There is great excitement because of this new industry and because of moving pictures of the island made with what is called the Chronochrome system, Monsieur Léon Gaumont's invention. It has pictures in colour, and there had never been such pictures made in Spain before this summer here on Mallorca; pictures of the Roman bridge in Pollensa, the orange groves, the Cathedral in Palma, on which the famous architect Sr. Antoni Gaudi has finished his re-modelling work this year.
"There has been much that has been inspiring this year, but we are worried about events in Spain and Europe. Sometimes, I think we feel that in Mallorca we are cut off from such events, but we are not. The talk is that the crisis in the Balkans could lead to a greater war, though we cannot see how the Balkans affect us. If there is a war, we hope, God willing, that Spain can remain neutral. We have too many problems of our own to contend with.
"As Mallorcans we should be proud that Sr. Antoni Maura of Palma has been a Spanish prime minister, but can we be? I am certain we have not heard the last of Sr. Maura. We have not forgotten the Tragic Week of 1909 or the execution of Francesc Ferrer. God rest his soul, a man does not deserve such a fate, even an Anarchist. And now there is word of a new and violent movement, Maurism. These are deeply troubling times, and we are not immune in Mallorca. The Liberal prime minister, Sr. Canalejas, was assassinated only last month. Ferrer, Canalejas, Maura, who they say has designs on returning, but this time as a dictator; God save us from these men. With all the strains against the Church and Monarchy from Socialists, Liberals, Republicans, Anarchists, Catalans, I fear Spain faces catastrophe. If not through Sr. Maura, then someone else.
"You will, by 2012, know of whatever the consequences have been: of the violence and troubles we are experiencing and of the great developments that we are witnessing. I wish I could know for myself what they will be. Or perhaps it is better if I do not."
Guido Fusta i Bauzà
Marratxí, 12 December 1912
* http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/22/letter-from-a-century-ago
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Had there been a Mallorcan Guy Wood who had left a letter for his descendants, what would he have spoken about? One imagines that a knowledgeable Mallorcan of the time wouldn't have been ignorant of events that Guy Wood detailed, but what would he have had to say about Mallorca specifically? This is what Guido Fusta might have written in 1912.
"How I wish I could see into the future. What is life like in 2012? What has happened during one hundred years? I cannot look into a crystal ball, but I would speculate that science has had a dramatic effect on our island. There have been more innovations this year. At the fiesta of Sant Jaume the electricity system in Sa Pobla was lit for the first time, and it had come about so quickly. Sr. Enric Ordines had only presented his plan for an electricity factory to the town council on 30 April!
"And this year the new train between Palma and Sóller has started. What a Godsend for Sóller and for those of us who love to visit its orange groves. It has been so difficult to travel by stagecoach along the steep road over the Coll de Sóller. Now there is a steam train, but you have to hold your breath when the train passes through all the tunnels. And now also in Sóller is a radiotelegraphy station. It opened earlier this year at Cap Gros.
"The train started to bring fruit into Palma this summer. There are many families in Sóller who have bought shares in Sr. Estades' railway company. It is a pity I have none myself. It is said that the orange trade will become greater than ever and it is also said that the train will help to bring more of what are called tourists to Mallorca. It is seven years since the Sociedad Fomento del Turismo de Palma was founded. They believe this "tourism" will become a grand trade in its own right. There is much publicity being given to the natural beauty of the island; the Archduke Louis Salvador has certainly helped this. Foreigners are coming to the island and new hotels are being built. Sr. Borras and Sra. Martínez have opened a grand one this year in Puerto Pollensa. It is called the Hotel Miramar.
"There is great excitement because of this new industry and because of moving pictures of the island made with what is called the Chronochrome system, Monsieur Léon Gaumont's invention. It has pictures in colour, and there had never been such pictures made in Spain before this summer here on Mallorca; pictures of the Roman bridge in Pollensa, the orange groves, the Cathedral in Palma, on which the famous architect Sr. Antoni Gaudi has finished his re-modelling work this year.
"There has been much that has been inspiring this year, but we are worried about events in Spain and Europe. Sometimes, I think we feel that in Mallorca we are cut off from such events, but we are not. The talk is that the crisis in the Balkans could lead to a greater war, though we cannot see how the Balkans affect us. If there is a war, we hope, God willing, that Spain can remain neutral. We have too many problems of our own to contend with.
"As Mallorcans we should be proud that Sr. Antoni Maura of Palma has been a Spanish prime minister, but can we be? I am certain we have not heard the last of Sr. Maura. We have not forgotten the Tragic Week of 1909 or the execution of Francesc Ferrer. God rest his soul, a man does not deserve such a fate, even an Anarchist. And now there is word of a new and violent movement, Maurism. These are deeply troubling times, and we are not immune in Mallorca. The Liberal prime minister, Sr. Canalejas, was assassinated only last month. Ferrer, Canalejas, Maura, who they say has designs on returning, but this time as a dictator; God save us from these men. With all the strains against the Church and Monarchy from Socialists, Liberals, Republicans, Anarchists, Catalans, I fear Spain faces catastrophe. If not through Sr. Maura, then someone else.
"You will, by 2012, know of whatever the consequences have been: of the violence and troubles we are experiencing and of the great developments that we are witnessing. I wish I could know for myself what they will be. Or perhaps it is better if I do not."
Guido Fusta i Bauzà
Marratxí, 12 December 1912
* http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/22/letter-from-a-century-ago
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Pollensa projects start without finance guarantee
Still hoping that the Council of Mallorca will fund them, Pollensa town hall is about to start on two projects without actually having the total financial wherewithal to pay for them. The projects are the restoration of Can Llobera, the family home of poet Miguel Costa i Llobera that is located in the Plaça Vella in the old town, and the improvement to the parking area by the sports centre in Pollensa.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
MALLORCA TODAY - Dredging at Alcúdia's port finished
A process that has lasted for several years to dredge the sea bed near the commercial port in Alcúdia has now been completed. In all, it has cost 6 million euros to perform the dredging in nine phases in order to deepen the water and permit larger craft, such as cruise ships, to use the port.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 23 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (9.00am): 11C
Forecast high: 19C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): Southwest 3 to 4. Regular to good.
A misty start and feeling chilly, but the sun is working its way through and it should be a very pleasant day, southern breezes pushing the temperature up. The forecast for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day remains decent, Christmas Day cloudier but now with less risk of a shower and 19C. The week after looks excellent with lots of sun and temperatures staying in the high teens.
Afternoon update (17.45): Splendid clear blue skies once the mist had gone, but the wind provided a chilly edge to a high of 21.4C (Pollensa).
When Sky Falls: Telly for Mallorcan expats
Let me say straightaway that I do not and never have had Sky or British television in Mallorca and that, not running and never have run a bar which almost invariably demands that footy, soaps and what have you are shown, I do not spend mostly my entire existence concerned with the intricacies of Sky boxes, cards, satellites, coding or alternatives that are beamed in via the Middle East or from the Alpha Centauri star system. In other words, I haven't a clue about how it all works, as I have never needed to know. So if, by any chance, you have come to this article anticipating to find some great insight into the satellite apocalypse which may be about to befall Mallorca, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place.
Because I haven't a clue, I wouldn't normally bother to write about a subject. But occasionally, for reasons not connected with the technology per se, I do attempt to find out, so it was with more than passing interest that I read an article in today's "Bulletin" which attempted to explain what is currently happening with regard to what might herald the end of the world as the expatriate in Mallorca knows it. The Mayans may have got things slightly wrong, but it appears that Sky may be ushering in the collapse of civilisation instead.
The article, notwithstanding some rather odd use of the verb "predicate" (I think it should have been "predict", though I might be wrong), says that "we are very close to a catastrophic loss of Channel 4 and a large number of Sky channels including most of Sky sports as early as January or February". Among the areas in Mallorca that will be most affected are Alcúdia and Pollensa for those with satellite dishes smaller than 1.6 metres. After this, it all gets somewhat baffling; Arab signals interfering with Sky signals, BBC and ITV under threat, a dish of 1.6 metres or maybe 1.8 metres or even 2 metres being needed, the cost of which can be as much as 1,000 euros. I get the impression that the situation is far from clear and that no one probably knows.
Unless these transmission issues turn out not to be as "catastrophic" as is being implied and life can carry on as normal, i.e. the expatriate community being constantly glued to the television, it might not be stretching things to "predicate" (sic) that the recent flight of expats who have found that Mallorca isn't quite the paradise the brochure had made it out to be will become a wholesale exodus. The great trek may be about to begin, and it will all be Sky's fault for changing its satellite and configurations.
Rather like the growth of tourism can, I'm convinced, be shown to correspond with the invention of the easy-to-fold-down baby buggy, so living in Mallorca or Spain or many other places can, I'm also convinced, be related to the ease of communications, mainly therefore satellite transmission. The whole meaning of life in Mallorca will collapse along with the loss of a satellite signal, resulting in expatriates taking to the streets, wailing and hollering and rending away their clothes before booking the first removals van and Ryanair flights in order to get back to where television can be watched without any fear of interruption. Had it not been for satellite, there would not be the same expatriate population. Sky should, therefore, be the "x" factor in an equation of expatriate migration (where this migration "m" equals, primarily, "x" to denote Sky).
The fact is that, because loss of signal is being predicated, then I'm afraid it does appear as if it is going to happen, as predicate means, or can mean, to assert as being true, so there is no doubt. Were the loss being predicted, then there might be some question mark, as a prediction does contain an element of doubt, which is where the Mayans had, I fancy, been hedging their bets. They'd predicted the end of the world rather than having predicated it, or maybe they had predicated it, in which case they are now looking rather more stupid than they already were.
Well, whatever the verb should be, Skyfall is about to adopt a new meaning in Mallorca (possibly), and it will be one that will put an end to any Bond or other film being beamed in. Maybe. Who really knows. If the expatriate world does end, though, you know who to blame.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Because I haven't a clue, I wouldn't normally bother to write about a subject. But occasionally, for reasons not connected with the technology per se, I do attempt to find out, so it was with more than passing interest that I read an article in today's "Bulletin" which attempted to explain what is currently happening with regard to what might herald the end of the world as the expatriate in Mallorca knows it. The Mayans may have got things slightly wrong, but it appears that Sky may be ushering in the collapse of civilisation instead.
