The transfer window closed last Monday with Real Mallorca adding three new signings. 

Alvaro Giménez a centre forward joined on loan from Cadiz. The 29-year-old progressed from the Mallorca academy to the first team in a two-year spell at the club in 2011, before going onto represent Elche CF, AD Alcorcón, UD Almería, Birmingham City and his parent club. Giménez was also the Segunda División’s top goalscorer two seasons ago having found the back of the net 20 times at UD Almería.

Victor Mollejo a winger joined on loan from Atlético Madrid. The 20 year old ended his loan spell at Getafe CF early and has previous Segunda División experience at Deportivo de la Coruña where he made 36 appearances and scored six times. He is also a youth international for his native Spain and recently won the Under-20s European Championships. 

Koke Vegas a goalkeeper joined on loan from Levante. The 25 year old joins to add back up to Manolo Reina and Miquel Parera. 

The most interesting of the three is Giménez, if he can recapture the goal scoring form of two years ago in the same division he could fire Mallorca to promotion.

Last weekend after defeating Girona, Mallorca watched to see what their promotion rivals could do. It was looking pretty routine at half time for second placed Espanyol, cruising to a 2-0 lead. But an amazing second half comeback from Rayo Vallecano saw them run out 2-3 winners. Almeria hit two late goals to defeat lowly Castellón and join Espanyol in second place. So Mallorca finished the Weekend three points clear at the top. Friday night they went away to 17th placed Albacete a team you would have thought they could beat. However what their position didn’t show was that they hadn’t lost since December 21st, having won four and drawn one. They were in fact the team with the best form in January. 

Mallorca included all three transfer window signings in their squad but not in the starting eleven. They were helped by a sending off for Albacete in the first half but they were struggling to break them down. A triple substitution in the 55th minute sparked them into life, resulting in Ndiaye scoring for the third match in a row. They looked like they had thrown it away in the 88th minute when Albacete were awarded a penalty but with luck on their side it was missed. The coach Luis Garcia Plaza said, “It’s a vital victory – very important – but today we weren’t as sharp as other games. We struggled with that last pass, that last situation.” He added “We’re a team that goes out to win in any field and in any situation, the team’s ambition is the word that defines it the most – even on days when we are not so good. What we’re missing from this great season is our fans in the stadium.” I second that and it will be hugely disappointing if we’re not allowed in before the end of the season. At that point they were six points clear at the top with Espanyol and Almeria still to play. Almeria drew 1-1 last night with Fuenlabrada to move into second place. Espanyol don’t play until Monday against Lugo. That’s three victories in a row now for Mallorca and their blip seems to be over. The next two games could go a long way to decide whether they’ll gain automatic promotion or not. Espanyol next weekend and Almeria the week after. 

Atlético Baleares started against Atlético Madrid on the back of two successive wins and looking back in form. However an early goal from Madrid put them on the back foot and they didn’t really recover from it losing 1-0. They are at home to mid table Real Madrid Castilla managed by their former legend Raul and need to get a win. 

UD Poblense have worryingly gone to the bottom of the league with a 0-1 reverse against Las Rozas. They’ve only won one game so far and have the highest amount of draws with six. Perhaps the stat which defines the reason they are bottom is that they’ve conceded the most goals. This weekend they are away at Getafe B.

Here’s something I’ve not written this season, UD Ibiza have lost a league game. On the one hand it was surprisingly at home but on the other it was against the team in second place Alcoyano, who defeated Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey. The coach Juan Carlos Carcedo said “The team was on a sustained run of hugely impressive results and we  know just how difficult it was to achieve that. Now, we will regroup and go again with the same focus and ambition as always”. Today they play mid table Atzeneta UE away. 

Peña Deportiva disappointingly drew 0-0 at bottom of the table Atlético Levante UD. It was a chance for them to add to their points tally but like the rest of the season they couldn’t score. That’s just three goals in 12 games and that might well be their downfall. They’re at home to third placed Hercules today. 

In Tercera division group A, After closing the gap to Andratx both Manacor and Ibiza Pitiusas let it slip again. Manacor lost at home to Constancia and Ibiza could only draw with Soller. Andratx have won their last two to move nine points clear and although the chasing teams have games in hand they can’t keep throwing away opportunities. 

In Tercera division group B, Platges de Calvia are still dominating. They are five points clear of Real Mallorca B with two games in hand. 

In Division Honor top of the table Espanyol finally lost their first game losing 2-0 at Girona. Penya Arrabal thrashed Atlético Villacarlos 7-1, San Francisco got a hard fought 1-0 win over UD Cornella and Real Mallorca play CF Damm today. 

