mOnthly magazine - JUly 2011 - nº 3 - price: 2 €

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2 focus on menorca

to advertise in this monthly magazine please contact:

christine Watterson on tel. 699 065 493

or email to ads@focusonmenorca.com

the magazine’s website, www.focusonmenorca.com, is now operatio-

nal and has details of advertising rates etc.

AN IDEAL GIFTOR SOUVENIR

Menorca, Artists of Todaywith texts also in English

ON SALE IN

BOOKSHOPS

AND

NEWSAGENTS

This magazine is on sale in all newsagentson the island, plus the following points ofsale:· Ca’n Dulce, Sant Climent· El Picadero, Maó· Jimmy’s Bar, Maó· Taj Indian Restaurant, Maó· Hallissy’s Restaurant, Llucmaçanes· Supermercado, Trebalúger· Scandals Restaurant, Es Castell· Bar Delfin, Es Castell· Bar Windsor, Es Castell· Teapot, Es Castell· Dinkums, Calesfonts· Cats in Need, Noria Riera· La Boyera, Binissafúller· Monet’s Hairdressers, Sant Lluís· Bar Nelson’s, Son Vitamina· Bar 007, Cala en Porter· La Tetera de Aloe Vera, Alaior· Bar Pins, Port d’Addaia· Neat & Tidy, Addaia· Smithy’s, Arenal d’en Castell· Cafetería Ebora, Coves Noves· Bar Churchills, Cala en Blanes· Golf Club, Son Parc· Es Mercadal Emporium

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a nOte frOm

the eDitOr

inDex

Of cOntents

In response to suggestions re-

ceived and having listened to

what people want to see in the

magazine, this issue is slightly

different, in that more pages have

been dedicated to items of local

news that have happened during

the past month. There is also extensive cover-

age of the Isla del Rey’s tricentennial celebra-

tions plus an exclusive interview with the

British Ambassador to Spain on his first offi-

cial visit to the island.

This month there is also a change in ‘Leisure

Corner’ with two smaller sudokus in place of

the Big-X and a smaller crossword – on the the-

ory that, now summer is here, people who are

working will be extra busy with less time for

puzzle-solving and those who aren’t will feel

too hot to concentrate for long!

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to bring

you the fiesta programmes for Es Mercadal or

Fornells as, at the time of going to print, these

were still being finalised by the Council and

wouldn’t be ready for a couple of days.

A reminder that we can be contacted through

our website: www.focusonmenorca.com; or by

email: editor@focusonmenorca.com or

ads@focusonmenorca.com if you wish to have

a letter printed or air your views on a particular

topic (please include your full name and ad-

dress).

Thank you again for all the support you’ve

shown for Focus.

Best wishes,

The Editor

Marking the tricentenary of the Isla delRey Hospital ........................................4

Open day on the Isla del Rey .................5

A tour of the hospital ...........................8

Official commemoration day .............10

Sixth fleet in Menorca for memorial day...........................................................12

The ambassador’s first visit Menorca...........................................................13

English tea in a mediterranean garden...........................................................14

Probus race night a galloping success...........................................................15

Menorcan athletes competing in the Isleof Wight .............................................16

The heart and soul of Es Castell .........18

Mestral workshop destroyed by fire...........................................................20

Charity bridge competition in aid of theRed Cross ...........................................21

Foreign population drops for first time intwelve years ........................................22

Useful Telephone Numbers ................23

News Round-up..................................24

Events to look out for..........................27

Leisure Corner – puzzles....................29

From Aberdeen to Addaia:a journey 1946-2011 .........................31

D.L.: ME 154/2011

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY:

Setmanaris i Revistes S.L.

C/ Pin tor Tor rent, 7 - 07760 Ciu ta de lla de Me nor ca

PHONE: 971 38 55 58 - FAX: 971 38 29 20

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marKing the tricentenary Of

the isla Del rey hOspitalThe island in Maó Harbour was the scene of various colourful celebrations at the end of June, attendedby VIP’s, representatives from the navies of various countries, and numerous members of the public

Reconsecration of the Angli-can Chapel

A week before it had not evengot a roof, according to oneperson who attended the serv-ice taken by the ReverendMichael Bunce to reconse-crate the Anglican Chapel onthe Isla del Rey at the end ofJune. Hundreds of peoplecrowded into the tiny chapeland the passageway outside toparticipate in the first serviceto be held there in more than acentury. The British Ambassa-dor to Spain, Giles Paxman,the Defence Attaché in Spain,Captain “Freddie” Price, theBritish Consul in Palma Mal-lorca, Paul Abrey, and theHonorary British Consul inMenorca, Deborah Hellyer,joined Spanish dignitaries,amongst whom was the State’sIsland Director, Javier Tejero,and high-ranking officers andrepresentatives from thenavies of several countries, in-cluding Britain, Spain, Franceand Australia, to witness thechapel being dedicated to St.George.The Reverend Michael Buncespoke of dreams and visions,saying “I could never havedreamt, three years ago whenI blessed the earth of thisChapel, that tonight we wouldbe celebrating a service here –the first in over one hundredyears”. He praised the effortthat had been made to restorethe building and those who“have dedicated your time,love, talents and devotion tothis splendid Chapel”.

Following the service in St.George’s Chapel, there werespeeches by General Luis Ale-jandre, a former Chief of theGeneral Staff of the SpanishArmy, who has been instru-mental in rallying volunteersand authorities to help in therestoration of the hospital, andGiles Paxman, the British Am-bassador to Spain.Then, to music provided by aband from the USS Bulkeley,cocktails were served in thegrounds, courtesy of theBritish Embassy, bringing theevening to a delightful close.

Photos: Top, the Revd. MichaelBunce with Dolly and Mike Martin;below, the altar with the magnifi-cent stained glass window; right,the splendid banner designed andcreated by Pam Scales

Open Day On

the isla Del reyThe last Sunday in June saw members of the public flock to the island in Maó harbour to enjoy the at-mosphere enveloping the day’s events which included the inauguration of the Chaplain’s Garden

Crowds of people filled theslipway to Moll del Hospital inEs Castell on the last Sundayin June, waiting in the very hotsunshine for a boat to takethem over to the Isla del Reyfor the island’s Open Day. Aproblem with one of the boatsleft a single craft to carry outthe task of transporting every-one across the narrow stretchof water to the small island inthe Port of Maó but, with pa-tience and good humour, allthe visitors eventually arrivedsafely. On landing, many wentto tour the island, marvellingat the amount of work that hasbeen carried out in the lasttwelve months; although thereremains a lot to do, theachievement to date is aston-ishing, especially as it has allbeen carried out by volun-teers.Other visitors enjoyed the per-formance put on by the Castellde Sant Felipe Folk Groupwho, dressed in kilts, demon-strated the “Ball des Còssil”,a sedate version of Scottishdancing to music played onpipe and drum.Another attraction was theCompany of Pikemen & Mus-keteers from the HonourableArtillery Company from Lon-don, resplendent in uniformsdating back to the reign ofCharles I (1625-1649).Nine of the 63 members towhich the Company is limitedby Royal Charter were inMenorca for four days to par-ticipate in the different cere-monies taking place inconnection with the tricente-nary of the Isla del Rey Hos-

pital. All those in the Com-pany of Pikemen and Muske-teers are former members ofthe Territorial Army who arenow acting in a voluntary andunpaid role and can be seenon duty at State and civic oc-casions or forming the LordMayor’s bodyguard. Shortertwelve-bore muskets werebrought to Menorca due to thedifficulty of transporting thefull-size items and cartridgeswere provided by the police foruse, after the shot had been re-moved, enabling the weaponsto be fired in a very loud butharmless way.