The article, notwithstanding some rather odd use of the verb "predicate" (I think it should have been "predict", though I might be wrong), says that "we are very close to a catastrophic loss of Channel 4 and a large number of Sky channels including most of Sky sports as early as January or February". Among the areas in Mallorca that will be most affected are Alcúdia and Pollensa for those with satellite dishes smaller than 1.6 metres. After this, it all gets somewhat baffling; Arab signals interfering with Sky signals, BBC and ITV under threat, a dish of 1.6 metres or maybe 1.8 metres or even 2 metres being needed, the cost of which can be as much as 1,000 euros. I get the impression that the situation is far from clear and that no one probably knows.
Unless these transmission issues turn out not to be as "catastrophic" as is being implied and life can carry on as normal, i.e. the expatriate community being constantly glued to the television, it might not be stretching things to "predicate" (sic) that the recent flight of expats who have found that Mallorca isn't quite the paradise the brochure had made it out to be will become a wholesale exodus. The great trek may be about to begin, and it will all be Sky's fault for changing its satellite and configurations.
Rather like the growth of tourism can, I'm convinced, be shown to correspond with the invention of the easy-to-fold-down baby buggy, so living in Mallorca or Spain or many other places can, I'm also convinced, be related to the ease of communications, mainly therefore satellite transmission. The whole meaning of life in Mallorca will collapse along with the loss of a satellite signal, resulting in expatriates taking to the streets, wailing and hollering and rending away their clothes before booking the first removals van and Ryanair flights in order to get back to where television can be watched without any fear of interruption. Had it not been for satellite, there would not be the same expatriate population. Sky should, therefore, be the "x" factor in an equation of expatriate migration (where this migration "m" equals, primarily, "x" to denote Sky).
The fact is that, because loss of signal is being predicated, then I'm afraid it does appear as if it is going to happen, as predicate means, or can mean, to assert as being true, so there is no doubt. Were the loss being predicted, then there might be some question mark, as a prediction does contain an element of doubt, which is where the Mayans had, I fancy, been hedging their bets. They'd predicted the end of the world rather than having predicated it, or maybe they had predicated it, in which case they are now looking rather more stupid than they already were.
Well, whatever the verb should be, Skyfall is about to adopt a new meaning in Mallorca (possibly), and it will be one that will put an end to any Bond or other film being beamed in. Maybe. Who really knows. If the expatriate world does end, though, you know who to blame.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Real Betis 1 : 2 Real Mallorca
Mallorca, looking for some sort of Christmas present in Seville, got no help from Santa when Beñat put Betis one-up after only five minutes. Rocked by the goal, Mallorca were getting a pounding until, more or less out of the blue, Victor replied after half an hour, heading in from Kevin's centre. Betis continued to dominate and make more chances, but 1-1 at half time, and maybe there was some sort of present coming Mallorca's way. And it looked as though there was more than they might have hoped for, Márquez putting them into the lead within two minutes of the re-start with a penalty after a foul on Victor on the edge of the box. After this, it was all hands to the pump, Mallorca showing greater defensive resolution without their shaky Brazilian centre-backs. With the exception of an effort from Vadillo saved by Aouate, Betis couldn't break down Mallorca who did indeed get more than they might have hoped for. An excellent result, especially as Betis were fourth going into the match. A break for Christmas that Mallorca can enjoy in better spirits as they move out of the relegation zone; next game for Mallorca will be at home to second-placed Atlético Madrid on 6 January.
Betis:
Adrián; Chica, Amaya, Mario, Nacho; Beñat, Pérez (Pozuelo 48), Cañas; Castro, Molina (Agra 62), Campbell (Vadillo 53)
Goal: Beñat (5)
Yellows: Nacho (64), Beñat (76), Chica (88)
Mallorca:
Aouate; Nsue, Nunes, Bigas, Kevin; Pina, Martí; Arizmendi (Ximo 82), Márquez, Dos Santos (Hemed 74); Victor (Conceiçao 89)
Goals: Victor (30), Márquez (47 penalty)
Yellows: Arizmendi (21), Victor (24), Dos Santos (44), Márquez (90)
Betis:
Adrián; Chica, Amaya, Mario, Nacho; Beñat, Pérez (Pozuelo 48), Cañas; Castro, Molina (Agra 62), Campbell (Vadillo 53)
Goal: Beñat (5)
Yellows: Nacho (64), Beñat (76), Chica (88)
Mallorca:
Aouate; Nsue, Nunes, Bigas, Kevin; Pina, Martí; Arizmendi (Ximo 82), Márquez, Dos Santos (Hemed 74); Victor (Conceiçao 89)
Goals: Victor (30), Márquez (47 penalty)
Yellows: Arizmendi (21), Victor (24), Dos Santos (44), Márquez (90)
MALLORCA TODAY - Capdepera licenses the Canyamel hotel development
The luxury hotel development in Canyamel, one that involves an investment of 100 million euros via the hotel chain Hyatt, has been given the go ahead by Capdepera town hall which has issued the licence for work to commence on what is one of Mallorca's more controversial new developments.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
MALLORCA TODAY - Overnight stays in the Balearics fell in November
The poor state of winter tourism in the Balearics has been confirmed by the fact that overnight stays in hotels on the islands fell by 22% in November, a figure that represented just under 86,000 visitors, themselves representing a decline of 9%.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
MALLORCA TODAY - First waste imports to start in January
The Council of Mallorca will permit the first imports of waste into Mallorca at the start of January 2013, a report having established the import legality. The first waste will come from Catalonia and it is said that the import will not be great as it is in the form of a test.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
MALLORCA TODAY - Pyramid scheme fake Austrian prince remains in prison
While 2012 saw the legal outcome of the John Hirst illegal pyramid scheme, the year also saw the arrest, in March, of a fake Austrian prince, Jürgen Ludwig H, on charges of having conduced, along with his wife, a pyramid scheme that was larger than that which Hirst had operated. The "prince" has been in prison since, awaiting trial, but yesterday underwent examination to assess the state of his health.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 22 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (9.00am): 14C
Forecast high: 17C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): North 4 to 5 backing by midday to Southwest 4.
More cloud in prospect today but the morning is bright enough. Warmer and sunnier tomorrow and temperatures up to at least 20C on Christmas Eve. Quite windy on Christmas Day with a lower risk of rain now and a high of 18C, the stronger winds now likely on Boxing Day.
Evening update (18.00): A decent day, quite breezy occasionally and a high of 19.4C (Puerto Pollensa).
Smoke And Mirrors: Brand Spain
Another day, another website. Ah, but what a website. One for the whole of Spain, but not any old Spain. This is "brand Spain": marcaespaña.gob.es. At some point in the not too distant future, you will be able to enjoy this website in English - I do hope therefore that they do something about the "gob" bit, someone really ought to tell them - but for now it is only in Spanish.
It is an odd thing, to say the least. The very title is odd, or might appear to be. Is there such a thing as a "brand Britain"? Actually, there is, and it is a website about designing brands, not about Britain as a brand. In Spain, the momentum behind establishing Spain as a brand started almost 30 years ago, in that the term "marca España" was first adopted, if only by a journalist. Since then, it has become official. And so official has it become that in June this year, a high commission for "brand Spain" within the national government was created. The website is the first obvious evidence of the commission's remit to, among other things, adopt measures to improve the external image of Spain.
The trouble with this title, though, is that it sounds presumptuous and even desperate. Why not just call the website "Spain"? A brand acquires brand status through the awareness of its reputation and its attributes and the constant reinforcement of these attributes. It doesn't acquire these simply because you call something a brand; literally, call it a brand. The desperation stems from marketing wrongheadedness that seeks to convince, by being so blatant, that all is well and good in the state of the brand of Spain.
The media, and not just foreign media, have considered the strength of this brand and were doing so before the launch of the high commission. There is, and the national government really should be aware of this, an appreciation that Spain as a brand, by which one really means its international standing and reputation, has taken an almighty great hammering. Creating a website and undertaking some sort of internet charm offensive aren't going to alter this; not in the short term at any rate. That the website is currently only in Spanish makes it appear as though it is less for international consumption and more for domestic propaganda. Again, I am afraid the government doesn't quite get it; Spanish people are not blind to the problems that the country faces and they are unlikely to be convinced by having the "brand Spain" message shoved down their throats.
At present, the website is very much for the home market. Its home page (as of 21 December anyway) reveals the face of someone who looks, on first glance, not dissimilar to Mariano Rajoy. It is in fact Jordí Folgado. Who is? No idea. The site has a message from the high commissioner for "marca España". The image of Spain overseas is "very solid" and "respected", he says. Spain's businesses are "admired", he continues. Which is fine, but then you wouldn't expect him to say otherwise.
At the end of this message, there is a tell-tale expression. "Marca España no quiere vender humo." What this means is that "brand Spain" does not wish to sell something that has no worth. One can apply an English metaphor or word instead; smoke and mirrors or smokescreen. It is a shocking mistake by the high commissioner or by the person who wrote his message for him. By introducing the notion of "vender humo", even if it is to refute it, some will assume that it is indeed all about smoke and mirrors. So why even mention it?
Why has the Spanish Government got so upset about the BBC programme, "The Great Spanish Crash"? Well, one reason is because it came out right on cue; just as the website was being launched. The government, through its ambassador, has complained to the BBC about Paul Mason's programme, but all that Mason has done is to delve into much of what is already known. Indeed, he had written about some of the issues in Valencia, on which the programme concentrated, on the BBC's website over almost three months previously.
The government would rather that attention was not paid to the various causes of the economic crisis, of course it would, and there is many a commentator, some of them Spanish, who see issues such as Gibraltar and Catalonia as smokescreens to divert attention. The government does this while at the same time influencing the neutering of leading journalists at the national broadcaster who ask difficult questions. Who else will the government complain about? Giles Tremlett at "The Guardian"? Javier Cercas at "El País"? Stefanie Müller, the German journalist who laid into the corrupt nature of the political system? Or how about the consultants Brand Finance which issued a report in August which reckoned that the "marca España" had lost 38% of its value in two years?
There are reasons why the brand has lost value, but the BBC and journalists aren't one of them.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
It is an odd thing, to say the least. The very title is odd, or might appear to be. Is there such a thing as a "brand Britain"? Actually, there is, and it is a website about designing brands, not about Britain as a brand. In Spain, the momentum behind establishing Spain as a brand started almost 30 years ago, in that the term "marca España" was first adopted, if only by a journalist. Since then, it has become official. And so official has it become that in June this year, a high commission for "brand Spain" within the national government was created. The website is the first obvious evidence of the commission's remit to, among other things, adopt measures to improve the external image of Spain.