Youth football are still training and let’s see what the authorities do with the restrictions next week. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

I’m getting fed up with the constant sound bytes from Government ministers here about what they think will be happening this summer. Without an actual plan on how it is actually going to happen. Does anyone actually read them and believe them? Last week I commented on the Prime Minister saying the tourist season wouldn’t start until the end of the summer and the tourism minister saying it would be spring but with no specific date. Then our own President saying it would be June. Fast forward to this past week and the Tourism Minister was at it again saying national tourism could restart at Easter as long as health security conditions are met. What those conditions were she didn’t know but a few days later the health minister said it would only happen if cases were at a 14-day cumulative incidence of no more than 150 cases per 100,000. He also added that he didn’t know when Easter was! So you’ve got a tourism minister who says we could open by Easter but didn’t know what numbers were needed in order to do so and a health minister who quotes the numbers needed but didn’t know when Easter was! Is it me? Do these people communicate with each other before they speak? 

I don’t believe we should be concentrating on an Easter opening, all our thoughts and plans should be on a summer opening. Also an Easter opening to national tourism only? Haven’t we learnt anything? It took until December 20th for the Balearic Islands to make everyone arriving from the mainland to come with a negative test. The rise in the numbers through November, December and January were undoubtedly people travelling in and out from the mainland without any checks. Even though we have the checks in place I still wouldn’t risk it. Easter falls early April(Good Friday is April 2nd) so you’ll have a busy 4 or 5 days and then a complete lull for the rest of the month. My view would be to forget that and push out the vaccine as quickly as possible to be ready for May if possible but at the latest June. Whilst not ideal I think most businesses would try and make a go of the Summer if that was the case. 

We have a big enough resident population to get businesses moving. There was a report out this week that of the Agroturismo hotels that are currently open, their occupancy is 80% from residents only. Ask anyone right now what they’d do once the restrictions are relaxed. My guess is visit their favourite restaurants, bars and cafes that they’ve not been to in ages. 

Obviously there needs to be a plan to get the bars cafes and restaurants opening on a staggered basis like before. They’ve had so many false dawns and knock backs, offer them tax and social security breaks and encourage them to get staff off of the ERTE(furlough) and Paro(Unemployment benefit). That starts the system moving again. Then start encouraging people to start going out again. Masks on and socially distancing of course. But why not offer a scheme like the UK’s eat out to help out, where a discount was offered to people eating out Monday to Wednesday’s. Each customer got a 50% discount on food or non-alcoholic drinks to eat or drink in (up to a maximum of £10 discount per diner). The business gave them the discount and reclaimed the money back from the Government. Very much like the voucher system they have in Calvia from the Town Hall. I’ve spoken to quite a few businesses who have taken part in that and it seems to have worked. I know we have used it at the barbers, hairdressers, massage and a sports shop to name a few. It’s encouraged people to shop locally. 

The difference this time is that the vaccine is on the horizon, albeit as seen through a pair of binoculars right now but it exists. I’m not sure why the Government has said the vaccinations will only be carried out by the public health and not the private? Surely it’s better to get it out there as quick as possible? I’m not sure the public health system will be able to cope? I’d heard that the army might be brought in like in the UK, which would be a good thing. Vox party leader Jorge Campos has said that if the Balearic Government can’t get the vaccine quick enough from the mainland government then they should go out and buy it themselves. He said that the Pfizer vaccine costs 17€ per unit. Therefore to vaccine the whole of the Balearic population that are on the padrón, which is currently 1, 149,460 people, would cost 19,540,820€. There are 35,156 currently on the ERTE(furlough) in the Balearics plus 109,900 on Paro(unemployment benefit), so just over 145,000 currently out of work.

If the Government are paying 500€ a month which I know can be less or can be more but just makes the maths easier for me! That’s 72,528,000€ cost every month to the Government. Now I’m no economist but shouldn’t we be going out and looking at all possibilities of vaccines? It’s the only way we are going to have a summer season here on the island. 

On a lighter note this week I went and had a full body wax! Not something you do every day but this was left over from the Radiothon as a challenge for me. Four guys put up 175€ for our charities for me to do it so I had to keep my promise. A big thanks to Denise and all her staff at Denise Beauty Salon in Portals Village who looked after me. I can’t describe the pain!

Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

Last weeks results in La Liga Smartbank couldn’t have gone much better for Real Mallorca, they were the only team in the top 6 to win a game. The leaders Espanyol lost at Girona, Mallorca beat fourth placed Rayo Vallecano. Third placed Almeria were the only team to pick up a point with a home draw against lowly Sabadell. Fifth placed Sporting Gijón lost at Castellon and sixth placed Leganés lost against Las Palmas.

It got even better last night against Girona when a last minute Ndiaye goal gave them a 1-0 victory. That takes them 3 points clear at the top, with Espanyol still to play today. Almeria moved level on points with Espanyol with a 3-1 victory against Castellón. 

Mallorca are now top on 48 points, with Espanyol and Almeria on 45 points. Then there’s a gap to Rayo on 37 points, Sporting on 36 points and Leganés on 34 points, who all still have to play this weekend. Remembering that the top two go up automatically to La Liga, with the next four in the play-offs for the remaining place. 