A day filledwith colour,atmosphereand tradition

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Inauguration of the Chaplain’s Garden

One of the official events to take place on the Sunday was the in-auguration of the Chaplain’s Garden which has been lovinglyrestored by a British volunteer resident in Es Castell, Mike Put-tock. The walled garden, with a well at its centre and irrigationchannels crossing it, is now a picture of carefully tended me-dicinal herbs, with a few trees and a small maze in one corner.

The Chaplain’s Garden Giles Paxman, Mike Puttock and Captain Frederick Price

The bust on the left is of Vice Admiral Lord Collingwood 1748-1810 “British Naval Hero and Friend of Menorca”. It wascommissioned last year by the Menorca Britannia Association to mark the bicentenary of his death on board HMS Ville deParis as he was leaving the port of Maó.That on the right is of Admiral Sir John Jennings, who founded the hospital on the Isla del Rey in 1711. It was commissionedfor the tricentenary celebrations by the Foundation of the Friends of the Isla del Rey.Both are the work of British sculptress, Helen Ridehalgh who worked from paintings from the era but has yet to see the busts‘in situ’ as ill-health prevented her from visiting the island.

Collingwood and Jennings - the work of Helen Ridehalgh

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a tOUr Of

Following the unveiling of thebust of Admiral Jennings, thevisiting VIP’s were taken on ashort tour of the hospital, vis-iting the lovely CatholicChapel and rooms with infor-

mation boards giving detailsof life at the hospital in theeighteenth, nineteenth andtwentieth centuries.The recently reconsecratedAnglican Chapel was also

So much of the hospital has been restored and so many rooms laid out with exhibits that the island isfast becoming a living museum and well worth a visit

viewed, as were the rooms laidout with surgical equipmentand the autopsy room dedi-cated to George Cleghorn, amilitary surgeon who served inMenorca for 13 years (1736-

1749) and wrote a Medical To-pography using informationgained from the numerous au-topsies he had carried out.

Another of the hospital’srooms that attracted a lot ofattention was that dedicatedto the Italian battleship“Roma” which was sunk bythe Germans in 1943, a few

hours after the armistice wassigned, with the loss of 1,395lives, only 620 of the crewsurviving. The centrepiece inthis room is a scale model ofthe battleship made by Italian

resident Mario Cappa.Much work has been done onrestoring the building itselfand the central tower has nowbeen almost completely re-built, piece by piece, by one of

the volunteers, Antoni Gomila.Gradually, the hospital isbeing returned to its formerglory, the result of endlesshours of work by a great num-ber of people.

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the hOspital

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Official

cOmmemOratiOn Day

The last Monday in June wasdesignated as the OfficialCommemoration Day for the300th anniversary of the Isladel Rey’s hospital, and civil-ian and military dignitariesfrom both Spain and GreatBritain attended the cere-monies to mark the occasion.Flanked on one side by Span-ish troops from the Regimento

de Voluntarios from Mallorca,wearing uniforms from theeighteenth century, and on theother by the Company of Pike-men & Musketeers in seven-teenth century attire, theBritish Honorary Consul inMenorca, Deborah Hellyer,and a young Spanish soldierraised the British and Spanishflags to half mast (in memory

British and Spanish troopsin period costume

added to the ambience ofthe celebrations

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of the two Spanish soldierswho had died the previous dayon duty in Afghanistan).The Mayor of Maó, ÀguedaReynès, and the British De-fence Attaché from the MadridEmbassy, Captain FrederickPrice, then unveiled thebronze bust of Admiral SirJohn Jennings who foundedthe hospital in 1711.

Flags were flown at half mast in memory of the two Spanish soldiers killed in Afghanistan

The plaque on the plinthreads, “This plaque commem-orates those members of theRoyal Navy, Royal Marinesand British Army who servedin Menorca from 1708 to1756, 1763 to 1782 and 1798to 1802. It is dedicated to thememory of those who diedhere yet whose mortal remainshave no known resting place.This plaque also marks thefounding of this Naval Hospi-tal in 1711 which, over thecenturies, has served thosewhose lives have been linkedto the sea. In celebration of thestrong bonds of Friendship,Brotherhood and Professional-ism that tie the Armada Es-pañola and the Royal Navy intheir common cause as a forcefor good in the Service of Hu-manity.”Following a salute fired by thetroops, the Honorary BritishConsul, Deborah Hellyer, andCaptain Price laid a laurelwreath at the foot of the plinth,in memory of all the sailorswho had died during the lastthree centuries.The procession then moved tothe bust of Lord Collingwoodwhere a similar ceremony washeld.

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sixth fleet in menOrca

fOr memOrial Day

MaóFollowing the ceremony theparty made its way to the An-gloamerican cemetery on thefar side of the port of Maó for aceremony in honour of the 28American sailors buried there.Maó was a logistical base forthe U.S. Mediterranean Fleetduring the Tripoli War and, be-tween 1815 and 1845 severalU.S. vessels sank in the watersaround Menorca; the “BrandyWine”, “Constitution”,”Delaware” and “Indepen-dence”.The Company of Pikemen &Musketeers were on duty toprovide a ceremonial guard,firing a salute in tribute to thedead.The cemetery had lain forgot-ten for many years until beingrediscovered by Jim Maps, anAmerican resident on the is-land with a fascination for his-tory. Jim was instrumental in

CiutadellaThe Commander of the Amer-ican Sixth Fleet, AdmiralHarry B. Harris, junior, andAdmiral Francisco JavierFranco Suances from theSpanish Navy attended theMemorial Day celebrations inCiutadella, the former laying awreath at the foot of the statueto Admiral David GlasgowFarragut Mesquida in theCastell de Sant Nicolau. Asecond tribute was laid jointlyby the Mayor of Ciutadella,José María de Sintas, and thePresident of the Madrid Coun-cil of the U.S. Navy.Farragut, an adopted son ofCiutadella, was the son of aMenorcan who emigrated toFlorida in search of a betterway of life. Young Farragutjoined the navy, distinguishing

himself and rising through theranks to become America’sfirst Admiral.Some eighty people attendedthe memorial ceremony in-

cluding diplomatic and mili-tary representatives from theembassies of Australia, GreatBritain, Italy and the U.S., alarger turnout than in recent

years due to the ceremony co-inciding with the Isla del Reytricentennial celebrations.

starting the Farragut MemorialDay celebrations. Once a yeara vessel from the Sixth Fleetcalls into Maó to clear thecemetery of weeds and white-

wash the walls, this year it wasthe crew of the “USS Bulke-ley” that was responsible.The British Ambassador, GilesPaxman, and Honorary British

Consul, Deborah Hellyer, werealso present at the ceremony,laying two laurel wreaths, oneof which was from the RotaryClub.

SantNicolauCastle

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the amBassaDOr’s

first visit menOrcaAlthough Giles Paxman has been Ambassador since October 2009 he left his introduction to Menorcauntil now to coincide with the tricentenary celebrations

Born in 1951, Giles Paxmanstudied at Oxford Universitybefore joining the Departmentof the Environment in 1974,later transferring to the Diplo-matic Service. His career hasseen him serve mainly in Eu-rope (Paris, Rome and twice inBrussels), although he did doa three-year tour in Singaporefrom 1988 to 1991, beforemoving to Mexico City wherehe was Ambassador for fouryears prior to coming to Spain.Paxman is married to SégolèneClaude Marie and the couplehave three children, Julia,Lauren and Alice.Although he took over as HerMajesty’s Ambassador toSpain in 2009, this was hisfirst visit to Menorca as he“thought it best to wait and co-incide with the celebrations”.On his arrival he met withlocal authorites; the IslandCouncil (CIMe), the Mayor

and the State’s Island Director,Javier Tejero. Prior to his visithe had heard a lot aboutMenorca and the strongBritish ties to the island.Talking to “Focus” about theIsla del Rey restoration, Pax-man said that it was “terrific to

exclUsive intervieW

see how people have ralliedaround on the project”, addingthat it was a great achievementof leadership by General Ale-jandro who has shown courageand enthusiasm by taking on aproject like this.The Ambassador referred to

the reconsecration ofthe Anglican Chapelthe previous day as“significant for theBritish community”as it was the first timein 100 years that anAnglican service hadbeen held on the is-land, the Catholicshaving taken overafter the British left.The inauguration ofthe Priest’s Gardenwould, he felt, pro-vide a focal point forreflection.The following day wasto be the formal un-

veiling of the bronze bust ofJennings, the founder of thehospital, which, he said,marked the time that theBritish were in the MenorcanHospital and also the bonds offriendship between navies ofmany different nationalities.