The trouble with this title, though, is that it sounds presumptuous and even desperate. Why not just call the website "Spain"? A brand acquires brand status through the awareness of its reputation and its attributes and the constant reinforcement of these attributes. It doesn't acquire these simply because you call something a brand; literally, call it a brand. The desperation stems from marketing wrongheadedness that seeks to convince, by being so blatant, that all is well and good in the state of the brand of Spain.
The media, and not just foreign media, have considered the strength of this brand and were doing so before the launch of the high commission. There is, and the national government really should be aware of this, an appreciation that Spain as a brand, by which one really means its international standing and reputation, has taken an almighty great hammering. Creating a website and undertaking some sort of internet charm offensive aren't going to alter this; not in the short term at any rate. That the website is currently only in Spanish makes it appear as though it is less for international consumption and more for domestic propaganda. Again, I am afraid the government doesn't quite get it; Spanish people are not blind to the problems that the country faces and they are unlikely to be convinced by having the "brand Spain" message shoved down their throats.
At present, the website is very much for the home market. Its home page (as of 21 December anyway) reveals the face of someone who looks, on first glance, not dissimilar to Mariano Rajoy. It is in fact Jordí Folgado. Who is? No idea. The site has a message from the high commissioner for "marca España". The image of Spain overseas is "very solid" and "respected", he says. Spain's businesses are "admired", he continues. Which is fine, but then you wouldn't expect him to say otherwise.
At the end of this message, there is a tell-tale expression. "Marca España no quiere vender humo." What this means is that "brand Spain" does not wish to sell something that has no worth. One can apply an English metaphor or word instead; smoke and mirrors or smokescreen. It is a shocking mistake by the high commissioner or by the person who wrote his message for him. By introducing the notion of "vender humo", even if it is to refute it, some will assume that it is indeed all about smoke and mirrors. So why even mention it?
Why has the Spanish Government got so upset about the BBC programme, "The Great Spanish Crash"? Well, one reason is because it came out right on cue; just as the website was being launched. The government, through its ambassador, has complained to the BBC about Paul Mason's programme, but all that Mason has done is to delve into much of what is already known. Indeed, he had written about some of the issues in Valencia, on which the programme concentrated, on the BBC's website over almost three months previously.
The government would rather that attention was not paid to the various causes of the economic crisis, of course it would, and there is many a commentator, some of them Spanish, who see issues such as Gibraltar and Catalonia as smokescreens to divert attention. The government does this while at the same time influencing the neutering of leading journalists at the national broadcaster who ask difficult questions. Who else will the government complain about? Giles Tremlett at "The Guardian"? Javier Cercas at "El País"? Stefanie Müller, the German journalist who laid into the corrupt nature of the political system? Or how about the consultants Brand Finance which issued a report in August which reckoned that the "marca España" had lost 38% of its value in two years?
There are reasons why the brand has lost value, but the BBC and journalists aren't one of them.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, December 21, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather in Mallorca in 2012
With winter due to start at 12 minutes past midday today, the met office has released its information for the year's weather. Highlights are that the year in Mallorca has been drier than usual, with 20% less rain. The coldest temperature was minus 9.4C in Escorca on 13 February, the hottest was 40.6C in Colonia Sant Pere at the end of June. This autumn has been slightly warmer than normal but November has been the wettest month of the year.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 21 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (9.00am): 14C
Forecast high: 18C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): West 2 to 3 reaching 3 to 4 during the morning.
Another sunny-ish morning with sun through the day and quite breezy at times. The Christmas forecast now suggests a possible risk of a spot of rain on Christmas Eve with a high of 19C and less of a rain risk on Christmas Day but windy and a high of 18C. There will still be a good deal of sun, though. Due to get a touch colder on Boxing Day.
Afternoon update (17.30): A mainly sunny day and quite warm, a high of 20.6C (Pollensa).
All I Want Is A Noddy Holder Christmas
The Mallorcans simply don't get the whole deal with Christmas. How can they be expected to when, as with so many other things, like cricket and queuing, the British invented it? Well, Charles Dickens invented it. Had it not been for the Cratchit family Christmas there would never have been a whole industry devoted to red wrapping paper with pictures of holly and Yuletide logs nor a Far-Eastern sweatshop turning out by the yarn load socks with Santa on them. Nor would we ever have had Noddy Holder, Noel Edmonds, re-releases of Wham or cards highlighting the Miliband family dental care.
There is only type of Christmas. One of getting totally slaughtered on Christmas Eve, having spent the preceding months schlepping around Arndale centres in search of gift-wrapped boxes of soaps and shower gels, and of spending Christmas Day attempting to devour a pudding the weight of a house brick and vomiting after too much Harvey's Bristol Cream and Stone's Ginger Wine. Dickens was a great visionary. He saw the potential for Christmas, and the potential came in the form of Tesco's drinks section.
Another of Dickens' great visions was to sideline any interruptions to the true meaning of Christmas that involved hanging around in a freezing church getting chilblains and mumbling the words of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful". It's this, the church bit, that the Mallorcans don't truly understand. Rather than spend Christmas Eve in determined and undistracted praise of the brewing, wine and spirits industries, they pitch up at church in order to hear some old bird warble on about the imminent arrival of the Apocalypse. (And UNESCO call this humanity!?). Some Christmas spirit I call that, threatening the local populace with the image of the Four Horsemen of Rajoy, Bauzá, Montoro and Aguiló crashing through the front door and having away with what few coins they haven't already managed to lift and, for good measure, the meagre collection of presents that the average Mallorcan family will have been able to scrape together from the local Chinese shop and car-boot sale.
Not of course that there are Christmas presents. Not at Christmas. Whoever heard of this? How can there be Christmas presents and they are not given at Christmas? The Mallorcans should be investigated for mental cruelty to their children by making them wait twelve days for their new iPhones (those privileged few who can afford them, that is). Mañana is all very well, but by the time the Mallorcans get round to handing out the pressies, Santa is long gone, has his feet up in Lapland and Rudolph is out to pasture for another year, doing nothing more taxing than keeping a wary eye out for a passing tourism minister with a high-powered hunting rifle.
The trouble with the Mallorcans is that they've got all their dates and timings to cock. And there is nothing more wrong than with those who insist on eating turkey on Christmas Eve. The British have never fallen for this flouting of tradition, despite the best attempts of the royals who keep up the pretence that they are still really German and good mates with the Kaiser, tucking into entire herds of Norfolk livestock on Christmas Eve and then jackbooting across the Sandringham estate for some fresh air on Christmas Day. And if they were true to their German roots, on Christmas Eve they would be eating the most revolting fish known to man, or other fish, the carp. Maybe they do, for all I know.
At least the Queen gets her Christmas message spot-on, as in it is on Christmas Day, unlike the Spanish King who does his when the Mallorcan faithful are back from or going to church to be warned about the Apocalypse. How on earth he's going to manage this year to skate around the little matter of the elephant I've no idea. And then there are the other Kings, the Black and White Minstrels whose arrival heralds, finally, the moment when Christmas really kicks in, albeit twelve days too late. But when one says arrival, where, in Bethlehem, was there any mention of a dockside for the Kings to pull into? Or indeed any tourist pleasure boat for them to arrive on? Sorry, but the Mallorcans have got this totally wrong. It's no use anyone claiming that the fountain out of the field, moor and mountain that the Kings had to traverse afar while bearing gifts means the sea, as I'm not having it.
The Mallorcans are getting there. Slowly, but they are getting there. They are beginning to understand that there is more to Christmas than a Gregorian chant and a bar of nougat. But there's one thing they'll never manage. There will never be a Mallorcan Noddy Holder. "IT'S CHRISSSTMAS!".
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
There is only type of Christmas. One of getting totally slaughtered on Christmas Eve, having spent the preceding months schlepping around Arndale centres in search of gift-wrapped boxes of soaps and shower gels, and of spending Christmas Day attempting to devour a pudding the weight of a house brick and vomiting after too much Harvey's Bristol Cream and Stone's Ginger Wine. Dickens was a great visionary. He saw the potential for Christmas, and the potential came in the form of Tesco's drinks section.
Another of Dickens' great visions was to sideline any interruptions to the true meaning of Christmas that involved hanging around in a freezing church getting chilblains and mumbling the words of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful". It's this, the church bit, that the Mallorcans don't truly understand. Rather than spend Christmas Eve in determined and undistracted praise of the brewing, wine and spirits industries, they pitch up at church in order to hear some old bird warble on about the imminent arrival of the Apocalypse. (And UNESCO call this humanity!?). Some Christmas spirit I call that, threatening the local populace with the image of the Four Horsemen of Rajoy, Bauzá, Montoro and Aguiló crashing through the front door and having away with what few coins they haven't already managed to lift and, for good measure, the meagre collection of presents that the average Mallorcan family will have been able to scrape together from the local Chinese shop and car-boot sale.
Not of course that there are Christmas presents. Not at Christmas. Whoever heard of this? How can there be Christmas presents and they are not given at Christmas? The Mallorcans should be investigated for mental cruelty to their children by making them wait twelve days for their new iPhones (those privileged few who can afford them, that is). Mañana is all very well, but by the time the Mallorcans get round to handing out the pressies, Santa is long gone, has his feet up in Lapland and Rudolph is out to pasture for another year, doing nothing more taxing than keeping a wary eye out for a passing tourism minister with a high-powered hunting rifle.
The trouble with the Mallorcans is that they've got all their dates and timings to cock. And there is nothing more wrong than with those who insist on eating turkey on Christmas Eve. The British have never fallen for this flouting of tradition, despite the best attempts of the royals who keep up the pretence that they are still really German and good mates with the Kaiser, tucking into entire herds of Norfolk livestock on Christmas Eve and then jackbooting across the Sandringham estate for some fresh air on Christmas Day. And if they were true to their German roots, on Christmas Eve they would be eating the most revolting fish known to man, or other fish, the carp. Maybe they do, for all I know.
At least the Queen gets her Christmas message spot-on, as in it is on Christmas Day, unlike the Spanish King who does his when the Mallorcan faithful are back from or going to church to be warned about the Apocalypse. How on earth he's going to manage this year to skate around the little matter of the elephant I've no idea. And then there are the other Kings, the Black and White Minstrels whose arrival heralds, finally, the moment when Christmas really kicks in, albeit twelve days too late. But when one says arrival, where, in Bethlehem, was there any mention of a dockside for the Kings to pull into? Or indeed any tourist pleasure boat for them to arrive on? Sorry, but the Mallorcans have got this totally wrong. It's no use anyone claiming that the fountain out of the field, moor and mountain that the Kings had to traverse afar while bearing gifts means the sea, as I'm not having it.