Mallorca are still looking to recruit a striker in the transfer window. Alvaro Giménez at Cadiz and Mamadou Sylla at Girona are two names that have been mentioned. So let’s see if anyone does come in.

Atlético Baleares finally got back to winning ways this week with back to back wins against Rayo Majadahonda and Getafe B. A couple of great results to ease the pressure on the coach Jordi Roger. They are now in the play-off places so it’s important to continue this form against Atlético Madrid B who are managed by the former Liverpool, Chelsea and Atlético legend Fernando Torres. Goalkeeper Juan Carlos Sanchez who joined the club this year has fallen out with the coach and Sporting Director and has now left the club. On the website the club say they’ve reached an agreement to cancel his contract. However Juan Carlos commented that after being dropped after the 2-3 loss to Poblense the club have not kept their promises so he is leaving. Xavi Ginard has played in the last two games and the club have just signed Rene Roman as a back up keeper from Dinamo Bucharest. 

UD Poblense lost 1-0 last weekend to top of the table San Sebastián and remain in seventh place of their ten team league. They have a home match today against Las Rozas, who are below them in the league so 3 points will be most welcome. They have signed centre forward Ruben Jurado from fellow Segunda B team Barakaldo. The 34 year old comes with a lot of experience and will hopefully get some much needed goals. 

UD Ibiza maintained their unbeaten start with a 0-1 last minute victory against La Nucia. This weekend they have a home game against the team that defeated Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey Alcoyano. 

Peña Deportiva managed a 1-1 draw with Valencia Mestalla. An 87th minute equaliser helped them salvage a point. Today they have an away game at bottom of the table Atlético Levante, so a chance of a much needed win. 

Things have got interesting in Tercera. In Group A Ibiza Pitiusas beat top of the table Andratx 3-0 to inflict only their second defeat of the season. Manacor won away at Felanitx leaving Andratx on top with 31 points, Manacor second on 25 points and with a game in hand. Ibiza Pitiusas are third on 23 points but have two games in hand on Andratx. 

In Group B Platges de Calvia still lead the way on 27 points followed by Santanyi on 23 points, having played a game more and Mallorca B in third on 21 points.

In Division Honor, the derby between Penya Arrabal and San Francisco ended in a win for Penya 1-0. Real Mallorca got a creditable 0-0 draw against top of the table Espanyol. 

Still no other youth football at the moment with the current restrictions. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

Massive thanks to everyone who has viewed and shared my column and blog from last week. It’s been seen in Spain, Uk, USA, Ireland, Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Pakistán, Italy, Switzerland, Philippines, Mexico, Austria, Australia, Germany, Malta, Qatar, Estonia, Belgium, Serbia, Canada, Andorra, New Zealand & Norway, UAE, Hong Kong, Slovakia, Thailand, Portugal, Hungary and Egypt, 

I said you couldn’t make it up but sometimes I think this Government are. Last week the President Pedro Sanchez said he couldn’t see the tourist industry returning before the end of the summer season. That was hastily followed by the Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto saying that actually the country would be open by the Spring. Well spring is from March 20th to June the 21st, so any chance of a more accurate date Minister? A name of a month will do. 

Then came our own Baleares President Francina Armengol or Armageddon as I’m told she’s now known. She actually did give us that month when she said that “normal life” could return to the Balearics by June as long as the mass vaccination programme is successful. However this was followed by the front page headline in the Spanish newspaper Ultima Hora the following day which read “The Government have slowed down the vaccinations because there aren’t enough doses! All this within a space of a week 

I’m sorry to keep banging on about it but these people are running our lives. Actually I’ll change that running to ruining because that’s how a lot of people feel right now. I’ll give them last Summer, although mistakes were made, everyone was taken by surprise at the severity of the pandemic. But since we knew that the last Summer season wasn’t going to happen the plan should have been put in place to make sure that summer 2021 was a starter. Unfortunately we’ve stumbled from one mistake to another and in my opinion they should have stopped arrivals from the beginning of December. That would have meant stopping the beginning of December holidays, Christmas, New Year and Three Kings. Difficult and very unpopular decisions I know but the rise in numbers weren’t down to the bars, restaurants, gyms etc they were down to those celebrations. No Government wants to ban things people enjoy especially in a lockdown but that decision should have been made. 

Look at New Zealand, their Prime Minister Jacinda Arden won immense praise last year for her leadership. She instituted a mandatory quarantine for all travellers on March 15th, when the nation had recorded just 6 cases. The alert level has just been lowered to 1, and virus measures such as social-distancing are at a minimum as a result, in a country that has only had 25 fatalities since the start of the pandemic, and just 2,246 positive cases. Compare that to the Balearics as a whole that has had just over 51,000 cases and 579 deaths. Remembering also that their population is 4 times the size of ours. And yes I realise that land mass and population density are different but it shows what can be achieved on islands with a clear plan. 

If we were in that position now we would be gearing up for the summer and people would not be in such a desperate situation. I’m not sure the authorities realise the problem out there. 