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english tea in a

meDiterranean garDenRon Webb and Roger Holmes opened their lovely Santo Tomas home for a garden party for around fiftyguests to raise money for the second phase of the Rest & Recover Menorca project

Impressed by the first phase ofthe Rest & Recover Menorcaproject which brought threesoldiers from the HouseholdCavalry, who had beenwounded while serving inAfghanistan, to Menorca for ashort break with their partnersin May, Ron Webb and RogerHolmes decided to help withthe fundraising for the nextvisit in September by holding agarden party at their home inSanto Tomas.A beautiful spring day in Junesaw around fifty guests enjoy-ing sandwiches and the best se-lection of cakes seen outside“Betty’s” cake shops in York-shire; there were mouth-water-ing Bakewell Tarts, LemonCurd Cake, Carrot Cake,Meringues and many other del-icacies including a spongecake with “R&R Menorca”iced on top – all the work ofSandy Berresford and friendsJo Baillie, Ann Beardsley, AnnCartwright, Tracey Murphy andLiz Garwood.Ron and Roger’s lovely garden,

laid out on different levels withhidden nooks and crannies andfull of the most wonderful flow-ers, shrubs and trees, made theperfect backdrop for a fewhours of chatter, cake-eatingand testing the brain with aquiz organised by Belinda

Gray. There was also a rafflewith a good selection of prizes,including Fortnum & Mason’sproducts.All in all, a most enjoyable andrelaxing afternoon which raisedover 500 euros from the tickets,291 euros from the raffle and

25 euros from the quiz, givinga net profit after expenses (suchas ingredients and drinks) ofaround 750 euros, an excellentresult reflecting the efforts putinto the cake and sandwich-making and clearing the gar-den of every single stray leaf.

R&R spreads to Mallorca

Following the successful launch of Rest and Recover in Menorca, a team ofvolunteers has been put together in Mallorca by Susan Worthington to runthe Rest and Recover programme over there – offering holidays to soldiersinjured in Afghanistan.While Menorca works with the Household Cavalry Regiment, Susan andher team have linked up with the Bomb Squad – 11 Explosive OrdnanceDisposal Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps. Should the project expand fur-ther into other regions of Spain, the plan is to link with different regiments.Anyone wishing to offer assistance to Susan with R&R Mallorca can contacther on 670 308 987. As with the Menorca programme, it is not just moneythat is needed but practical help too, such as the loan of villas, transport etc.Here in Menorca, preparations are being made for the next visit which willbe in late September. Accommodation has already been confirmed for thatvisit, but other offers of help would be most welcome, through Anne Mad-dison on 618 373 528 or Don and Brenda Hyatt on 971 375 586.

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prOBUs race night

a gallOping sUccess The Race Night in Es Castell organised by the Probus Club raised over 1,300€ for local charities

Our Race Night, staged in theCourtyard to Es Castell TownHall (by kind permission ofthe council) on Friday 17th

June, was a great success. Be-cause of the difficulties asso-ciated with accommodatinghorses and jockeys and all theother paraphernalia associatedwith a race course, our racestook place on films selected atrandom after all bets had beenplaced. In all six races (gener-ously pre-sponsored by IanMcEwan, Menmar, Martin theBuilder, Bonnin Sanso, Tre-balùger Supermarket and JBConstrucciones), each with afield of eight horses, eachhorse pre-sponsored, and aseventh race with horses auc-tioned on the night, were run.Heavy betting took place onthe “Tote” between each raceand added to the excitementfelt by the spectators. A totalof over 1,300€ was raised andwill be divided between theCruz Roja and Aspanob.Membership of the ProbusClub is open to English-speaking retired or practisingbusiness or professional men,

by David R. Woods

able and willing to devote timeand experience to our objec-tives, which are for membersto enjoy the company of likeminded men and to participatein projects aimed at harness-

ing their skills and experiencefor the benefit of the localcommunity. Interested? Come along andjoin us at one of our regularlunch meetings on the first

Wednesday of every month,1.00 for 1.30 pm at Hallissy’sRestaurant Llucmaçanes (for-merly de Nits) or contact anymember for further informa-tion.

Tote betting on each race added to theexcitement for the spectators

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menOrcan athletes cOmpeting

in the isle Of WightThe Island Games Association games, in which participants are small islands from all over the world,are held every two years and this is Menorca’s third appearance

Around 120 athletes fromMenorca set out for the Isle ofWight to compete in the IslandGames, the “Olympics” forsmall islands, in the hope ofincreasing the number ofmedals won in their two previ-ous appearances in the games:Rhodes in 2007 when they re-turned with 31 medals; andAland (Finland) in 2009 whenthey won 27 in total (nine gold,seven silver and elevenbronze).The Island Games Associationlimits the number of memberislands to twenty-five, all ofwhich have populations ofunder 120,000, and the gamesare held every two years onone of the islands. Menorcabecame the twenty-fifth, andlast, member of the association

in 2005 and the island’s ath-letes attended their first gamesin Rhodes in 2007. Islandscan be represented by athletesof any nationality, providedthat they are resident on thatisland and, in Menorca’s case,trials have been held over aperiod of several months to se-lect the team. The host islandis selected five years in ad-vance and the intention is thatMenorca will apply to host thegames in 2017.Each games the host islandcan choose to drop two of thefourteen events and add an-other two from the official listof possibilities. This year theIsle of Wight has chosen to ex-clude judo and gymnasticsand bring back cycling andsquash to add to the other

events: athletics, badminton,basketball, football, golf,swimming, tennis, table ten-nis, archery, shooting, sailingand volleyball.More than three thousand ath-letes are competing in thegames which this year will notinclude Prince Edward Island(Canada) which has had todrop out for lack of funding.The games were opened on25th June by Lord SebastianCoe and will close on 1st July.

Opening ceremonyMore than 1,500 young musi-cians and dancers headed theprocession of teams whichwound through the streets ofRyde, the Isle of Wight’s maintown, to Quay Arena, thesquare where the opening cer-

emony was to be held. TheMenorcan contingent of 176,including 124 athletes,coaches, physios and volun-teers, sang a selection of localsongs as they made their wayto the square; the oldest in thesquad, table tennis coach PacoAllés, acting as flag-bearerand the youngest, 14-year oldswimmer María Mascaró, car-rying the flask of water fromSon Bou (to which had beenadded a few drops of gin!) thatwould later be added to waterfrom the other 23 islands in asymbolic act.