The Mallorcans are getting there. Slowly, but they are getting there. They are beginning to understand that there is more to Christmas than a Gregorian chant and a bar of nougat. But there's one thing they'll never manage. There will never be a Mallorcan Noddy Holder. "IT'S CHRISSSTMAS!".
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 20 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (8.45am): 13C
Forecast high: 18C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): South 4 backing Southwest 4 during the morning and 5 at intervals, backing Northwest in the afternoon and finally North 2 to 3.
A quite sunny morning and should feel fairly warm with a good deal of sun during the day. The Christmas forecast is good for Christmas Eve (19C and sun), less good for Christmas Day (18C with a chance of rain but also sun).
Evening update (18.00): Pretty good day, sunny but also at times quite windy. A high of 19.7C (Pollensa).
MALLORCA TODAY - Decisions on management of Tramuntana by the end of the year
The Council of Mallorca is looking to complete the process of handing over to private operators the running of two of the dry stone route refuges in the Tramuntana (those in Deià and Pollensa) by the end of the year. The privatisation will save the Council around 250,000 euros.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
A Mallorcan Christmas Ghost Story
The year is 1817. It is two days before Christmas. There is a full moon in a clear, starry night sky. Two young men are walking home from an inn in the area of Fartàritx in Manacor. They are startled by an apparition standing by a street corner. Is it flesh and blood? What is it? The young men, though afraid, edge towards the apparition. They call out. "Who are you?" The apparition doesn't speak. It makes no sound at all, even as it suddenly disappears from view. Where has it gone? The young men, bolder now, race to the spot at the corner of the street. They look left, they look right. The apparition is nowhere to be seen.
The young men chuckle. It must have been a friend wearing a sheet who was trying to spook them. They laugh at their stupidity, slap each other on the back and say their good nights as they head to their homes. They think they have been fooled, but the next day they are forced to think again.
The Christmas Eve market is thronged, but the local people are huddling together, some are holding onto each other. The two young men had not been the only ones to see a strange apparition. There is fear and the people speak of only one thing: the ghost. The mayor comes among the people. He calls for the men of the neighbourhood to join with him. That night they will hunt for the apparition. The priest, though, warns the people. Tells them not to speak of it. "If this thing is or of the devil, to even name it is to give succour to forces of darkness. I forbid you to utter its name."
"Father," one man speaks out, "this thing is spreading fear. My wife saw it. From our yard. She said it was a terrible sight. It will bring ruin if we do not find it." The two young men speak as well. "We saw it too, Father. It was a fearful thing. And ... And it can just disappear. We saw how it can."
The mayor then announces. "We will find it, but we will honour the advice of the Father, and not speak of it. We will gather at six this evening. Bring scythes or forks and, Miquel, please bring your gun."
As the sun goes down, the men of the neighbourhood congregate. They form three groups and they scour the streets for several hours, despite this being Christmas Eve. But they see nothing. Indeed, seeing anything is made more difficult as on this night the moon is no longer full and a Tramuntana wind has brought in cloud. Eventually, they head to the church, their fruitless hunt over.
Had the ghost been no more than a practical joke? Some thought so. Others were less sure. One theory was that it was indeed a ghost, the ghost of a Jewish woman who had died at the hands of the Inquisition. That the ghost did not reappear again on Christmas Eve led many to believe that it would not be seen again, but they were to be wrong, just as they had been wrong to search when the moon wasn't full.
The apparition did reappear. It reappeared unerringly when two events coincided, a full moon and the proximity of a religious celebration. Over the following three years, it was spotted several times, always briefly, never speaking and always disappearing without sound. However, there were still those who were unconvinced that it was really a ghost. Suspicion fell on a simpleton called Pere-Joan, and when he died in 1820, the suspicions seemed as though they may have been right. Or were they?
The neighbourhood of Fartàritx ceased to suffer this strange visitation, but it began to appear elsewhere. In the S'Antigor area, for instance, then Barracar and Sa Moladora. The ghost continued to materialise, even into the last century, and so whenever there was a full moon and a religious fiesta, the people of Manacor were in a state of anxiety, though on one occasion they discovered that the ghost was indeed a hoax, a young woman being forced at gunpoint to remove a sheet; she had been hoping to scare her boyfriend.
The young woman was not the ghost of Manacor, but the story of the ghost is a true one. The events of Christmas 1817 may not have happened quite as I have suggested, but it is possible that they might have done. But one thing makes my version inaccurate, and that is the fact that the ghost had started appearing much earlier. In the eighteenth century. Was the ghost a prank or was it not?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The young men chuckle. It must have been a friend wearing a sheet who was trying to spook them. They laugh at their stupidity, slap each other on the back and say their good nights as they head to their homes. They think they have been fooled, but the next day they are forced to think again.
The Christmas Eve market is thronged, but the local people are huddling together, some are holding onto each other. The two young men had not been the only ones to see a strange apparition. There is fear and the people speak of only one thing: the ghost. The mayor comes among the people. He calls for the men of the neighbourhood to join with him. That night they will hunt for the apparition. The priest, though, warns the people. Tells them not to speak of it. "If this thing is or of the devil, to even name it is to give succour to forces of darkness. I forbid you to utter its name."
"Father," one man speaks out, "this thing is spreading fear. My wife saw it. From our yard. She said it was a terrible sight. It will bring ruin if we do not find it." The two young men speak as well. "We saw it too, Father. It was a fearful thing. And ... And it can just disappear. We saw how it can."
The mayor then announces. "We will find it, but we will honour the advice of the Father, and not speak of it. We will gather at six this evening. Bring scythes or forks and, Miquel, please bring your gun."
As the sun goes down, the men of the neighbourhood congregate. They form three groups and they scour the streets for several hours, despite this being Christmas Eve. But they see nothing. Indeed, seeing anything is made more difficult as on this night the moon is no longer full and a Tramuntana wind has brought in cloud. Eventually, they head to the church, their fruitless hunt over.
Had the ghost been no more than a practical joke? Some thought so. Others were less sure. One theory was that it was indeed a ghost, the ghost of a Jewish woman who had died at the hands of the Inquisition. That the ghost did not reappear again on Christmas Eve led many to believe that it would not be seen again, but they were to be wrong, just as they had been wrong to search when the moon wasn't full.
The apparition did reappear. It reappeared unerringly when two events coincided, a full moon and the proximity of a religious celebration. Over the following three years, it was spotted several times, always briefly, never speaking and always disappearing without sound. However, there were still those who were unconvinced that it was really a ghost. Suspicion fell on a simpleton called Pere-Joan, and when he died in 1820, the suspicions seemed as though they may have been right. Or were they?
The neighbourhood of Fartàritx ceased to suffer this strange visitation, but it began to appear elsewhere. In the S'Antigor area, for instance, then Barracar and Sa Moladora. The ghost continued to materialise, even into the last century, and so whenever there was a full moon and a religious fiesta, the people of Manacor were in a state of anxiety, though on one occasion they discovered that the ghost was indeed a hoax, a young woman being forced at gunpoint to remove a sheet; she had been hoping to scare her boyfriend.
The young woman was not the ghost of Manacor, but the story of the ghost is a true one. The events of Christmas 1817 may not have happened quite as I have suggested, but it is possible that they might have done. But one thing makes my version inaccurate, and that is the fact that the ghost had started appearing much earlier. In the eighteenth century. Was the ghost a prank or was it not?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 19 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (8.30am): 10.5C
Forecast high: 17C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): West 2 backing by the afternoon to South 2 to 3 and eventually Southwest 3 to 4.
A greyish morning but should clear to give sun. The outlook remains fairly settled, wind later in the week but good amounts of sun and the forecast for Christmas Day is for sun and cloud but a risk of some rain.
Evening update (18.00): The sun came out eventually, and the high has been 17.6C (Sa Pobla).
Making A Return?: The Palacio
Tucked away among the offers that Carlos Delgado appears to believe will contribute to the Balearic Government's grand scheme for making winter tourism slightly more than the total washout it currently is was mention of congresses. And during Delgado's meeting with the hoteliers federation the other day, one topic which reared its head for discussion was our favourite paralysed project, the Matas palace of congresses, i.e. Palma's Palacio de Congresos.
I don't apologise for revisiting the congress centre yet again. It is an important project, if only because it is losing so much money and because hardly a day goes by without something emerging which makes the day when (if) it finally rises from the ashes of crisis and ineptitude appear ever more distant. We now know that the private sector is wary that the numbers don't add up and so is keeping its distance. We also know that the national government isn't about to help out by chipping in the 30 or so million euros that would kickstart the building again.
Furthermore, we know that there is a great deal of blame being thrown around. Delgado has pleaded for there to be an end to looking for people to blame and to "demonising" the private sector for what, as things stand, is a failed project. Yet, we also know that Palma town hall, flatly refusing to toss any more of its cash down the palace's money pit, has made it clear that it was the private sector - the hoteliers in other words - who wanted the congress centre in the first place, thus intimating that they should get their wallets out. Perhaps Delgado, during the meeting, was asking what sort of loose change the hoteliers might have kicking around.
The town hall may be right up to a point, but if the project was solely one demanded by the hoteliers, then there were certainly politicians who were only too happy to listen to the demand and respond in an accordingly positive fashion. One of them was former president Jaume Matas, and if there is any further need to be wary about the whole project, it is the very fact that any Matas-era initiative should make everyone somewhat cautious.
Delgado is right, though. Playing the blame game won't get the damn thing built. Much as I have serious reservations about the project, because of its history of stuttering progress and because of Matas, my greatest doubt has concerned its contribution, especially where winter tourism is concerned. If it is to be finished, the business case for what it might realise needs to be made clear, as indeed it should have been made clear before it was ever embarked upon.
Self-serving though the figures may be, there is at least one organisation that appears able to shed some light on the type of return the Palacio might make. And these figures paint a potentially very much more positive view of the project and therefore of the sense in getting on with it.
APCE is the Asociación de Palacios de Congresos de España, its membership comprising 37 congress and convention centres across Spain. You would expect it to issue favourable information, but if we take it at its word, a report it has issued suggests that there is an 80% return on investment (ROI) - in one year - on the cost of the construction of such centres. This is an extremely simplistic way of extrapolating from its numbers, but on a total investment of 1,500 million euros on the various conference centres, in 2011 alone there was an "economic impact" of 1,200 million euros.