I’ve detected since we finished the Christmas celebrations and restrictions have become tighter that there is a change in the attitude of the authorities to start clawing back the money it’s losing. If I look for an anology, It’s a bit of a Robin Hood attitude, robbing the rich(and not so rich)to pay the poor. A few people I know have been subject to work inspections the like of which they’ve never had before. Fines have been increased. I know to my cost as my Wife was stopped by an unmarked Police car after the Genova tunnel this week for not having her lights on. Her side lights were on but not the main ones. The fine? 200 euros! 

The “help” of 1500€ by the Government to the bars and restaurants that were made to close actually isn’t all it seems. If you owe any tax or social security right now they say you’re not entitled to it. What business that either hasn’t opened for 10 months or has but at a reduced capacity doesn’t owe some money to the tax man? One business owner was actually told you have to pay us before your employees. No negotiation. It’s wrong and as always it’s all about the spin while the substance reveals another story. 

I’ll leave you with a Feelgood story this week. Despite the desperation of some right now there are some good things happening with the help of good people. I was alerted by the charity SOS Calvia to a single Spanish lady with a child who was struggling to fix her washing machine. There were lots of offers of help from money donations to offers of a second hand one. A guy called Kevin Pellowe offered to go round and fix the machine so I arranged for him to go on Saturday morning. He went and told me it was unfixable. I contacted a guy called Damo who lived in Son Dureta who had offered for free a second hand one and Kevin agreed to pick it up and it was fitted in on Sunday. All this was done free of charge and I just want to say a massive thanks to both the guys who have stepped up at a time of need. Human kindness at its best.

Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

Aritz Aduriz had a glittering Spanish football career playing 640 games and scoring 221 goals from 1999 until his retirement last season. He played for Mallorca for two seasons from 2008 to 2010 and finished top scorer in both seasons. He was a legend at Athletico Bilbao playing for the club on three separate occasions and he had announced that last season was to be his last as he needed a hip replacement operation. He was determined to win a trophy with his club in his final year. Just before the pandemic hit Bilbao had qualified for the Copa Del Rey final to play Real Sociedad. However due to the pandemic the final still hasn’t been played thus cruelly denying Aduriz a chance to win that coveted trophy. The Spanish Super Copa is played out by the winner and runner-up in La Liga and the winner and runner-up of the Copa Del Rey. Barcelona had beaten Real Sociedad and Bilbao beat Real Madrid to set up the final. Aduriz was invited by Bilbao to the team hotel to give his former team mates a boost. It obviously did the trick as they ran out 3-2 winners in a game which saw Lionel Messi get his first red card for Barca. Aduriz was invited on to the pitch to celebrate with his former team mates and help lift the trophy. 

A few months ago I mentioned Carlos Vicens who was born in Colonia de San Jordi  in Mallorca and was the academy director and assistant manager at CD Llosetense. He was promoted to Head Coach of Manchester City’s U-18 team after being the assistant.

Well this week I became aware of other Mallorquins who are doing extremely well coaching around the World after cutting their training teeth here on the island. 

Carlos Cuesta at just 25yrs old has already got a very impressive coaching CV. He was born here in Palma and was an accomplished footballer playing at Santa Catalina Atlético and representing a Balearic representative side alongside fellow Mallorquín and Real Madrid player Marco Asensio. But playing wasn’t his thing, he enjoyed coaching so started with his clubs Benjamin(U-9 to U-10’s) team. After training the kids for four years, at 18 years old, Carlos moved to Madrid to study at INEF (Faculty of Sciences for Physical Activity and Sport) and also helped out at Atletico Madrid. Where, as he did here in Mallorca, he took control of a number of the youth teams and all the while he watched Diego Simeone coach the first team. Since then he has worked at Manchester City with Pep Guardiola and at Juventus with Max Allegri and Maurizio Sarri. He is now part of the new set up at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, who was part of Pep’s coaching team where he first met Carlos. 

Another good example is Xisco Muñoz, from Manacor, the ex-footballer from Tenerife, Recreativo and Valencia assumed control of Watford just before the Christmas holidays. 

Looks like we’re not only producing good players but some great coaches too. 

It’s the second round of matches in La Liga Smartbank this weekend and Real Mallorca needed to get back to winning ways after three games without a win. It wasn’t going to be easy away at fourth placed Rayo Vallecano who had beaten them in the first game of the season at home  0-1. 

Obviously a two week break worked as Mallorca were 0-3 up within 19 minutes. It was similar to Real Oviedo away a couple of weeks ago when they went 0-2 up but they failed to hang on and drew 2-2. This time round they managed the game better and ran out 1-3 winners. With Espanyol losing 1-0 to Girona, they are joint top on 45 points. Almeria are third, four points behind with two games in hand. Alex Alegría has left the club on loan for Real Zaragoza. 