On the medal table on the firstdayMenorca made an early entryon to the medal table, winninga silver and a bronze in shoot-

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ing on the first day of competi-tion. Juan Manuel Bagur andSebastià Bosch took the silverin the pairs clay-pigeon shoot-ing, narrowly missing out onthe gold medal, and LlorençMarquès and Pedro Portellawon bronze in precision shoot-ing.The Menorcan football teamlost its opening match againstone of the favourites, Jersey,by 2-0.The badminton team wasfighting for fifth place afterwinning its opening encounteragainst the Falklands 5-0 butthen losing 4-1 to Guernsey.The women’s basketball teammade an impressive start bybeating Gibraltar 73-44; asdid the women’s volleyballteam which emerged the vic-tors by 3-0 against Greenland.In athletics José Cerro andPedro Pallicer finished in 15th

and 16th places in the halfmarathon.Cyclist Ruth Moll, a formermember of the Spanish na-tional team who came out ofretirement to compete in thesegames, missed out on thebronze medal by just two sec-onds; while Biel Domingo, oneof the men’s cycling team, wasinvolved in a mass pile-up andsuffered three fractures of thewrist and arm.The second day of the compe-tition brought three moremedals, one gold and two sil-ver, taking Menorca to eighth

place on the medal table. Thegold medal went to Ruth Mollin the Mountain Bike race andthe tennis team gained a silvermedal after losing in the final2-1 against Gibraltar. Thethird medal, also silver, waswon by Juan Manuel Bagurand Sebastià Bosch who al-ready have a gold to theircredit from the first day’s com-petition.The third day saw Menorcagain another two silver and twobronze. The men’s tennis teamand Ruth Moll in cycling win-ning silver, and the table ten-nis team and athlete AngelaLópez taking bronzes. How-ever, Menorca fell a place onthe medal table being over-taken by the Shetland Islands.Another three medals forMenorca the following daywith Juan Bagur and BorjaGoñalons both winning goldmedals in archery and Fito Vi-lafranca a silver for shooting.Gemma Triay and RebecaMolero are through to thesemi-finals in tennis and soare assured of a medal andJonathan Dunnett was veryclose to a gold in windsurfinguntil a lack of wind stoppedthe trials for two days.However, with little of thecompetition left Menorcalooks unlikely to improve onthe two previous perform-ances; currently having 9medals in total - 3 gold, 6 sil-ver and 3 bronze.

Ruth Moll, the only female cyclist representing Menorcaat the Games, won gold medal in the individual women’srace, with Ann Bowditch (Guernsey) and Jacqui Flecher

(Isle of Man) sharing the podium.

In the women’s team tennis, the Menorcan players faced Gibraltar in the final,

losing 2-1 to take the silver medal

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the heart anD sOUl

Of es castellOne of the projects planned by the new Council is to revitalise the town’s Esplanada which lost itscharacter after recent reforms were carried out

Luis Camps, a 40-year oldfireman married to Montse andwith a son aged 14 years and adaughter of 9, took office asthe new Mayor of Es Castell inJune. Luis has been in politicsfor three years, always with thePartido Popular in Es Castell,and will serve a four-year termat the head of the Town Coun-cil.Although Luis and his partyhave yet to finalise all theprojects they wish to carry outwhilst in office, high on the listare those connected with thetown’s infrastructure: thedrinking water supply; carparking; and creating a largenatural park in the protectedarea of Repos de Rei, similarto that in Sant Lluís, withareas set aside for childrenand picnics.Another project on the books

is “revamping” the recentlyreformed and much criticisedEsplanada, making it the heartand soul of the town onceagain, and, in order to create acleaner town, zones will becreated for dogs to do their“whoopsies”. Several actionsare planned in order to revi-talise the town’s main squareand make it more user-friendly, including: openingone side up to traffic so thatresidents have easier access totheir homes; making a centraltree-lined avenue joining to-gether the two sections ofCalle Victori; creating a sepa-rate zone for games such asfootball and basketball; layingrubber matting in the chil-dren’s play area and enclosingit for safety purposes; and set-ting up information points sothat people can find out what

is on that week throughout thearea of Es Castell.The Council is also looking forsomeone to form part of themunicipal radio station tomake a programme in Englishto further help integration be-tween the two nationalities.Luis and his party want to in-volve citizens, associationsand clubs more in decision-making and to help integrationby working on historical mat-ters.With regard to the approach-ing fiestas of Sant Jaume, thenew Mayor feels that it is im-portant to explain to foreignresidents and tourists the sig-nificance of the various acts,all of which are regulated by astrict protocol, so that they canappreciate the underlyingmeaning.Regarding tourism, the new

council will work with the pri-vate sector and the IslandCouncil’s tourism department,the Fundació Destí, to collab-orate in making it easier to di-versify Menorca’s attractions.For the third year, a craft mar-ket will be held above CalesFonts during July and August,the dates and times yet to bedecided, and there arethoughts of putting on an out-door cinema in August withsome films in English.There are also plans to en-courage voluntary groups totake an interest in the town’seighteenth century history torecoup the heritage from thepast and present. All in all, a programme thatwill make life in Es Castellmore pleasant for its residentsand increase the district’s at-traction for tourists.

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SAN JAIME FIESTA PROGRAMME

Es Castell has a very full fiesta programme this year with numerous activities starting at the end of June. For reasons of space, onlythe main events and concerts are given below:

Saturday, 16th July

2100 hrs. Folk singing and dancing in Cala Corp with the Llambre group and the Castell de Sant Felip folk group with their “Ballde Cossil”.

Sunday, 17th

1000 hrs. Es Castell’s Urban Mile race, with registration one hour earlier. Starting from the Esplanada. Open to everyone.

2100 hrs. Dancing demonstrations with the groups Semblanza, Caireles and Alegria in the Plaça Esplanada.

Monday, 18th

2100 hrs. Habanera concert with the groups Boira, L’Empordanet and Arrels de Menorca in Cala Corb.

Wednesday, 20th

2130 hrs. Lyrical concert by Veus Illenques in the Plaça des Mercat.

Thursday, 21st

2100 hrs. Night of DJ music in the Plaça Esplanada with Eber, Fede Garcia, Luís Moraleda and Victor Ropero.

Friday, 22nd

from 1800 hrs. Children’s foam party in the park at Cala Pedrera.

2000 hrs. Performance by Es Ranxo behind the Town Hall.

2100 hrs. Fiesta and performance by The Magic World of N’Edu in the Plaça des Mercat.

2200 hrs. Youth Night with the groups Game Over, Burning Insane and Fusión Latina.

Saturday, 23rd

from 2000 hrs. Melodies from Juan Luis Sanchez in the Plaça Esplanada followed by the arrival of Es Castell giants and the an-nouncement of the fiestas by Arrels de Menorca.

Sunday, 24th

1000 hrs. The first notes of the flute in front of the Town Hall and the start of the fiesta’s is announced through the streets.

The cavalcade invites clubs and associations to the fiesta.

1545 hrs. The riders parade through the streets of the town.

1700 hrs. Parade of the giants and Banda de Migjorn Gran.

1900 hrs. Church service in honour of the apostle St. James in the parish church.

2000 hrs. Traditional ‘jaleo’ in front of the Town Hall

2400 hrs. Open air dance in the Esplanada with Menu 96 and Fraggles.

Monday 25th

0745 hrs. The cavalcade begins to form and parades through the town, followed by the giants and Es Migjorn Band.

1030 hrs. The riders make their way to the parish church for a special mass at 1100 hrs.

1300 hrs. Traditional ‘jaleo’ in front of the Town Hall with presentation of canes and spoons.

2000 hrs. Horse racing along the Carrer des Port.

2100 hrs. The final notes on the ‘fabiol’ (flute) bring the fiestas to an end.

2200 hrs. Open air dance in the Plaça Esplanada with the groups Duo Perfecto and Menu 96.

2400 hrs. Firework display on the Isla Plana.

0030 hrs. Dancing continues in the square.

Tuesday, 26th – Santa Ana in Calas Fonts

1700 hrs. Regattas and children’s games and exhibition of traditional boats.

2130 hrs. Performance by Bastio de S’Illa and Menorca Swing Band.

2400 hrs. Final burst of firecrackers, bringing the fiesta to a close.