What APCE means exactly by economic impact is hard to say - it probably doesn't mean a direct ROI but rather a wider benefit - but it is one that should, nevertheless, make even critics such as myself sit up and take note. Added to this is the fact that, or so says APCE, international meetings business in Spain has grown by 100% over the past ten years.
Caveats to this, in addition to any possible limits to growth in the market for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), are, where Palma is concerned, its weak international air links in winter and the fact that it isn't a major city. Though Spain ranks number three overall in the list of destinations for MICE, Barcelona and Madrid, between them, account for well over half of all the meetings events; Barcelona, the third highest ranked city in the world, is the only city in the global top twenty, with the exception of Istanbul, which isn't a capital.
Caveats or not, the APCE figures do give cause to believe that Palma's Palacio might not be a total waste of money. But then how much more money is going to be wasted before it is finished? If it is ever is.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
I don't apologise for revisiting the congress centre yet again. It is an important project, if only because it is losing so much money and because hardly a day goes by without something emerging which makes the day when (if) it finally rises from the ashes of crisis and ineptitude appear ever more distant. We now know that the private sector is wary that the numbers don't add up and so is keeping its distance. We also know that the national government isn't about to help out by chipping in the 30 or so million euros that would kickstart the building again.
Furthermore, we know that there is a great deal of blame being thrown around. Delgado has pleaded for there to be an end to looking for people to blame and to "demonising" the private sector for what, as things stand, is a failed project. Yet, we also know that Palma town hall, flatly refusing to toss any more of its cash down the palace's money pit, has made it clear that it was the private sector - the hoteliers in other words - who wanted the congress centre in the first place, thus intimating that they should get their wallets out. Perhaps Delgado, during the meeting, was asking what sort of loose change the hoteliers might have kicking around.
The town hall may be right up to a point, but if the project was solely one demanded by the hoteliers, then there were certainly politicians who were only too happy to listen to the demand and respond in an accordingly positive fashion. One of them was former president Jaume Matas, and if there is any further need to be wary about the whole project, it is the very fact that any Matas-era initiative should make everyone somewhat cautious.
Delgado is right, though. Playing the blame game won't get the damn thing built. Much as I have serious reservations about the project, because of its history of stuttering progress and because of Matas, my greatest doubt has concerned its contribution, especially where winter tourism is concerned. If it is to be finished, the business case for what it might realise needs to be made clear, as indeed it should have been made clear before it was ever embarked upon.
Self-serving though the figures may be, there is at least one organisation that appears able to shed some light on the type of return the Palacio might make. And these figures paint a potentially very much more positive view of the project and therefore of the sense in getting on with it.
APCE is the Asociación de Palacios de Congresos de España, its membership comprising 37 congress and convention centres across Spain. You would expect it to issue favourable information, but if we take it at its word, a report it has issued suggests that there is an 80% return on investment (ROI) - in one year - on the cost of the construction of such centres. This is an extremely simplistic way of extrapolating from its numbers, but on a total investment of 1,500 million euros on the various conference centres, in 2011 alone there was an "economic impact" of 1,200 million euros.
What APCE means exactly by economic impact is hard to say - it probably doesn't mean a direct ROI but rather a wider benefit - but it is one that should, nevertheless, make even critics such as myself sit up and take note. Added to this is the fact that, or so says APCE, international meetings business in Spain has grown by 100% over the past ten years.
Caveats to this, in addition to any possible limits to growth in the market for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), are, where Palma is concerned, its weak international air links in winter and the fact that it isn't a major city. Though Spain ranks number three overall in the list of destinations for MICE, Barcelona and Madrid, between them, account for well over half of all the meetings events; Barcelona, the third highest ranked city in the world, is the only city in the global top twenty, with the exception of Istanbul, which isn't a capital.
Caveats or not, the APCE figures do give cause to believe that Palma's Palacio might not be a total waste of money. But then how much more money is going to be wasted before it is finished? If it is ever is.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Lack of taxis in Pollensa slammed
The Alternativa per Pollença has complained that cuts to guaranteed minimum service provision by taxis in Pollensa, cuts approved by the town hall's ruling administration, have led to it being impossible to get a taxi. The party says that this was the case on Monday (17 December) and that there were no taxis at the rank in Puerto Pollensa. The Alternativa considers this all to be a breach of service provision and has called on the administration to investigate.
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 18 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (8.15am): 14.5C
Forecast high: 17C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): Northwest 5 easing to 4 and later West 2 to 3.
A clear night but not a cold one, the morning is bright and there should be plenty of sun and probably feeling warmer than the anticipated high of 17C. The forecast ahead for Christmas Eve is for mainly sun and a high of 19C.
Afternoon update (17.15): A fine day it was, the high having been in Sa Pobla - 18.3C.
MALLORCA TODAY - Hoteliers put Son Bosc golf back on the agenda
A meeting between the Mallorca hoteliers federation, the tourism minister Carlos Delgado and the director for ports and airports heard has raised criticisms of the lack of winter flight connections and of the regional government's tax measures. It has also raised various projects once more, one of them being the stalled golf development on Muro's Son Bosc finca.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
MALLORCA TODAY - Three detained over Can Picafort burglaries
A 37-year-old man and two teenagers of 16 and 17 years of age have been arrested on suspicion of having burgled some 14 homes in Can Picafort last month, some of the burglaries having been committed while occupants were asleep.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
MALLORCA TODAY - Muro town hall arguments over councillors' expenses
An ongoing row about expenses incurred by councillors at Muro town hall, and in particular those for attending meetings of the council, has exploded once again, opposition spokesperson for the Convergència threatening the mayor Martí Fornes with legal action over his claim that the former administration (under what was then the Unió Mallorquina) incurred far greater expenses.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
MALLORCA TODAY - Graffiti on Sa Pobla mosque raises further tension
Already high because of the release of two Moroccan boys accused of rape, tensions in Sa Pobla involving the Muslim community have increased, graffiti having been daubed on the local mosque along with the word "bomb".
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
All The Fun Of The Travel Fair
When Carlos Delgado became tourism minister he took a good-sized hunting knife to the budget for travel trade fairs. So much did he hack off that in Berlin last time round the Balearics stand comprised no more than a flip-chart, a fold-down camping table as a reception desk and a sign saying Balearic Islands that had been scrawled with a marker pen on a sheet someone had nicked from the two-star hostel where the fair's contingent had been forced to slum it. Embarrassing, some said. And worse still was that Carlos had forbidden that there be any "fun" in the form of jolly displays of ball de bot and the handing around of free glasses of hierbas and plates of frito. Travel fairs are for working, not for having fun, he commanded.
In 2013 there is to be more working at travel fairs. More than ever, or so it would seem. The great annual tourism promotion plan has been unveiled and the Balearics will be attending 17 general travel fairs and 28 specialised fairs. 45 fairs in all. I trust that you are impressed. You certainly should be impressed by the fact that the overall number of promotional "actions" - 107, 45 of which are fairs - will cost on average 80% less than in 2009 but will represent an increase of 78% on that year. 80%, 78%, whatever, my how they love trotting out these percentages. They are designed to impress, and yes, we are impressed.
More with less, this is the great tourism promotional mantra at present. So 80% less but 78% more sounds very much like more with less. The only worry is that a different mantra could be used. New for old. New travel fairs, same old message.
Carlos has been at pains to point out that all this gadding around travel fairs will help to reinvigorate winter tourism (isn't the "re" part rather redundant?). He has also been pointing out that the lack of winter tourism isn't the current government's fault, which is fair enough I suppose but shouldn't be taken as singling out the last PSOE administration alone for winter promotional inertia. In fact, I don't know how much any government over the past 25 years can truly be blamed. Successive administrations have come out with their own winter tourism solution, and it has been the same as was first conceived under the Cladera tourism plan in the 1980s and bears an uncanny resemblance to what the current government is proposing. New for old.
Just look at what these additional travel fairs will be promoting. Golf, cycling, nature ... . Do any of you notice anything familiar with any of these? What's new is that there are more places to go and stage fairs, so having failed to attract Brits and Germans for the past however many years with the delights of trekking across the Tramuntana in a howling winter gale, Carlos will be despatching the tourism ministry's one-man-band promotional task force with his all-in-one promotional kit to Moscow in order to entice Russians away from the competing attraction of basking in 25 degrees or more of sun by the Red Sea in winter.
Always assuming that this more with less, new for old message has some effect, it won't be an effect that will be witnessed in the next one or two years. "I would be lying if I were to say this," Carlos has said. Not lying, so therefore being honest. Well, there's a thing. The government will be improving things progressively every winter, which means little tiny bits of improvement until the next governmental upheaval in three years, when everything will change again.
To be fair, the government is trying, or at least seems to be. But when Delgado says, as he has, that the current reduction in flights and hotels being open in winter is all the consequence of a lack of demand, will the creation of what he claims to be the first "planned" winter tourism product really solve anything? He needs to flesh out precisely what this planned product is, other than attending more travel fairs and shoving information up on the internet.
It isn't really true to say that there haven't been previous "plans". They may not have been good plans and they may not have worked, but the winter tourism message has remained unaltered for years, save for the occasional strange innovation, like Nordic walking. So what's to say this new one will make any real difference? I hope it does, but far better would be just to hand over the cash to Melià or other hotel groups and have them construct a few whacking great, all-weather, all-year theme, entertainment, sports, fun complexes. Go on, Carlos, you know it makes sense.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
In 2013 there is to be more working at travel fairs. More than ever, or so it would seem. The great annual tourism promotion plan has been unveiled and the Balearics will be attending 17 general travel fairs and 28 specialised fairs. 45 fairs in all. I trust that you are impressed. You certainly should be impressed by the fact that the overall number of promotional "actions" - 107, 45 of which are fairs - will cost on average 80% less than in 2009 but will represent an increase of 78% on that year. 80%, 78%, whatever, my how they love trotting out these percentages. They are designed to impress, and yes, we are impressed.
More with less, this is the great tourism promotional mantra at present. So 80% less but 78% more sounds very much like more with less. The only worry is that a different mantra could be used. New for old. New travel fairs, same old message.