Both Ibiza teams unfortunately lost their Copa Del Rey last 32 matches last week. Peña Deportiva took Valladolid to extra time before losing 1-4. UD Ibiza went 1-0 up on Supercopa winners Athletico Bilbao before losing 1-2 to a 90th minute winner. It was Ibiza’s first loss of the season after they won again last weekend in the league to maintain their lead at the top. Peña lost away last week at Villareal B 2-0 and need to start getting points and scoring goals. Only 2 in 10 games is not good enough. Peña play Valencia Mestalla today and UD play La Nucia. 

No game again last week for Atlético Baleares because of the weather in Madrid, so todays game against Rayo Majadahonda is a must win. 

UD Poblense drew 1-1 last week with Atlético Madrid B with Fernando Torres making his managerial debut for Los Colchoneros. This week they have a difficult task against top of the table San Sebastián. 

In Tercera Group A, Andratx still lead the way from Manacor. The third and fourth placed teams CD Ibiza Pitiusas and SD Portmany played each other last week in an Ibizan derby. With Pitiusas winning 0-3. 

In Group B Platges de Calvia are still leading by six points from Mallorca B.

In Division Honor Real Mallorca played CD San Francisco in a midweek local derby. San Fran went 0-1 up but Mallorca fought back to win 2-1. The league is still dominated by Espanyol who lead by 12 points from Barcelona. Real Mallorca are fourth, San Fran sixth and Penya Arrabal eighth. Penya play San Fran today in a big local derby which San Fran won last time out 4-1. 

As we are still on tier 4 here there’s still no youth football although the teams can train twice a week. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

I just can’t understand why the Spanish Prime Minister would come out and say that Spain will be “better prepared” to receive foreign tourists by the end of the summer once 70% of the population has been vaccinated. If that’s the case speed up the vaccination programme to make sure it’s at that figure by at least May! Surely it’s better to stimulate the economy by getting people back to work as quickly as possible? I can’t believe the cost of the vaccine is more than having people furloughed or unemployed? This smacks of looking after the bigger autonomous regions first that don’t depend so much on Tourism. The whole of Spain’s tourism GDP is 12% but here it’s 44% and as much as 85% if you include third party suppliers. We need to get the vaccine out here as quickly as possible. The UK Government’s target is 350,000 a day which they are not far off of right now. So if you brought that here you’d be done in 3 days! Now I realise that’s unrealistic here but it shows what can be done if you put a plan together.  Too much dithering for me and will leave us in a total mess if nothing is done. 

Talking of a total mess. The Spanish postal service right now leaves a lot to be desired. My Mum, my Sister and my Mother in law all sent parcels for our kids in good time before Christmas. So far none of them have arrived. Well actually one apparently might have arrived as they said via the tracker they tried to deliver it last week but they said there was no one in. Although on the day there was at least one of us at home. We went to the Post Office this week, and they said they’d sent it back because the address was wrong! So how did you try and deliver it then? A shrug of the shoulders and there’s nothing we can do was the reply. This made we wonder if anyone else was experiencing the same problems. I asked on the radio and put a post on Facebook and was inundated with replies. Over 100 to be precise via Social media and telephone messages. Anyway enough for me to try and find out more information. 

Correos is the largest provider of postal services in Spain and has been entrusted with the universal service obligation since 1998. It has more than 50,000 employees and annual revenues of around €2 billion. It is owned by the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (“SEPI”), a public-law entity which holds shareholdings in various companies on behalf of the State.

The Spanish postal service market was liberalised in 2011 in accordance with the European Postal Directive, which opened up the market to other suppliers and while Correos emanates from public administration, it now operates in full competition with other relevant postal service providers. 

By the way, you did read the above correct, revenues of around €2 billion! But you have to dig a little deeper than that to look at the profit. Correos achieved a net profit of €14.8 million in 2019, giving the national postal service its first gain since 2014. Reversing its loss of €153 million in 2018. Which might give you more of an idea why they’re in a mess. 

However it’s not just a Spanish problem apparently as you might be thinking it’s all about Brexit. Covid has also been a problem both with the handling of post, the rise in online purchases and the loss of staff to illness. 

In the UK the Royal Mail posted on their website a statement saying “working hard to deliver the most comprehensive and high quality service we can to all our customers..but the combination of greatly increased uptake of online shopping, and the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, mean that all delivery companies are experiencing exceptionally high volumes.”

It might have been advisable to make the warnings earlier and clearer. Also if there was a problem with sorting because of sheer volume then employ more people. It might be only temporary but there’s a lot of people out there looking for work. 

Royal Mail have appointed a new boss, Simon Thompson, a former Ocado executive who also ran the NHS Test and Trace app. The firm has admitted “failing to adapt” to the new reality and “holding on to outdated working practices and a delivery structure that no longer meets customer needs”. He will have been aware that just before Christmas the Royal Mail agreed what unions called a “landmark” deal to settle a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. Looks like he has his hands full. 