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mestral WOrKshOp

DestrOyeD By fireThe workshop and recyling plant near the airport is run by Caritas and provides work for people withlearning or social problems

Thanks to its design the Mes-tral workshop, on the roadjoining the airport roundaboutand the Maó to Ciutadellaroad, remained standing fol-lowing the disastrous fire thereat the beginning of the month.The numerous vents in thebuilding allowed the smokeand much of the heat gener-ated by the blaze to escapefrom the building, keeping thetemperature inside low enoughto avoid the structure beingdamaged badly enough to col-lapse.Although the majority of theinterior of the recycling plantrun by Caritas has been totallydestroyed, making it inopera-ble in the near future with theresulting loss of jobs for thedisadvantaged people em-ployed there, there is somehope. The structure itself isstable and the building wascovered by a comprehensiveinsurance which should coverthe loss, the exact amount ofwhich has not yet been calcu-lated. It was mainly items ofwooden furniture for recyclingthat were lost in the fire, butsome of the machinery wasalso destroyed, including the300,000 euro crushing ma-chine that was only recentlypurchased. The manager of theplant, Rodrigo Carreño, be-lieves that the cost of repairingthe damage will not be toohigh and stated that recon-struction work would beginimmediately so that their workcould continue. CouncillorAntònia Allès was hopeful thata grant might be obtained fromthe E.U. which had “alwayshighly valued the project forits environmental and social

aspects”.The fire brigade’s investiga-tion into the cause of the fire,which took two hours to extin-guish and involved firebrigades from various parts ofthe island, rules out arson andsuggests that it was probablythe result of the fermentationof organic materials producingmethane gas or the accidentalintroduction of something hotinto the waste material (wood,cardboard and plastic) locatedin the centre of the warehouseand awaiting recylcing.Caritas has said that thetwelve employees of the plant,and especially the six on thesocial insertion programme,will be employed elsewherefor now; some will go to theTriatges Menorca plant in

Alaior and the others to thenearby Fundació Mestral’sworkshop from where manyoriginally came. The six work-ers “at risk of social exclu-sion” are aged between 21 and57 years and are immigrantswho lost their jobs some timeago and are no longer entitledto social security payments.They are people with few qual-ifications, many of whom cameto Menorca to work in the con-

struction sector. They are paid13,000 euros gross per annumand are currently in the finalphase of insertion duringwhich they will be helped tofind a job with a company.Mestral’s warehouse, which isnext to the workshop, was notdamaged in the fire and is stillopen for the donation and saleof items such as furniture, or-naments, household goods,books and clothing.

Investigations into the cause of the fire have ruled out

arson and it is believed tohave started accidentally

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charity BriDge cOmpetitiOn

in aiD Of the reD crOssThe annual duplicate pairs competition for the Charity Challenge Trophy 2011 was won this year byLito Socolsky and Peter Barlow

This year the Red Cross wasthe charity selected to benefitfrom the proceeds of theMenorca Bridge Players’ an-nual duplicate pairs competi-tion for the Charity ChallengeTrophy 2011, held at the PortMahón Hotel in a room kindlydonated free of charge by themanagement.The clear winners of the event,with 72%, were Lito Socolskyand competition organiserPeter Barlow. The next threeplaces were closely foughtwith Paloma Garcia and CarolRosello emerging as runners-up with 58%, followed by Ka-thinka Vogel and LenHopwood in third place with

57% and Ann Holmes andRod Bamber next with 52%.Gemma Rosello and AgueGoñalons won a special prize,donated by Barclays Bank inMahón, for the best result bybeginners.Entry fees for the competitionnetted 250€ for the charityand a further 100€ was madefrom the raffle organised byAnne Maddison, all proceedsbeing donated to the RedCross.The trophy was presented tothe winners, with prizes for thesecond and third place pairs,at the following meeting of theMenorca Bridge Club, and acheque for 350€ was handed

to the Red Cross.The Club meets everyWednesday for duplicatebridge at the Hotel PortMahón at 1915 for 1930 hrs.

All nationalities are welcome,with or without partners. Forfurther information or toarrange a partner ring MikeHodges on 971 153 234.

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fOreign pOpUlatiOn DrOps

fOr first time in tWelve yearsSince the end of the 1990’s fewer Europeans have migrated to the island but the number of Africansand South Americans has increased

According to a report pub-lished by OBSAM, the foreignpopulation of Menorca experi-enced a slight drop (of 62 per-sons) in 2010 for the first timein twelve years. Despite thecrisis and the rising number ofunemployed (around 7,000)the exodus of foreigners fromMenorca has taken longer tooccur than on the Spanishmainland, where large num-bers started to leave in 2008.It was then that Spain stoppedbeing one of the main destina-tions for migrants and manyforeign residents started to re-turn to their homelands.In the last twelve years thepercentage of foreigners in theisland’s population has in-

creased almost fivefold, from3.4% in 1998 to 16.6% in2010, which is higher than thenational average of 14.1%.This same period has alsoseen a change in the national-ities of people moving to theisland. At the end of the 90’s,78% of the foreign residentswere European, 7% were fromAfrican countries and 5%from South America; nowa-days the proportions are 54%,14% and 27% respectively.The situation varies by munic-ipal district: last year in Alaiorthere was an increase of 84foreigners, almost quadruplingthe numbers over the lastdecade; in Ciutadella thenumbers fell by 109 over the

last twelve months bringingthe total to 3,723 of the dis-trict’s 29,247 population; Fer-reries has seen a annualincrease since 1999 whenthere were 27 foreigners livingin the district up to 2009’s fig-ure of 345, but last year thisdropped to 268; Maó, the sec-ond most populous district,also saw a drop in foreign res-idents last year, 109 fewerthan in 2009 when there were5,146 registered, compared to611 in 1998; Es Mercadal’sfigure has continued to rise,though by only twelve lastyear, bringing the total to1,488 – twelve years ago therewere only 182; in Sant Lluís178 foreigners decided to

make their homes in the dis-trict over the last year and now1,582 of the 7,204 residentsare non-Spanish; Es Castell isanother district to have wit-nessed a drop (46) for the firsttime in twelve years and of the7,926 persons living in thedistrict, 1,478 are foreigners;and the island’s smallest mu-nicipal district, Es MigjornGran, attracted 7 more for-eigners in 2010, making thetotal seven times that of 1998.The total population ofMenorca in 2010 was 94,383,78,753 of whom were Spanishand 15,625 foreign (16.6%).

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USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Emergencies:112 All emergency services,

English spoken061 Medical emergencies091 Policía Nacional / National Police062 Guardia Civil / Civil Guard900 202 202 Salvamento Marítimo (Sea Rescue)

Maó:Airport 971 157 000Air taxi / ambulance 669 357 288Ambulance – Illes Balears 971 352 002Ambulance – Red Cross 971 361 180Clínica Salus 971 366 663Fire Brigade 971 363 961

971 351 011GESA (Elec) – breakdowns 902 534 902Guardia Civil 971 363 297Hospital Mateu Orfila 971 487 000Med. Centre Dalt Sant Joan 971 353 255Policía Local 092

Town Hall 971 375 002

Es Migjorn Gran:Med. Centre 971 370 221Policía Local 971 370 505Town Hall 971 370 111

Ferreries:Med. Centre 971 373 670Policía Local 971 155 177

606 372 355Red Cross / Cruz Roja 971 373 139Town Hall 971 373 003

Sant Lluís:Med. Centre 971 156 792Policía Local 971 151 717Red Cross / Cruz Roja 971 151 001Town Hall 971 150 950

British Honorary Consulate: 902 109 356

Anglican Chaplain: 971 352 378 617 222 382

New Life Church Pastors:Alan 687 016 426Lyn 617 074 941

Alcoholics Anonymous: 647 713 950Nick 971 156 972 / 630 006 647

Policlínica Virgen de Gràcia 971 351 115Repsol (Gas) – breakdowns 901 121 212Sorea (Water) – breakdowns 902 250 370Tourist Information Office 971 363 79Town Hall 971 369 800