Carlos has been at pains to point out that all this gadding around travel fairs will help to reinvigorate winter tourism (isn't the "re" part rather redundant?). He has also been pointing out that the lack of winter tourism isn't the current government's fault, which is fair enough I suppose but shouldn't be taken as singling out the last PSOE administration alone for winter promotional inertia. In fact, I don't know how much any government over the past 25 years can truly be blamed. Successive administrations have come out with their own winter tourism solution, and it has been the same as was first conceived under the Cladera tourism plan in the 1980s and bears an uncanny resemblance to what the current government is proposing. New for old.
Just look at what these additional travel fairs will be promoting. Golf, cycling, nature ... . Do any of you notice anything familiar with any of these? What's new is that there are more places to go and stage fairs, so having failed to attract Brits and Germans for the past however many years with the delights of trekking across the Tramuntana in a howling winter gale, Carlos will be despatching the tourism ministry's one-man-band promotional task force with his all-in-one promotional kit to Moscow in order to entice Russians away from the competing attraction of basking in 25 degrees or more of sun by the Red Sea in winter.
Always assuming that this more with less, new for old message has some effect, it won't be an effect that will be witnessed in the next one or two years. "I would be lying if I were to say this," Carlos has said. Not lying, so therefore being honest. Well, there's a thing. The government will be improving things progressively every winter, which means little tiny bits of improvement until the next governmental upheaval in three years, when everything will change again.
To be fair, the government is trying, or at least seems to be. But when Delgado says, as he has, that the current reduction in flights and hotels being open in winter is all the consequence of a lack of demand, will the creation of what he claims to be the first "planned" winter tourism product really solve anything? He needs to flesh out precisely what this planned product is, other than attending more travel fairs and shoving information up on the internet.
It isn't really true to say that there haven't been previous "plans". They may not have been good plans and they may not have worked, but the winter tourism message has remained unaltered for years, save for the occasional strange innovation, like Nordic walking. So what's to say this new one will make any real difference? I hope it does, but far better would be just to hand over the cash to Melià or other hotel groups and have them construct a few whacking great, all-weather, all-year theme, entertainment, sports, fun complexes. Go on, Carlos, you know it makes sense.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, December 17, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 17 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (8.30am): 17C
Forecast high: 18C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): West 3 to 4 with 5 at intervals.
Grey and blowy but mild this morning. The prospect of sun later. The forecast through to the weekend is for mainly sun, wind strong on occasion but little chance of rain. Temperatures remaining in the high teens.
Evening update (18.30): A rather disappointing day. No real sun, plenty of breeze and a high of 17.3C.
MALLORCA TODAY - Concerns in Sa Pobla following release of boys accused of rape
The release from detention of two Moroccan 15-year-olds accused of raping a girl of the same age at Halloween has raised fears that the boys could be the targets of reprisals. The two have been staying off the streets since their release and if they return to school, parents are saying they will take their children out.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
In A Ditch: Driving in Mallorca
Ah, the joys of motoring in Mallorca during the winter. Empty roads, the sun shining, you can take your time and admire the view, untroubled by heavy traffic or by tourists wandering along the middle of roads, armed to the teeth with inflatable dinosaurs. Until, that is, some twat comes hammering along behind you.
The main road from Playa de Muro into Alcúdia is a 50kph zone. In summer, this speed limit is arguably too generous (all those rubbery reptiles threatening to lift off in the breezes demand a lower limit). In winter, it is almost certainly unnecessarily slow, unless you buy into the argument that speed limits are also imposed to keep noise pollution down.
I would buy into this argument myself, were it not for stuff that ventures onto roads that make a mockery of the wish to keep noise down, such as those souped-up quad things and any number of spluttering motos. It isn't much of an argument, in truth, but if speed limit there is, then speed limit there should be. Despite there at times being hardly any other vehicles around, I pretty much observe it. Firstly, because I am rarely in any hurry and secondly, because it isn't unknown for the odd mobile speed trap to be lurking.
I am unconcerned by the inevitable tailgater. Nor am I concerned by the tailgater who, unable to pass or unwilling to take the risk of overtaking along a stretch of road where it is forbidden (not that all are unwilling), takes to one of the parallel side roads and hares along those in order to get ahead. No, I find it amusing. But I do wonder quite why Trafico devotes so many resources to blokes standing about at roundabouts, generally adding to a sense of divisive us-and-them, rather than having spotters that would enable the state to coin in just as much, if not more, from speeding and dodgy driving.
But these speed limits can be curious affairs. Let's take what there now are on a part of the road between Alcúdia and Puerto Pollensa, just by the Club Pollentia Resort. As you come towards the hotel from Puerto Pollensa, there is a sign saying 70, a few metres after it is another sign saying 50. How is anyone meant to be able to slow between these two signs, especially if there is some berk right up your backside? And where does the 50 limit finish? There is no indication that it does, until you come to the bend just before the beach where the kitesurfers go and there are two more signs: one that says 60 and a bit further on, right on the bend, that says go faster - 70. Has no one from the Council of Mallorca or from the police or from whoever it is arranges for these signs ever noticed that these signs don't make any sense?
Knowing at what speed one should be driving is never totally clear, except on motorways. In urban areas, there is huge confusion. In Can Picafort, for example. There, so Santa Margalida town hall had announced in September, all roads apart from the main road through the resort were to be 30 kph (safety and alleged noise reduction being the justification). Yet, come into Can Pic from the Eroski roundabout and what do you see? 40kph. So, what is it? 40 or is it 30?
What one does tend to know, however, is that main roads, like for instance, that which passes the power station between Puerto Alcúdia/Playa de Muro and Sa Pobla do not have speed limits of upwards of 200kph. They don't need signs to tell you that anything much over 100 might be a tad on the excessive side. But if you happen to take a Ferrari out on this road earlyish one weekend morning when there are unlikely to be any police controls out or indeed many other road users, you might feel it is safe to go boy-racing. Except if you lose control, end up in a ditch and manage to write the Ferrari off that you have only just taken delivery of.
"El Mundo"* has named Toni Vanrell. Everyone knew who it was who put the Ferrari in the ditch, as the reports were transparent without actually naming him. Brother Damian explains that the Ferrari had been bought (for half the amount initially quoted) in order to exploit a niche in the market - renting out to filthy-rich Russians. He also explains that his brother is experienced at driving powerful cars. So experienced, he manages to end up in a ditch. Doing what speed?
And this is really the point. Speed. Hiring out a Ferrari to Russian tourists might be good business, but how many of these might be experienced with the ways of high-powered sports cars and at what speeds might they drive? There is no real point in a Ferrari, unless it can be driven at speed. The maximum limit on any Mallorcan road is 120, that for the motorways. Damian, it's not good business, as who else will end up in a ditch or in a worse condition?
* http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/12/15/baleares/1355599631.html
** The "Diario" reports that its story about the Ferrari incident has broken all records in terms of reads and social media pass-ons for any of its web stories.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The main road from Playa de Muro into Alcúdia is a 50kph zone. In summer, this speed limit is arguably too generous (all those rubbery reptiles threatening to lift off in the breezes demand a lower limit). In winter, it is almost certainly unnecessarily slow, unless you buy into the argument that speed limits are also imposed to keep noise pollution down.
I would buy into this argument myself, were it not for stuff that ventures onto roads that make a mockery of the wish to keep noise down, such as those souped-up quad things and any number of spluttering motos. It isn't much of an argument, in truth, but if speed limit there is, then speed limit there should be. Despite there at times being hardly any other vehicles around, I pretty much observe it. Firstly, because I am rarely in any hurry and secondly, because it isn't unknown for the odd mobile speed trap to be lurking.
I am unconcerned by the inevitable tailgater. Nor am I concerned by the tailgater who, unable to pass or unwilling to take the risk of overtaking along a stretch of road where it is forbidden (not that all are unwilling), takes to one of the parallel side roads and hares along those in order to get ahead. No, I find it amusing. But I do wonder quite why Trafico devotes so many resources to blokes standing about at roundabouts, generally adding to a sense of divisive us-and-them, rather than having spotters that would enable the state to coin in just as much, if not more, from speeding and dodgy driving.
But these speed limits can be curious affairs. Let's take what there now are on a part of the road between Alcúdia and Puerto Pollensa, just by the Club Pollentia Resort. As you come towards the hotel from Puerto Pollensa, there is a sign saying 70, a few metres after it is another sign saying 50. How is anyone meant to be able to slow between these two signs, especially if there is some berk right up your backside? And where does the 50 limit finish? There is no indication that it does, until you come to the bend just before the beach where the kitesurfers go and there are two more signs: one that says 60 and a bit further on, right on the bend, that says go faster - 70. Has no one from the Council of Mallorca or from the police or from whoever it is arranges for these signs ever noticed that these signs don't make any sense?
Knowing at what speed one should be driving is never totally clear, except on motorways. In urban areas, there is huge confusion. In Can Picafort, for example. There, so Santa Margalida town hall had announced in September, all roads apart from the main road through the resort were to be 30 kph (safety and alleged noise reduction being the justification). Yet, come into Can Pic from the Eroski roundabout and what do you see? 40kph. So, what is it? 40 or is it 30?
What one does tend to know, however, is that main roads, like for instance, that which passes the power station between Puerto Alcúdia/Playa de Muro and Sa Pobla do not have speed limits of upwards of 200kph. They don't need signs to tell you that anything much over 100 might be a tad on the excessive side. But if you happen to take a Ferrari out on this road earlyish one weekend morning when there are unlikely to be any police controls out or indeed many other road users, you might feel it is safe to go boy-racing. Except if you lose control, end up in a ditch and manage to write the Ferrari off that you have only just taken delivery of.
"El Mundo"* has named Toni Vanrell. Everyone knew who it was who put the Ferrari in the ditch, as the reports were transparent without actually naming him. Brother Damian explains that the Ferrari had been bought (for half the amount initially quoted) in order to exploit a niche in the market - renting out to filthy-rich Russians. He also explains that his brother is experienced at driving powerful cars. So experienced, he manages to end up in a ditch. Doing what speed?
And this is really the point. Speed. Hiring out a Ferrari to Russian tourists might be good business, but how many of these might be experienced with the ways of high-powered sports cars and at what speeds might they drive? There is no real point in a Ferrari, unless it can be driven at speed. The maximum limit on any Mallorcan road is 120, that for the motorways. Damian, it's not good business, as who else will end up in a ditch or in a worse condition?
