Don’t forget the clocks go forward on Sunday morning! Yes believe it or not it’s the start of British summertime. A few other dates for your diaries.
7 days till the Easter weekend starts (30/3/18)
57 days till Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get married (19/5/18) 83 days till the World Cup in Russia starts (14/6/18)
277 sleeps till Christmas (25/12/18)
284 days till 2019 (1/1/19)
371 days till the UK is scheduled to leave the EU (29/3/19)
So 83 days until England go to the World Cup(that’s if they do). Since the first Panini World Cup album was launched in 1970, children and some adults for that matter have enjoyed collecting stickers of their favourite players. I remember my first sticker book in 1974 and trying to get hold of a Peter Lorimer was impossible. Walking around with a load of Joe Jordan’s and many others trying to get that elusive card. Got it, got it, got it, need it! Were common sounds around the school playground back in the day. Young football fans will have to pay an absolute fortune to get their hands on every sticker this summer, thanks to a hefty price hike. Once upon a time the stickers would set up back a few pence at a time, but just a packet of five will cost you a whopping 80p this time round. That’s a staggering 60% rise on the price from just two years ago, when a packet of five Euro 2016 stickers would set you back 50p. In total there are 682 individual stickers to collect this summer, meaning you have to buy at least 137 packets to have any chance of completing the book, setting you back £109.60. But this doesn’t take into account that it’s pretty much impossible to not get any duplicate players in the first 137 packets you buy, meaning you’re either going to be swapping cards for the rest of your life or splashing out a lot more cash. My youngest loves the albums so there goes the bank balance!
An amazing St Patrick’s Festival last Sunday started with a windy beach clean with Ondine. Over 180 people helped collect just under 4,500 objects ranging from cigarette buts, ear bud sticks, straws, bags and various other objects to a weight of 67kg. Well done to all involved a great job! Note for your diaries, April 22nd in Es Trenc is the next one. I was at the top of the beach road soundchecking for the stage as we had quite a few varying acts. When The Raggles turned up at 10.45 for theirs I offered them a coffee, which was met with total derision and they headed off to the bar for in their words “a proper drink!” These boys are so rock n roll and had been gigging for 2 nights at The Shamrock in Palma. So when I refused a beer you’d think I’d burned all their instruments! It was easier to say yes to a Guinness which to be honest was a slippery slope but we ended up having the best day full of great laughs and songs. Big thanks to the Ayuntamiento de Calvia, John Bruce, BIC, Talahm, Liam Live, Marianne Armstrong, Glenn King, Angel Flukes The Raggles, Dj Little Liam Tot Espectaculos and Bianca Hadley We had a great Craic!
Next Friday the 30th of March Pirates opens its doors for another season. As you know I’ve worked there since 1994 and it’s great to see everybody back working hard for the first show. There aren’t many productions in the World that can boast over 30 years of entertaining people of all ages and nationalities. This year we have lots of great things planned for our Adventure and Reloaded shows plus our Gringos show which we launched last year. Please check out all the social media pages for more information or call 0034 971 130411 for more details.
Working on the radio keeping a close eye on the chart every week is really important. We have a chart show every Sunday in the traditional 5pm to 7pm slot. This is done by a good friend of mine Gus who works on a radio station in Glasgow, Scotland. We learnt this week that The Killers‘ classic hit ‘Mr Brightside’ has celebrated its 200th week in the UK top 100 this past week, almost 14 years after it was originally released. The track, which featured on the Las Vegas band’s debut ‘Hot Fuss’, peaked at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in 2004, but has been an ever-present in the charts over the past few years due to its popularity on streaming services. Streaming data was first introduced to the UK charts in 2014. The Official Charts Company now reports that ‘Mr Brightside’ has been streamed 45 million times in the last year alone and has averaged 878,000 plays and 696 downloads per week in 2018 so far. According to the BPI (British Phonographic Industry), it’s also the most-streamed song of any track released before 2010. If you’re a fan The Killers upcoming UK and Ireland tour dates are:
June 23 – Swansea Liberty Stadium, Swansea June 24 – Isle of Wight Festival July 8 – TRNSMT 2018, Glasgow July 13 – Bolton Macron Stadium July 14 – Latitude Festival Suffolk
Next week I’m off to Menorca to see my oldest Son play in the MeCup. I told you a few weeks ago there’s around 3,500 people descending on the island and we’re really looking forward to it. Which brings me to another sporting Menorca story. Henry Blofeld or Blowers as he’s affectionately known recently retired from cricket commentating on Test Match Special. He said in a recent interview, “When I retired from Test Match Special, it did not take us long to decide we were going to live in Menorca, my loyalty to the island insists I must spell it as the Spanish do. There were many contributing factors to our decision but when the thermometer approached freezing point, my aching bones, a legacy of much wicket-keeping seemed to bring them all together. Menorca has a lovely climate, it is almost crime-free and it has only one golf course. It is less pretentious than its two better known Balearic companions with their “look at me” clientele. Last, but by no means least, it has probably the best small cricket club I have ever been to.” To which I can concur as I’ve been there a couple of times. Sad to hear this week that Mallorca Cricket Club won’t be able to go to the Balearic Championships in Ibiza this year. Hopefully one day they can return as i know a lot of people worked very hard at keeping the Club going.
Another disappointing draw for Real Mallorca last Weekend at home to SD Formentera. I couldn’t go because of the St Patrick’s Festival but by all accounts they were lucky to get a draw. They are still 8 points clear at the top with 8 games to go, courtesy of their rivals not playing too well either. But 1 win in 5 isn’t exactly promotional form and they need to shake off this stuttering end to the season before they get to the play-offs.
If you remember last week I was talking about Spain who were on the verge of qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup having not qualified for the tournament since 1999, with the side only needing to beat Belgium ranked 25th in the world to join Georgia as qualifiers from the second tier of European rugby. By not winning the game they lost out to Romania who now go through. The controversy came as the game was refereed by a Romanian official that penalised them 28 times to Belgium’s 8. Surely they should have changed the referee to take away any possibility of bias? The defeat means that Spain miss out on automatic qualification for the World Cup next year, and must negotiate a series of play-offs against Portugal and, if they win, World Cup veterans Samoa in order to qualify.
Enjoy your weekend.
I present the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone, Android, The Tunein Radio App and on the Spanish TDT TV service. If you can’t hear me on the radio then you’ll find me working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again i may make an understudy appearance!
Feel free to email me at rprior@globobalear.com
Dad Taxi Mallorca 