Ciutadella:Ambulance – Clinic Balear 971 482 020Ambulance – Red Cross 971 381 993Canal Salat Med. Centre 971 480 112Clínica Menorca 971 480 505Clinic Balear 971 482 020Policía Local 971 380 787Town Hall 971 381 050

Alaior:Med. Centre - Es Banyer 971 372 931Policía Local 971 371 320Red Cross / Cruz Roja 971 371 238Town Hall 971 371 002

Es Castell:Med. Centre 971 356 411Policía Local 971 362 747Town Hall 971 365 193

Es Mercadal:Med. Centre 971 154 187Med. Centre Fornells 971 376 420Policía Local 971 375 251Red Cross / Cruz Roja 971 154 198

Restaurant (Mondays closed)Lunches Tuesday to Saturday 1.00 to 3.30 pmEvenings Tuesday to Saturday 7.30 to 10.30 pm

Sunday lunch 1.00 to 3.30 pmMenu del dia available weekday lunchtimes

Bar (Mondays closed)Tuesday to Saturday 12.00 to 12.00

Sunday 12.00 to 7.00 pmThe restaurant is available for parties and functions

Large car park

Tel.: 971 365 313

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neWs rOUnD-Up

Eight million euro project to create two cruise ship quaysA project has been drawn up to install five “duques de Alba”(mooring bollards) on the two quays at Son Blanc outer harbourwhich would allow cruise ships to berth there. The total cost wouldbe eight million euros and the project would take eight months tocomplete, leading to a suggestion that, initially, two “duques deAlba” should be installed on the landward quay, reducing the costto 3.5 million euros and the completion period to four months,which would mean that cruise ships of up to 250 metres in lengthcould berth there next year.

No takers for Canal Salat’s new cinemasThere were no bids from companies for the concession to run thetwo cinemas and bar incorporated in the new cultural complex atCanal Salat, which Ciutadella Council had expected to bring in41,775 euros per annum for the council’s coffers.The Council will now have to revise the conditions of the conces-sion in the hope of attracting some interest. Apart from paying theCouncil, the concessionaire would be responsible for providing allthe machinery and for the maintenance of the installation for the tenyears duration of the contract.

Shops in Maó centre to open Tuesday nights in summerShopkeepers belong to the Mô Comercial association, plus manyothers, have decided to stay open until 2300 hrs. on Tuesdays dur-ing July and August in a pioneering initiative aimed at increasingbusiness and attracting new customers. The late-night opening willcoincide with a programme of musical entertainment in the streetsof the town planned for the same period.Following the success of the first edition, the Mô Comercial asso-ciation has reprinted its map of the historic and commercial centreof Maó, producing 5,000 copies in Castilliano, Catalan and Englishto let tourists know what it is available in the area.

Patients travelling off island lose prepaid transportThe Balearic Government’sdelay in settling the transportbill owed to travel agents forpatients and sportsmen tra-velling off the island has ledto the majority of agents re-fusing to provide this service,leaving patients to pay fortheir flights and accommoda-

tion themselves and later having to reclaim the expenses from theDepartment of Health.The island’s travel agents have received no payments in respect oftransporting patients to Palma and the mainland since October lastyear and the sum owing is believed to be in the region of one mil-lion euros. A further 2 million euros is owing for travelling costs forsportsmen and women during this year and part of 2010.

Xibau Art Gallery to closeThe Xibau Art Gallery in Ferreries announced that it was to closeat the end of June due mainly to financial reasons. The brainchild

of Maties Sansaloni and Àgueda Martí, the three exhibition roomshave housed displays of the less usual forms of art, such as patch-work, in addition to individiual and collective exhibitions of paint-ing. Courses and workshops have also been held there, as well asbook presentations and lectures.

Driving schools lose half their pupils due to crisisOver the last three years the island’s driving schools have seen adrop of 50% in the number of people wanting to take lessons dueto the expense involved. The average cost of obtaining a driving li-cence in Menorca is 1,205 euros, 450 euros of which has to be paidfor the theory course and the cost of the two exams, 35 euros forbooks and 720 for the average 20 driving lessons. Many pupils aretaking the theory part and then waiting until they have enoughmoney for driving lessons as the theory exam is valid for two years.The driving schools claim that they are unable to lower their pricesand are considering asking for fuel subsidies and lower costs forthe ITV (technical inspection of vehicles) in order to help themthrough the crisis.

Undersea archaeological explorations in Cap de CavalleriaThe Cap de Cavalleria Ecomuseum has restarted undersea ar-chaeological explorations inthe area after almost a decadeof inactivity. The area com-prising Sa Nitja Port, Cap deCavalleria and Tirant Bay isone of the richest sites on theMenorca coast and the under-water investigators will belooking for any remains of theport of the Roman city ofSanisera, such as shipwrecks, amphorae etc. Two areas of possibleinterest have been identified which could yield two wrecks, onefrom the south of Spain and the other from the north of Africa. Thelast explorations in the area were carried out in 1994 and 2001.

Maó + FlorsFor the ninth year, Maó was bedecked with flowers at the beginningof June for the Maó + Flors scheme. Different floral arrangementswere placed in thirteen places, including Can Victori and the Claus-tre del Carme, bringing colour and life to the town, as many shop-keepers joined in, decorating their windows with flowers. Otheractivities were arranged throughout the five days, such as musicalentertainment, an exhibition of bonsais in the Palau Febrer, a craftfair in the interior of the Mercat del Carme and a patchwork displayin Ses Moreres. A musical band was on hand to draw further at-tention to the event and 11 of the town’s restaurants offered dishesincorporating flowers in the recipe.

Menorca’s 32 hostels to convert to hotelsFollowing a new law passed in March which reduces the number ofcategories of tourist accommodation to three (hotels, aparthotelsand apartments) Menorca’s hostels and guesthouses will have to beconverted to hotels, adding another 1,119 hotel beds to those ex-

25focus on menorca

isting. The new law placesmore emphasis on servicesoffered than on technicalspecifications when consid-ering categories of accom-modation, but allestablishments will have tomeet the requirements laiddown. The Regional Department ofTourism is allowing estab-lishments six years in whichto adapt to bring themselveswithin one of the three cate-gories, but they will have topresent a self-assessmentreport within one year stat-ing which category appliesto them.

Regent Street enjoys “ATaste of Spain”An arena of sand laid out inRegent Street became thefocal point for the Depart-ment of Tourism’s “A Tasteof Spain” tourism promotionheld every year in London.Spectators flocked to see thehalf-hourly show put on bytwelve Menorcan riders fromSon Martorellet, the ClubHípic Sa Creueta and theEscola Eqüestre Menor-quina to songs and jaleosperformed by Joana Pons.The show proved the mostpopular of all the attractionslaid on by different regionsof Spain in an attempt to luretourists to their shores. Ac-cording to the organisers theevent attracted 500,000spectators.

Investment in constructionfalls by 30%Investment in the Balearicconstruction sector fell by30.6% in the first threemonths of the year com-pared to the same period in2010, affecting both publicand private projects, with li-cences being granted forwork to the value of 100.8million euros. As a result,4,700 construction workersin the Balearics lost theirjobs.

Centre of island left without night-duty chemistsA lack of demand is the reason given by the Balearic Official Col-lege of Chemists for stopping night duties for chemists in the cen-tre of the island as from the end of May. Residents from Alaior, EsMercadal, Es Migjorn and Fornells who are in urgent need of med-ication after 2200 hrs. now have to travel to either Maó or Ciutadellato get medicine from the duty chemist.