* http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/12/15/baleares/1355599631.html
** The "Diario" reports that its story about the Ferrari incident has broken all records in terms of reads and social media pass-ons for any of its web stories.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Basic electricity prices up by 4% in January
Electricity, already considered dear, will cost more from January, the lowest rate, which is charged to a majority of consumers, the so-called tariff of last resort rising by 4%. Because of a deficit in the cost of electricity, the TUR last resort tariff may still rise further - by 7%.
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 16 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (9.00am): 15C
Forecast high: 18C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): West 4 with 5 at intervals around midday.
Quite high temperatures overnight in places, up to 18 degrees inland around Pollensa in the early morning for instance. The day's highs will match this and will probably exceed it. A splendidly bright morning, remaining mostly sunny. Staying settled if windy during the week, there still being a threat of rain by Friday, but the forecast heading towards Christmas looks reasonable.
Evening update (19.00): Super day. Warm sun, a high of 20C.
MALLORCA TODAY - Tramuntana refuges receive 18,000 guests
The five refuges (hostels) on the dry stone route through the Tramuntana mountains will have received just over 18,000 guests by the end of the year. The annual cost of maintenance of the refuges has climbed to over one million euros, this cost being a principal reason why the Council of Mallorca wants to privatise two of them (one being in Pollensa).
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
Culture Nights, Culture Years: The OCB
It may not have been 31 December on Friday, but this didn't stop there being an awards ceremony in honour of 31 December. And why would there be an awards ceremony to honour this date? Because 31 December, unofficially, is Mallorca day (note the lower-case "d" as a result of it being unofficial).
As anyone with a smattering of Mallorcan history can tell you, 31 December was the day in 1229 when King Jaume I invaded (didn't re-conquer; invaded and then occupied). The Jaume invasion introduced Catalan to the island of course, and the rest has been history; one very complicated history ever since.
733 years after Jaume invaded, on 31 December 1962, an organisation was formed. Oddly perhaps, given the times they lived in then, this was the Obra Cultural Balear, arch-defenders in Mallorca of all things Catalan. It is the OCB which was dishing out the awards on Friday. It does so every year, but this, being its 50th anniversary, meant there was more to make a song and dance about (a dance that was probably in good, traditional Mallorcan "ball de bot" style).
In fact, the 50th anniversary has been given special meaning, as 2012 has been a very good year for the OCB. Because there has been so much anti-Catalan stuff flying around, it has been able to assume new purpose, kicking up a fuss left, right and centre (mainly left though), the devil of the Partido Popular attempting to play havoc with the demons of tradition and the language and culture of the island.
For its ceremony, the OCB chose Manacor. And why Manacor? Ostensibly, because 2012 is also the 150th anniversary of the birth of a famous son of the town, Antoni Maria Alcover, man of words and ideas, man of story-telling (mostly in Catalan). The choice of Manacor was fortuitous, however, as the town is the centre of opposition to the PP that has come from within the PP, or rather from those now no longer members of the PP, as they have been expelled. And they include Manacor's mayor, Antoni Pastor.
The ceremony, also known as the night of culture, was, as the OCB spelled out, an occasion that demonstrated a "clamour for the rights and linguistic identities of Mallorcans". On 6 January, the whole thing will be broadcast by Catalonia Television, thus extending fraternal Catalan cultural greetings across the water to the mainland and reinforcing, the OCB would believe, as it believes also in the rights of the mythical Catalan Lands, the fraternity of Catalan culture. The gala was offered to the Mallorcan channel IB3, but it seems that the offer was turned down. From what I understand, groups like the OCB and its environmental chums, GOB, are pretty much verboten by IB3 (all to do with impartial editorial direction, determined by a PP plant).
But what of this grand gala, this night of culture? Who got the awards? Well, if I were to reel them off, you wouldn't have a clue who I was referring to, and to be honest, I hadn't heard of most of them myself. One whose name is familiar, and is familiar to this blog, was Francesc Vicens. You might recall that he is the musicologist who has written, among other things, a book about pop music in Mallorca. The book's title is "Paradise of Love", and I wrote about this recently (http://alcudiapollensa.blogspot.com.es/2012/09/los-kinks-mallorca-and-sixties-pop.html).
As for the others, there were groups who defend Catalan in education, one of which helped to organise a day of protest recently, an actor called Antoni Gomila (from Manacor) who referred to the theatre as being the "backbone" for the expression and consolidation of Catalan language and culture, and a band from Valencia called Obrint Pas that mixes punk, ska and rock, all with a clear Catalan flavour.
So, there you are. What an evening of culture it must have been. And onlooking was Pastor, there with other former PP members of the town hall who await any further childish reprisals from the PP for having had the temerity to disagree with the party line. The auditorium in Manacor was packed. Whether one can read much into the attendance is hard to say, but the night of culture, it could be argued, demonstrates the serious divisions in Mallorcan society, ones created by the assault on Catalan. But how serious really are they? It suits the OCB to emphasise them, but then the OCB has its belief in the Catalan Lands and so therefore, and ultimately, some sort of independent Greater Catalonia. This is not something that has wide support in Mallorca. Indeed, it has very little popular support, and among politicians formerly of the "popular" party, I very much doubt that Pastor supports the idea either.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
As anyone with a smattering of Mallorcan history can tell you, 31 December was the day in 1229 when King Jaume I invaded (didn't re-conquer; invaded and then occupied). The Jaume invasion introduced Catalan to the island of course, and the rest has been history; one very complicated history ever since.
733 years after Jaume invaded, on 31 December 1962, an organisation was formed. Oddly perhaps, given the times they lived in then, this was the Obra Cultural Balear, arch-defenders in Mallorca of all things Catalan. It is the OCB which was dishing out the awards on Friday. It does so every year, but this, being its 50th anniversary, meant there was more to make a song and dance about (a dance that was probably in good, traditional Mallorcan "ball de bot" style).
In fact, the 50th anniversary has been given special meaning, as 2012 has been a very good year for the OCB. Because there has been so much anti-Catalan stuff flying around, it has been able to assume new purpose, kicking up a fuss left, right and centre (mainly left though), the devil of the Partido Popular attempting to play havoc with the demons of tradition and the language and culture of the island.
For its ceremony, the OCB chose Manacor. And why Manacor? Ostensibly, because 2012 is also the 150th anniversary of the birth of a famous son of the town, Antoni Maria Alcover, man of words and ideas, man of story-telling (mostly in Catalan). The choice of Manacor was fortuitous, however, as the town is the centre of opposition to the PP that has come from within the PP, or rather from those now no longer members of the PP, as they have been expelled. And they include Manacor's mayor, Antoni Pastor.
The ceremony, also known as the night of culture, was, as the OCB spelled out, an occasion that demonstrated a "clamour for the rights and linguistic identities of Mallorcans". On 6 January, the whole thing will be broadcast by Catalonia Television, thus extending fraternal Catalan cultural greetings across the water to the mainland and reinforcing, the OCB would believe, as it believes also in the rights of the mythical Catalan Lands, the fraternity of Catalan culture. The gala was offered to the Mallorcan channel IB3, but it seems that the offer was turned down. From what I understand, groups like the OCB and its environmental chums, GOB, are pretty much verboten by IB3 (all to do with impartial editorial direction, determined by a PP plant).
But what of this grand gala, this night of culture? Who got the awards? Well, if I were to reel them off, you wouldn't have a clue who I was referring to, and to be honest, I hadn't heard of most of them myself. One whose name is familiar, and is familiar to this blog, was Francesc Vicens. You might recall that he is the musicologist who has written, among other things, a book about pop music in Mallorca. The book's title is "Paradise of Love", and I wrote about this recently (http://alcudiapollensa.blogspot.com.es/2012/09/los-kinks-mallorca-and-sixties-pop.html).
As for the others, there were groups who defend Catalan in education, one of which helped to organise a day of protest recently, an actor called Antoni Gomila (from Manacor) who referred to the theatre as being the "backbone" for the expression and consolidation of Catalan language and culture, and a band from Valencia called Obrint Pas that mixes punk, ska and rock, all with a clear Catalan flavour.
So, there you are. What an evening of culture it must have been. And onlooking was Pastor, there with other former PP members of the town hall who await any further childish reprisals from the PP for having had the temerity to disagree with the party line. The auditorium in Manacor was packed. Whether one can read much into the attendance is hard to say, but the night of culture, it could be argued, demonstrates the serious divisions in Mallorcan society, ones created by the assault on Catalan. But how serious really are they? It suits the OCB to emphasise them, but then the OCB has its belief in the Catalan Lands and so therefore, and ultimately, some sort of independent Greater Catalonia. This is not something that has wide support in Mallorca. Indeed, it has very little popular support, and among politicians formerly of the "popular" party, I very much doubt that Pastor supports the idea either.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Real Mallorca 0 : 1 Athletic Bilbao
With their most recent disasters fresh in the memory, Mallorca faced Bilbao in desperate need of turning their season around. Bilbao, not the force they were last season, had lost five out of seven league matches on the road this season. So could Mallorca overcome them?
The answer appeared to be no. Bilbao dominated the opening exchanges and after ten minutes Aduriz headed them into the lead. Mallorca picked it up without creating real chances, Hemed coming close with a header just after the half-hour mark, then Hemed again with a header and Victor drawing stops by Iraizoz. Straight after the break and Arizmendi's header was another close chance for Mallorca. Susaeta just missed from a direct free kick after 15 minutes of the second period, while Bilbao, more under the cosh, were still enjoying more possession than Mallorca and Muniain shot just wide and Aduriz had a header saved. Bilbao began to close up shop as full-time neared, Hemed heading wide for Mallorca, and that was that. Better from Mallorca, but another defeat, so where does it leave coach Caparrós with his team hovering above the relegation zone? High-flying Betis away next up for Mallorca.
Mallorca:
Aouate; Nsue, Nunes, Geromel, Bigas; Pina, Márquez (Martí 72); Arizmendi (Alfaro 85), Victor, Dos Santos (Brandon 73); Hemed
Yellows: Bigas (44), Geromel (57), Brandon (88)
Bilbao:
Iraizoz; Iraola, Laporte, Ekiza, Aurtenetxe; San José, Ander; Susaeta (Gómez 63), De Marcos (Gurpegi 80), Muniain (Toquero 88); Aduriz
Goal: Aduriz (10)
Yellows: San José (30), Laporte (33), Susaeta (60)
The answer appeared to be no. Bilbao dominated the opening exchanges and after ten minutes Aduriz headed them into the lead. Mallorca picked it up without creating real chances, Hemed coming close with a header just after the half-hour mark, then Hemed again with a header and Victor drawing stops by Iraizoz. Straight after the break and Arizmendi's header was another close chance for Mallorca. Susaeta just missed from a direct free kick after 15 minutes of the second period, while Bilbao, more under the cosh, were still enjoying more possession than Mallorca and Muniain shot just wide and Aduriz had a header saved. Bilbao began to close up shop as full-time neared, Hemed heading wide for Mallorca, and that was that. Better from Mallorca, but another defeat, so where does it leave coach Caparrós with his team hovering above the relegation zone? High-flying Betis away next up for Mallorca.