When I researched “problemas con correos en España” in Google, the top search was from Trustpilot. They are an online consumer review website who post reviews of businesses Worldwide. With just under 1500 reviews, 94% of people rate Correos as very bad. The boss is called Juan Manel Serrano Quintana, a former advisor to Spanish President Pedro Sanchez and he earns just over 200,000€ a year. Looks like he has his work cut out too. 

It’s too late for Christmas sadly for a lot of people but next time it might be advisable to look at all the alternatives and costs and decide what is best. Our family did also use Send My Bag which arrived on time and without a problem. 

I’d like to leave you with some praise though this week. I picked up my eldest sons and my TIE resident card on Tuesday. After going before Christmas to discover the wording was wrong and we would have to reapply. This time we were met outside by the Policía Nacional who were checking everybody’s paperwork. He said that because of all the bad weather in Madrid there was a backlog of cards arriving but he said we should be ok. Sure enough within 10 minutes we were in and out without any hassle. 

Also the new temporary MOT centre set up just outside Magaluf has been a success. Trying to deal with a backlog of MOT’s they seem to have got things moving. My Wife decided to forego her late January appointment elsewhere to try and get it done before. She went down very early one morning and was in, out and passed within an hour. 

See with a bit of planning things can be done quicker.

Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

Real Mallorca need to get back to winning ways soon or risk losing their automatic promotion place. I think we all knew a “sticky patch” would come sometime and it has right now. Since the 2-3 home defeat to Fuenlabrada they’ve now drawn away in Oviedo, after being 2-0 up and lost at home last weekend to Las Palmas 0-1. There was also a Copa Del Rey defeat to Fuenlabrada sandwiched in between. If you had of said Mallorca will be in second place at the end of the first round of matches, most people would have taken it. The problem is this lack of form has come at the wrong time. The next few games sees them playing all their promotion rivals. There are no games this weekend due to the Copa del Rey but next week there’s a tricky away game at fifth placed Rayo Vallecano. The team they lost 0-1 to at home in the first game of the season. That’s followed by eighth placed Girona and bottom of the table Albacete. Then it’s two consecutive home games against first placed Espanyol and third placed Almeria. Those two games will have a huge bearing on those two automatic promotion places.

The coach Luis Garcia Plaza said this week, “We’ve gone 18 games without losing and now we’ve gone three without winning. If the losses had been interspersed, nothing would have happened. These two weeks of training are going to be very good for us. Marc(Cardona) and Jordi(Mboula) are coming back and we will see if we can strengthen any other positions. We have a long way to go still. The demand is very great to be among the best.”

The break this weekend may well work for them to get back to what they were doing before. La Liga Smartbank is a difficult league to get out of and there are no dominant teams. If Mallorca can go on another run like before that will secure promotion. 

Atlético Baleares have had no game since their pre-Christmas 2-3 home loss to UD Poblense. Both last weeks and this weeks games were called off due to the bad snow in Madrid. But that means they may well have a fixture pile up. The coach Jordi Roger said this week he hopes they don’t have to play six games in two weeks. They have already missed a couple of games because of a Covid outbreak and the league has to finish the first half by mid March. Central midfielder Miguel Ángel Cordero has joined in the January transfer window. He has joined them from La Liga 2 side Cartagena and he has plenty of experience in that league and Segunda B too. 

Ud Poblense were also snowed off last week as their opponents Dux Internacional couldn’t get out of Madrid. They have just signed 20 year old forward Carlos Javier Polo Jiménez or “Peke” as he is known. He comes from Barcelona B so must have a good pedigree and hopefully he can fire them up the table. 

UD Ibiza continued their unbeaten run in the league last week with a 2-0 win over Villareal B. They’re five points clear at the top and have only conceded one goal in their nine games. They’re nailed on to go on to the second half of the season and hopefully promotion. They’re at home to Levante B today and then It’s Copa del Rey next Thursday. After their amazing 5-2 over Celta last time out, they are up up against the Basque side Athletic Bilbao. Currently twelfth in La Liga, they’re having a mixed season and I wouldn’t rule out UD beating them. They’ve also just signed 20yr old left back Javi Vazquez from Sevilla B. 

Peña Deportiva disappointingly drew last time out against the bottom side Atzeneta 1-1. Although they’ll be glad of an 83rd minute equaliser, which was only their second goal of the season! Last night they unfortunately lost to La Liga side Valladolid 1-4 in the Copa del Rey last 32. But only after extra-time and after having one player sent-off. This weekend they are away at Villareal B. 

In Tercera Group A, Andratx lead the way by six points from Manacor. CD Ibiza Pitiusas are in third five points behind Manacor with two games in hand. 

In Tercera Group B. Platges de Calvia lead Real Mallorca B by six points. Mallorca had the chance to close that gap yesterday to their rivals but the top two fought out a 0-0 draw. 