The state of the island’s urbanisations “could be better”The annual survey into the state of the island’s urbanisations car-ried out by PIME shows, as usual, that there is room for improve-ment. The 34 urbanisations are marked on 11 different aspectsranging from streetlighting to pavements and green areas.According to the survey, the best urbanisation in Menorca is CalaGaldana which achieved maximum marks in 10 of the 11 cate-gories, only failing on the subject of car parking. S’Algar and Bini-ancolla each received eight maximum marks and Port d’Addaia,Son Bou, Son Xoriguer and Cala Llonga were amongst “the best”.At the other end of the scale were Es Canutells and Binisafúllerwhich received the worst marks, each failing in six of the categories.Torre Solí, Cala Morell, Playas Fornells, Torret and Binibeca Noualso received poor marks.PIME has called on the new local Councils to take urgent action toensure that the appearance of urbanisations is improved for touriststhis season.

Opening Cala Blanca Caves to public would cost almost one millioneurosThe proposal to open the caves at Cala Blanca to the public wouldcost 949,000 euros, 700,000euros of which would be spenton preparing the area, i.e.constructing a reception cen-tre for visitors or joining thecaves of S’Aigo and NaMegaré. Part of the sum wouldhave to be used to purchasefrom the landowners the rightto use (but not own) the subsoil where the caves are located, whichthe Council has set at 37.8 euros per sq.m. making a total of 54,258euros.Negotiations between the landowners and the Council are expectedto start shortly as the first step towards opening the undergroundwonders to visitors.

The island’s Mayors sworn inThe Mayors of the eight municipal districts were officially namedon 11th June, all but one being new to the scene; Es Mercadal beingthe only Council to retain its Mayor, Francesc Ametller. Two femaleMayors have been elected for this four-year term – Águeda Reynésin Maó and Misericordia Sugrañés in Alaior. In Ciutadella JoséMaria de Sintas will head the Council; in Es Castell, Lluís Camps;Sant Lluís, Cristóbal Coll; Ferreries, Manolo Monerris; and in EsMigjorn Gran, Pere Moll. All but two of the Councils are now in thehands of the Partido Popular, the two exceptions, Es Mercadal andEs Migjorn Gran, being PSOE.On 25th June, Santiago Tadeo took office as the new President of theIsland Council of Menorca (CIMe) heading a body of Councillorscomprising seven from his own party (Partido Popular), four from the

PSOE and one from the PSMparty.

May’s wave of robberies inCiutadella continuesSeveral residents in the cen-tre of Ciutadella were thevictims of robberies in themiddle of June, continuingMay’s crimewave in whichthere 15 reports of robberiesin the area. The Local Policebelieve the crimes to be thework of two or three knowndelinquents who were re-leased from prison at the be-ginning of the year. Despiteknowing their identity, policehave been unable to arrestthem without firm evidenceor catching them redhanded.Police suspect that the samegroup was responsible forrobberies in Maó in earlyspring, as the crimes sud-denly stopped and moved tothe other end of the island.According to the State’s Is-land Director, Javier Tejero,a Menorcan with a previouscriminal record was beingheld in preventive detentionon suspicion of having beeninvolved in the robberies inMaó and Ciutadella. Never-theless, other people are in-volved and these are still atlarge.

Two robbers caught red-handed in Son BouA Guardia Civil patrol in SonBou arrested two young men,J.A.P.R. (24 years old, fromCórdoba) and F.R.M. (19,from Maó) who they had ob-served forcing the door of anapartment, entering and laterleaving with an LCD televi-sion. Further investigationenabled the police to clearup two robberies on theAlaior Industrial Estate, andtwo from vehicles parked inAlaior, all of which havesupposedly been committedby the two detainees. Anumber of items, including a

26 focus on menorca

prices next year. The hoteliers reject this demand saying that theyhave to start making a profit again in order to reinvest in the hotelsin order to become more competititve and that they need to increaseprices by between 5% and 7% next year. The big hotel chains arenegotiating price rises of 3% at the beginning and end of the sea-son (May, June, September and October) and 7% at the height of theseason (July and August). The hoteliers accept that they have tooffer all-inclusive terms so as not to lose customers (especially fam-ilies) to other destinations.According to the Spanish Tourist Board, hotel reservations inMenorca are up this year by 24.8% in respect of tourists from Ger-many, 13% from the U.K., 51% from Holland, 38.4% from Bel-gium and 3% from Switzerland as a result of the lower prices.

Co-operation needed for Es Grau moorings to be used to maximumeffectThe re-organised mooring system at Es Grau came into effect inmid-June with ten buoys earmarked for boats in transit. In total 200moorings are available, which is less than the number of boats pre-viously anchored in the bay and means that each mooring has to beused to the maximum effect. Thus, if an owner is taking his boatout for two or more days, his mooring will be added to those avail-able for use by craft in transit.Until 15th September, two sailors well-acquainted with the bay willbe on duty from 0800 hrs. to 2000 hrs. to oversee the moorings andresolve any problems arising.

Carousel in aid of ASPANOBSome 100 people took part in the carousel of horses and carriagesorganised by the Equelia association to raise money for the Menor-can branch of ASPANOB (the Balearic association for parents withchildren with cancer).Eight carriages and vari-ous riders on horsebackleft the Picadero Restau-rant to travel to Maó andEs Castell before return-ing to the Picadero for abarbecue and a raffle forprizes donated by differ-ent companies.On behalf of the associa-tion, Marga Pons explained that children with cancer often have togo to Palma for treatment which could last as long as eighteenmonths. ASPANOB provides flats for the children and their fami-lies during this period as well as helping with psychological aid andschooling and, if needed, can also provide financial help. Like manycharities, ASPANOB is feeling the effect of the crisis, subsidiesfrom institutions have been halved this year and donations are downby 15% and the association is relying on members to raise moneythrough events such as the carousel and barbecue.

Addaia sewage farm receives government approvalTen years after the announcement that a sewage farm was to be builtto serve Addaia and the northern area of Es Mercadal district (SonParc, Arenal d’en Castell, Punta Grossa, Coves Noves and NaMacaret), the project appears to be making some progress. The 11million euro project has been put on public display for 30 days inEs Mercadal Town Hall and also in Mallorca so that any objections

to the scheme may belodged. Once this period haspassed the project will beput out to tender and con-struction can at last begin.

Start of summer salesThe summer sales period inMenorca starts on 1st July(one week earlier than in thelast few years) and lasts fortwo months but shopkeepersare not confident that it willbring them much in the wayof business, partly becausethe economic situation hasled to the Spanish curbingtheir spending and partly be-cause so many tourists havecome on all-inclusive holi-days which do not encouragethem to go shopping.

Ocibar abandons S’AltraBanda moorings in Port ofMaóLess than eighteen monthsafter winning the 14-yearconcession to manage themoorings at S’Altra Banda inthe port of Maó, Ocibar hasannounced that it is to re-nounce the concession, dueto a sharp drop in the marketas a result of the economicclimate. The Mallorcan company wonthe concession to managethe 442 moorings in Novem-ber 2009 by agreeing to payan annual sum of 927,599euros to the Port Authorityand undertaking to invest6.1 million euros in im-provements in the area.Since it took over, the com-pany has installed new pon-toons in the areas of LaSolana and the Isla del Reyand has made improvementsin the Cala Llonga zone.The Port Authority now hasto look for a company tomanage the moorings duringthe summer months, even ifonly as a temporary measure,so that users of the mooringswill not be affected.

television, computer, electricscrewdrivers and a radiocas-sette, have been recovered.

Robbery and bag-snatchingin AddaiaDespite the Guardia Civil’sinsistence that there havebeen few cases of robbery inEs Mercadal district thisyear, there have been reportsof robberies from villas inSon Parc and, during June,there was a bag-snatchingand robbery in Port d’Ad-daia. The bag-snatching hap-pened late one night as awaitress was walking homeafter work and had her hand-bag grabbed by a man ap-proaching her from behind.Fortunately there was nomoney in the bag. The rob-bery happened in broad day-light when a villa was brokeninto and items including atelevision, camera lens andjewellery were stolen whilstthe occupants were out.