Mallorca:
Aouate; Nsue, Nunes, Geromel, Bigas; Pina, Márquez (Martí 72); Arizmendi (Alfaro 85), Victor, Dos Santos (Brandon 73); Hemed
Yellows: Bigas (44), Geromel (57), Brandon (88)
Bilbao:
Iraizoz; Iraola, Laporte, Ekiza, Aurtenetxe; San José, Ander; Susaeta (Gómez 63), De Marcos (Gurpegi 80), Muniain (Toquero 88); Aduriz
Goal: Aduriz (10)
Yellows: San José (30), Laporte (33), Susaeta (60)
MALLORCA TODAY - Pollensa opposition parties concerned by town hall administration
Opposition parties at Pollensa town hall are expressing their concern about the management of the council following the split between the three councillors from La Lliga, two of whom have become independent and one of whom has sided with the merged party, formed between La Lliga and the Convergència.
The division between the three is one aspect of the merger, another is the fact that the Convergència has, through the backdoor, gained influence in the administration that its councillors were not granted at the last election. There should be a new election, something that is difficult to call but not impossible.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
The division between the three is one aspect of the merger, another is the fact that the Convergència has, through the backdoor, gained influence in the administration that its councillors were not granted at the last election. There should be a new election, something that is difficult to call but not impossible.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 15 December 2012
No Frills Excursions
Morning high (8.45am): 18.5C
Forecast high: 19C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca): Southwest 6 easing during the morning to Southwest and West 4 to 5 and then 3.
Still quite blowy after a windy old night, the predominantly southerly wind bringing in warmish air. Due to be sunny today but not a great deal of sign of the sun early on. Tomorrow also set to be fine but getting increasingly windy again. Looking ahead and nearer to Christmas, rain is expected on Friday (21 December).
Afternoon update (17.30): Got sunnier during the day with a high of 20.9C.
Language And Nationalism
Ed Miliband would, under a future Labour government, make it a stipulation that every Briton would have to speak English. He also would appear to want to stipulate that anyone who goes to live in Britain would have to speak English and that, to have a job which requires interaction with the public, staff would need to demonstrate proficiency in the English language.
This may all seem like a sop to the right-wing, but it doesn't sound particularly unreasonable, especially where public-sector jobs are concerned. If you wish to create something of unified national identity, then language is as good a symbol as any for ensuring it.
Such language stipulation is not solely an issue for British politicians to have to consider. It is one, you may have noticed, that also taxes the minds of Spanish politicians. The Catalan-Castellano great bore aside, there have been thoughts about insisting that immigrants to Spain speak Spanish (as opposed to Catalan, though maybe they think differently on the matter in Catalan-speaking areas). The current prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, once said that he would make it a stipulation, much as Miliband appears to want to where English is concerned.
Rajoy was coming from the issue from a non-EU angle (and, one suspects, a non-EU angle that nevertheless placed certain EU nationals, the likes of the British, the Germans and the French, in a different category to, for example, Bulgarians). There has never been any enactment as such, but, and regardless of where an immigrant comes from, an inability to speak the language will be an obstacle. This much is inevitable. In Spain, in Britain, wherever you care to mention.
Requiring immigrants to speak the native-tongue takes on the not always healthy glow of nationalism and the somewhat specious concept of citizenship, whether a formal application for citizenship is made or not. Speaking the language (Spanish) demonstrates a willingness to be a good citizen. Or in theory, it does. But what is meant by this? For politicians, it means the same as embracing culture, given that language and culture are indivisible, but this is highly questionable; immigrants retain their old cultures, to greater or lesser degrees, even when able to speak a new language perfectly well, and indeed Miliband is not suggesting that immigrants should abandon the cultures of their birth, which is very noble of him.
By the same token, not being able to speak the new language does not automatically mean that someone is a bad citizen. There are plenty of British people in Mallorca who speak Spanish hardly at all or not very well but who are perfectly decent citizens (or rather members of local society).
A demand that language should be acquired also takes no notice of practicality. Again, in theory, it is possible for anyone of more or less any age to learn a new language, but any language teacher or linguistics expert will tell you that language acquisition becomes harder the older the person is. It isn't just age and linguistic conditioning that are drawbacks to learning, there are also linguistic rules. For the Briton in Mallorca (or Spain), one who has never really understood English grammar, coming to terms with what appears a far more rule-based language is a mammoth task. There is only so much language that can be acquired through conversation. It needs real teaching in order to explain why, for example, Spanish has two overtly past tenses, why the present perfect doesn't necessarily observe the same rules as in English or why the subjunctives are as they are. Put any of this grammatical stuff in front of your average English-speaker, and he or she wouldn't have a clue what you were talking about.
Language is one of the great bastions of nationalism. This much is evident in the Catalan argument, among those both for and against. It isn't unreasonable to expect or at least hope that immigrants can acquire proficiency. Not unreasonable but not easy. And the logic of this is that, because it isn't easy, the proficiency won't be attained, and so the immigrant should be shown the door. Hence, language becomes an arbiter of entitlement and an enforcement. It also becomes a mark of having obtained a state of those two cultural impostors, assimilation and integration; impostors because neither can be adequately or satisfactorily defined.
Purely personally, I believe that language should be acquired to at least a reasonable level, which means to a far higher level than being able to order "dos cervezas". I suspect that there will be those resident in Mallorca, British with negligible language ability, nodding in agreement with Miliband. They would be the ones, therefore, who have not only not acquired much Spanish (or maybe they have), they would also be the ones who are still firmly rooted in Britain. Language? Culture? So long as they are someone else's problem.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
This may all seem like a sop to the right-wing, but it doesn't sound particularly unreasonable, especially where public-sector jobs are concerned. If you wish to create something of unified national identity, then language is as good a symbol as any for ensuring it.
Such language stipulation is not solely an issue for British politicians to have to consider. It is one, you may have noticed, that also taxes the minds of Spanish politicians. The Catalan-Castellano great bore aside, there have been thoughts about insisting that immigrants to Spain speak Spanish (as opposed to Catalan, though maybe they think differently on the matter in Catalan-speaking areas). The current prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, once said that he would make it a stipulation, much as Miliband appears to want to where English is concerned.
Rajoy was coming from the issue from a non-EU angle (and, one suspects, a non-EU angle that nevertheless placed certain EU nationals, the likes of the British, the Germans and the French, in a different category to, for example, Bulgarians). There has never been any enactment as such, but, and regardless of where an immigrant comes from, an inability to speak the language will be an obstacle. This much is inevitable. In Spain, in Britain, wherever you care to mention.
Requiring immigrants to speak the native-tongue takes on the not always healthy glow of nationalism and the somewhat specious concept of citizenship, whether a formal application for citizenship is made or not. Speaking the language (Spanish) demonstrates a willingness to be a good citizen. Or in theory, it does. But what is meant by this? For politicians, it means the same as embracing culture, given that language and culture are indivisible, but this is highly questionable; immigrants retain their old cultures, to greater or lesser degrees, even when able to speak a new language perfectly well, and indeed Miliband is not suggesting that immigrants should abandon the cultures of their birth, which is very noble of him.
By the same token, not being able to speak the new language does not automatically mean that someone is a bad citizen. There are plenty of British people in Mallorca who speak Spanish hardly at all or not very well but who are perfectly decent citizens (or rather members of local society).
A demand that language should be acquired also takes no notice of practicality. Again, in theory, it is possible for anyone of more or less any age to learn a new language, but any language teacher or linguistics expert will tell you that language acquisition becomes harder the older the person is. It isn't just age and linguistic conditioning that are drawbacks to learning, there are also linguistic rules. For the Briton in Mallorca (or Spain), one who has never really understood English grammar, coming to terms with what appears a far more rule-based language is a mammoth task. There is only so much language that can be acquired through conversation. It needs real teaching in order to explain why, for example, Spanish has two overtly past tenses, why the present perfect doesn't necessarily observe the same rules as in English or why the subjunctives are as they are. Put any of this grammatical stuff in front of your average English-speaker, and he or she wouldn't have a clue what you were talking about.
Language is one of the great bastions of nationalism. This much is evident in the Catalan argument, among those both for and against. It isn't unreasonable to expect or at least hope that immigrants can acquire proficiency. Not unreasonable but not easy. And the logic of this is that, because it isn't easy, the proficiency won't be attained, and so the immigrant should be shown the door. Hence, language becomes an arbiter of entitlement and an enforcement. It also becomes a mark of having obtained a state of those two cultural impostors, assimilation and integration; impostors because neither can be adequately or satisfactorily defined.
Purely personally, I believe that language should be acquired to at least a reasonable level, which means to a far higher level than being able to order "dos cervezas". I suspect that there will be those resident in Mallorca, British with negligible language ability, nodding in agreement with Miliband. They would be the ones, therefore, who have not only not acquired much Spanish (or maybe they have), they would also be the ones who are still firmly rooted in Britain. Language? Culture? So long as they are someone else's problem.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, December 14, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - 500 people in Pollensa protest against education policy
Some 500 people - teachers, pupils and parents - took part in a demonstration in Pollensa's Plaça Major last night, protesting against the education policies of both the regional and the national government.
(Photo courtesy of the Alternativa per Pollença.)
MALLORCA TODAY - Hotel Formentor work aided by Pollensa town hall decision
Pollensa town hall has dropped a so-called special plan for Formentor in order that work at the Hotel Formentor can be allowed to proceed. The work envisages an increase in the number of places at the hotel and it should start before the end of next year.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
MALLORCA TODAY - Estrany refuses to join El Pi party in Pollensa
The divisions between members of the La Lliga and Convergència parties in Pollensa have, as expected, led to deputy mayor Malena Estrany and others from La Lliga leaving the party and therefore refusing to join the merged El Pi party formed by La Lliga and the Convergència. Estrany will now be an independent, but the decision does cause issues for the town hall administration, as indeed does the very formation of El Pi, as the Convergència were not part of the administration.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
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