In Division Honor, CD San Francisco have found a bit of form. Last week they won away on a snowy Club Esportiu Europa Pitch with an 89th minute winner. Yesterday they beat third placed FC Girona 2-0 to go to fifth in the table. Espanyol still lead the rest by twelve points having won 10 of their 11 games. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

I rang my colleague Frank Leavers this week to meet for a coffee, which we try to do at least once a month for a catch up. When he suddenly said, hang on Richie as of tomorrow we can’t they’re all shut! That was the realisation that we are pretty much back to where we started 10 months ago. This is not formally a lockdown but let’s face it, it might as well be. They say our curfew is 22.00 but “Best be home by 20.00 hrs”, what does that mean? It’s like being a teenager again. 

I personally think the Government hasn’t read the room and this last change was the straw that broke the camels back. The protests in Palma on Tuesday and the rumblings of discontent amongst the coalition partners, Podemos and Mes means they’re walking a tightrope.

President Armengol is saying all the measures are to protect the health service which is all well and good. But she and her Government also have a duty to protect people’s lives in other ways too. Housing, jobs and other health issues. Reports out this week show that the demand for people using foodbanks in the municipality of Calvia is up 80%. I made a point of going out this past week and visiting the people that are helping others at this time. 

As part of the work we did on our Radio One Mallorca Christmas Appeal we’ve been able to help the food banks with much needed supplies. Last Saturday we went shopping with Nick at Yachting Gives Back and delivered everything to the Asociació Tardor in Palma. They are currently cooking over 1000 meals a day and that number seems to be going up on a daily basis. 

On Wednesday we paid for a delivery of a pallet of tomato frito for SOS Calvia. Manuel Más and his team have done an amazing job helping people in the area. That number is currently around 250 but increasing. He has been helped by Manuel at Highland Gold in Son Bugadellas who is using his buying power and offering his storage facilities too.

On Thursday we went shopping with the Santa Ponsa Food Bank. They’re a group of volunteers from the Santa Ponsa Community Church who have only just set themselves up, but they are already helping over 100 people. We couldn’t have done any of the above without the help of our very generous listeners and we will continue with as much help as we can. 

Back to the Governments reaction. My problem right now is there doesn’t seem to be a proper plan. They seem to be reacting to what is happening rather than putting the right measures in place. The first lockdown was full on but let’s remember that the numbers were a lot lower than they are now. We were put into a National Lockdown by the National Government who were trying to curb the outbreaks in Madrid and Cataluña. There is now widespread testing which shows more people have the virus but that wasn’t available first time round. Thus making the recorded numbers higher. I can’t for the life of me think that the bars, cafes and restaurants that were open, which weren’t that many by the way, were actually contributing greatly to the spread. Only the outside terraces were open and all tables were socially distanced. If there was a problem then the Police should have been policing them rather than setting up roadblocks everywhere checking peoples papers. My idea would be if any bar, restaurant or cafe were seen to be flouting the rules, firstly warn them, secondly fine them and the final time close them for a period of time. 

The problem is undoubtedly in the supermarkets or larger shops where people can congregate. What they’ve done in Calvia is close off part of their parking, which I imagine is to stop too many people going inside. However if you can’t get a space everybody else is just parking on the streets outside. So no change.

Granted all this is not easy but these people have been voted in to make ultimately difficult decisions. Remember they haven’t taken a pay cut so they’re not feeling the effects that the rest of the island is. 

I will take my family as an example. I am on the Erte(furlough). Pirates where I work is a theatre that was closed due to the restrictions. My Wife has had her Theatre Academy shut which after 12 years of hard work has been tough for her. Especially when no financial help has been offered. Although dance schools which are part of a federation can stay open, how is that fair? My sons are at school which is better than before but my eldest is only going in 3 days one week and two the next. Why? Have you heard of any serious outbreaks in schools? We are failing our children if we can’t offer a full-time education. 

They are allowed to train twice a week at football which is great, as exercise is vitally important but not allowed to play games which I think is a little tough. They had organised for my eldest that they would play the same team home and away with a weeks gap in between. That was working fine before Christmas but it at the moment it’s been stopped. My youngest hasn’t played a game all season which I still don’t get. 

I know we’re not alone in this, we’ll get through it but others won’t and we’re failing our people if we don’t offer help. 

They must start rolling out the vaccine as quickly as they can as this is obviously the clearest way forward. 

It’s tough out there but keep your heads up and always check on family and friends who might need help at this time.

Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

Pride of place this week must go to the two Ibiza teams UD Ibiza and Peña Deportiva after their Copa Del Rey exploits. UD comprehensively beat Celta de Vigo who are currently eighth in La Liga 5-2 and Peña beat Sabadell from the second division on penalties. UD were comfortably winning 4-0 before Celta decided to play a little. They got back to 4-2 and then had an 89th minute penalty saved, which could have led to an exciting final few minutes. However Ibiza went straight up the other end and finished the game off 5-2. Peña’s game was a little more of a struggle, with the game 0-0 after extra time. Their hero in the penalty shoot-out was goalkeeper Fran Martínez who managed to save three of the four penalties he faced with the other being missed too! So a 2-0 penalties win puts them into the next round. 