Hoteliers resist pressure fromtour operators and insist onraising prices next yearHoteliers in the four BalearicIslands are resisting pressurefrom the British and Germantour operators to keep nextyear’s prices to the minimumas they have yielded to theirdemands for the last threeyears and have decreasedprices by up to 20% in orderto compete with destinationssuch as Egypt, Tunisia andTurkey. They say they are un-able to continue in this veinas prices have increased dra-matically and IVA on touristactivities has risen, placingthe companies’ existence injeopardy.TUI, Thomas Cook, Alltours,REWE, FTI, Cosmos and theother tour operators arguethat there is a need to retainthe loyalty of tourists “bor-rowed” from destinations af-fected by the problems in thenorth of Africa, by not raising

27focus on menorca

events tO lOOK OUt fOr...

Saturday, 2nd July1800-2400 hrs. Sant Pere Fiesta in S’Hort Nou, Maó. Menorcan songs, habaneras and gastronomy.1930 hrs. Anglo-Spanish show “Mig i Mig” on the Isla del Rey with the Menorca Charity Players, Antologia Fantasia Lírica andthe Orfeón inglés. Free entrance but donations may be made at the show.

Thursday, 7th JulyConcert by the group Manel in the Teatre Principal, Maó.

Saturday, 9th July2130 hrs. Concert with Claudi Arimany (flute) and Musici di Vivaldi ChamberOctet. Claustre del Seminari, Ciutadella.2130 hrs. Concert of religious music presented by the Maó Ateneo’s Philhar-monic Group’s female choir in the Sant Lluís church. With soloists MariaCamps and Victoria Riera and a string quartet (Carme Cardona, Esther PonsBarro, Marga Gual and Pau Cardona) and pianist/conductor Lola Mir.

Tuesday, 12th July2130 hrs. Concert by Habana con Kola in the Plaça des Pins, Ciutadella.

Wednesday, 13th July2130 hrs. Concert by Azul y Nacar in the Plaça des Pins, Ciutadella.

Thursday, 14th July2130 hrs. “Concert with Five Pianos”. Viviana Sofronitsky and Paul McNulty. Homage to Liszt. Teatre Principal, Maó.Concert by the Familia Rústika in the Claustre del Carme, Maó.

Saturday, 16th July1300-1600 hrs. Royal British Legion Garden Party at El Picadero Restaurant, Maó.2130 hrs. Folk Festival presented by Sant Isidre in the Plaça des Pins, Ciutadella.

Virgen del Carmen FiestaJoin in the “Blessing of the Fishing Boats” with the Associació Menorca Britannia onboard the yellow catamaran, following the procession of boats from the Naval BaseChapel in Maó harbour, whilst listening to a choir. Saturday 16th July, boarding at1930 hrs. and disembarking at approx. 2230 hrs. Price 15€ per person. Further in-formation and bookings (by 4th July) from Sheila on tel. 971 366 206.

Monday, 18th July2130 hrs. Concert with Peter Soave & Rucner String Quartet in the Claustre delSeminari, Ciutadella.

Tuesday, 19th July2200 hrs. Inauguration of the Ciutadella Mediterranean Cinema Festival in the Plaça del Catedral. Screening of Donald Crisp’s“El Navegante” and live Jazz quartet.

Wednesday, 20th July2130 hrs. Concert: “Berlin Counterpoint”. Wind and piano sextet with Sasha Rattle on clarinet. Teatre Principal, Maó.

Thursday, 21st JulyConcert by Albert Pla in the Claustre del Carme, Maó.

Thursday, 28th July2130 hrs. Alaior Song Festival, dedicated to the 80’s at Los Pinos Municipal Sports Ground, Alaior.Concert by La Troup in the Claustre del Carme, Maó.Avant-garde ballet “Payasos Divinos” by the company LaMov in the Sala Multifuncional, Es Mercadal.

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Friday, 29th July2100 hrs. Grand concert “Una Noche de Elixir” at the Sant Lluís Municipal Football Ground. Featuring Simón Orfila, MariolaCantero, Celso Albelo and Roberto de Candio.Classical ballet “Cinderella” by the company LaMov in the Teatre Principal, Maó.

Saturday, 30th JulyExperimental ballet “Dos” by the company LaMov in the Teatre Principal, Maó.

* * * * *Organ recitalsMaó: In the Santa Maria Church, daily except Sunday at 1300 hrs.Ciutadella: In the Socors Church on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1100 hrs.Alaior: In the Santa Eulàlia Church Wednesday to Saturday at 1130 hrs.

Maó Music NightsEvery Tuesday from 5th July to 23rd August, from 2100 hrs., there will be music from a variety of groups and bands playing onthe terraces of various bars and restaurants in the town. A total of 30 musical groups and 16 bars are taking part in the pro-gramme.

Jazz ClubJam Session every Tuesday at 2130 hrs. in the Casino, Sant Climent.

Charity Car Boot SalesHeld at El Picadero Restaurant, Maó. 0900-1300 hrs. Saturday 2nd July and from 10th July onwards every Sunday. Pitch feesof 5€ go to Club Vidalba. Bookings through 971 363 268.

Trotting:Saturdays 1800 hrs. at the Maó hipódromo on the Maó-Sant Lluís road.Sundays 1800 hrs. Hipódromo Torre del Ram, Ciutadella (and occasional flat races).

Equestrian ShowTuesdays and Thursdays 2030 hrs. “Somni 2011” at Son Martorellet on the road to Cala Galdana.

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frOm aBerDeen tO aDDaia:

a JOUrney 1946-2011MV Seafield was built in 1946by Macduff Shipbuilding & En-gineering Ltd. at its yard inBanff, Aberdeenshire. Previ-ously well-known for producinglifeboats for transatlantic liners,this was the first trawler everbuilt at the yard. She was de-signed and manufactured usingan ancient method known as‘half-model’ construction. A 1to 20 scale model was madewith the model cut away frombow to stern, exposing the in-side. The builders then madethe beams and planking etc. byreference to the model and thenscaling-up the various woodencomponents. The parts weremade individually by handusing an adze to producesmooth surfaces. This approachexplains why no two parts onSeafield are exactly alike. She was delivered to owners inWhitby, on the east coast ofYorkshire, along with her sistervessel, Arkatys, with the regis-tration number BF 143 andstarted work as a seine-nettrawler, operating in the NorthSea until her retirement in1975, after which she was soldto a new owner in Bristol andused as a sea-angling boat.In 2003, Seafield was bought byan English couple who sailedher down to the Mediterranean,

by John Bladen

settling in Addaia on the northeast coast of Menorca, whereshe was used as a houseboat fora couple of years. Presentowner, Nigel Lynn, then boughther intending to live on her, but,realising her potential, con-verted her for use as a chartervessel. She now plies her tradealong the coast of Menorca, tak-ing visitors on four-hour cruisesinto the marine and biospherereserves of the island. Being ofall-wooden construction, andbearing in mind her age, she re-quires lots of TLC, which Nigelis happy to give her. Not sur-prisingly, she is the only ex-trawler known to be working inthe Med, and attracts attentionwherever she goes.

TOUR GUIDE OF MENORCA / TRANSLATOR

Private tours available with experienced guideanywhere on the island

Translations also undertakenSpanish to English or English to Spanish

Tel. 617 361 714 for further information 23, Sinia des Muret - Mahón - Menorca

Telf.: 971 35 40 70 - taj@telefonica.net

www.indianrestaurantinmenorca.com

AUTHENTIC INDIAN RESTAURANT

Specializing in Balti

and Tandoori Dishes

Wedding receptions and

parties catered for

with a variety of Indian

and/or Chinese food

Excellent choice for

vegetarians

Takeaway service

Belly dancing and Indian

dancing on certain dates