Both teams were hoping to draw either Barcelona or Real Madrid in the next round but it wasn’t to be. UD will play Athletico Bilbao and Peña will play Real Valladolid.

It’s back to League action for both teams today after the Christmas break with UD at home to Villareal B and Peña playing Atzeneta away. 

Real Mallorca threw away a two goal lead at Real Oviedo last weekend to draw their first match after the Christmas break 2-2. On what was an awful pitch in Oviedo, Mallorca were cruising with goals from Lago Junior and a thunderbolt 30 yarder from Joan Sastre. But Oviedo got one back just before half-time and that gave them the momentum into the second half to equalise on 68 minutes. If Mallorca could have held out they would have returned to the top of the League as Espanyol had lost away at Las Palmas. Who Mallorca now play at home today at 16.00. 

It’s very tight at the top with Espanyol and Mallorca on 42 points and Almeria on 41. There’s then a 7 point gap to Vallecano and Leganés on 34 points. They then went on to lose to Fuenlabrada away in the Copa Del Rey on Wednesday on penalties. They played a lot of the players who have been on the fringes and after drawing 2-2 in the game itself they lost on penalties. Antonio Sanchez missed the decisive penalty to lose 7-6. 

Atlético Baleares need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible. After losing 2-3 at home to UD Poblense before Christmas, I’m surprised the coach Jordi Roger is still in a job. They are currently 10 points behind the leaders, San Sebastián and Rayo Majadahonda. This season held high hopes for Baleares to get promotion but just two wins in 8 games isn’t good enough. With the bad weather on the mainland especially around Madrid, todays game with Getafe B has been cancelled. 

Ud Poblense were keen to carry on their impressive result against Baleares but once again the weather In Madrid has cancelled their game against Madrid based team Dux Internacional. 

In Tercera Division Andratx lead group A by 4 points from second placed Manacor who have a game in hand. 

In Group B, Platges de Calvia have a 6 point lead over second placed Real Mallorca B. 

In Division Honor the highest league in Youth football, Penya Arrabal are in fifth place, San Francisco are in seventh and Real Mallorca are in eighth. As I’ve said before this is a difficult league and all three teams will do well to not get relegated. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

When we first got locked down in mid March last year I don’t think many of us thought that nearly ten months later we would be pretty much in the same position. So how do we get out of this mess and get on with our lives? Well for me we’ve got three choices. 

Number 1: We carry on with the current situation and when the numbers are high we are locked down or put on curfews. And when the numbers are low those restrictions are eased. 

Number 2:  Take the vaccine.

Number 3: Protect the vulnerable and let the rest of us get on with our lives. 

So let’s look at the above in slightly more detail. 

Firstly carrying on as we are. Well ten months since the first lockdown we don’t see m to be in any better position than we were when it all started. We’re into round three of lockdown/Curfews/restrictions and what has changed? We can’t just keep stopping and restarting when the numbers start to rise its not working and it’s not practical. I’m sure there’s far worse to come, not with the virus but the fallout from concentrating on the virus. Mental health is more of a silent killer but there is without doubt a huge problem looming. Cancer is either not being screened or detected early enough and will be another huge problem soon. These are just the tip of the iceberg and whilst the concentration on Covid has been important, the lack of concentration in other fields is worrying. 

That’s just concentrating on health without looking at jobs, education, finances, need I go in? These are going to be a problem for years to come. 

Secondly the vaccine. Now if this becomes the only way for things to get back to some sort of the normality then show me the needle. I do not believe for one minute the vaccines being released are dangerous, if they were they wouldn’t have been passed. It may well affect different people in different ways like all things do, but for the overall majority it will be fine. You can guarantee that the media who’ve been screaming for it to be rolled out will try and find someone who has an allergic reaction to it. Why do they do that? 

I noticed this week that reality star Lauren Goodger said she didn’t want take the vaccine. Who? You might say! Well she’s a reality TV star who has around 750,000 followers on Instagram so a lot of people follow what she says. “I don’t want to inject myself with something I don’t know the long-term effects. I have heard all the different things that are in it and I think I have had Covid already and I have coped with it.” Well I urge you to check her out and if I’m not wrong which I know I’m not, she’s already had things injected into her in a lot of different places. Everyone can have an opinion but when you quite plainly don’t know the facts don’t make headlines out of them as people will believe what you say. If you’re not sure, don’t ask Dr Google or social media as this is a very important decision and down to each and every one of us to decide what we do. 

Thirdly, protect the vulnerable and the health service and let us get on with our lives. I talked about this earlier in the year and I still have the same opinion. The World needs to start getting back to some sort of normality and the sooner the better. 

I think we’re in a situation right now that will be a combination of all three choices and slowly but surely we’ll return to where we were ten months ago. Glass half full for me, positivity will help us all get through this, not negativity. 

Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com