This weeks column is written out of sheer frustration in what has happened here in Mallorca in the past year. Blame can only be rested with the people making decisions which means the Government both regionally and nationally. I’ve said before that around the World there isn’t one Government who you’d say have got their reaction to the pandemic completely correct. Whether that be the first, second or now third wave. This is a new phenomenon for all, but you have to question the stop/start reaction we are getting here. 

Businesses and people are being subjected to rules and regulations that seem to change like the weather and in some cases on a daily basis. Think back, no masks, then masks, no school, then school,  no tests, then tests, no curfew, then curfew are just a few of many examples. So how many more waves of this stop/start do we have to endure before someone actually has the cojones to say that’s it?  Protect the vulnerable, make rules that are sensible and let us get on with our lives. I’m not for once forgetting anybody that’s sadly passed away from this awful disease and I’m not a Covid denier either. But for our own sanity or economic necessity we need to get back to some sort of pre-pandemic normality. 

The mess we’re in right now is in my opinion is 99.9% down to the non testing of anyone arriving at the airport from the mainland. I said it last week but still they dithered and only this week will it start. A friend of mine came from Germany this week via Barcelona. He was asked for his PCR test in Germany but on his arrival in Barcelona and Mallorca, nothing! 

It’s a joke. 

This however is not just about Covid as serious as it is but all the other problems that despite prior warnings are now starting to appear. 

I’ve followed a Professor Karol Sikora on Twitter since this all began. He has been an oncologist for 50 years and a former Director of the WHO cancer programme. News broke this week that the waiting list for cancer treatment in the UK has nearly doubled since May. 

Delays caused by coronavirus have seen the number of patients waiting for cancer tests or treatment soar from around 90,000 to 160,000 in just seven months.

It comes as a report warns patients face a ‘double whammy’ of delays in seeing a GP and long waiting times for vital cancer tests. We all know that  catching cancer early is without doubt a lifesaver so what do you say to all the people that have lost a relative through this or people that haven’t been diagnosed and may well risk losing their lives? 

He commented “So many have cancer right now and don’t even know, it’s an unfolding disaster.”

I imagine the UK is not alone in those figures and that is just one example, there are many more. Mental health and economic worries are becoming a massive problem. 

I was critical of the National Government at the time of lockdown as we were being put under restrictions due to the problems of Covid infections on the mainland. It is the same now here in Mallorca and the Regional Government. There is no doubt the numbers are going up, current numbers(taken from ibsalut.es) show that there are 4,827 active cases in Mallorca. Palma alone makes up 49% of those cases with 2381, but divide that into capital’s population which was taken from July’s figures of 456,088 and you’re looking at an infection rate of 0.5%. Take that into Calvia where I live, it makes up 3% of the overall numbers. There are 182 active cases from a population of approximately 50,000, or 0.3%. So why are we subject to the same restrictions as Palma? There has been a lockdown in Manacor and also parts of Palma but never fully. Looking at the numbers now, I suggest there should be. 

We either have to take the view that to continue with our lives the numbers have to come down or we learn to live with what we’ve got. I’m part of the second camp and I’ll learn to live with the risk. Let’s face it life is a risk on a daily basis but I would rather look after my own destiny. 

Can I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas, it’s not going to be an easy one but let’s try and enjoy it all the same. 

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 

Huge game for Real Mallorca today at 4pm. They play fourth placed Leganés, one of the teams that were relegated with them from La Liga last season. Mallorca are six points clear of them at the top so a win would open up a nine point gap. Heading into Matchday 18 with four consecutive victories and unbeaten since the opening day of the season, the coach Luis Garcia believes this weekend’s hosts could pose a threat.

“CD Leganés are having a great season, In other years they would be among the places for direct promotion. As hosts they’re very strong, although it’s also true playing away has cost them a little more. They have a coach who knows the division well and have very good players. It’ss going to be a very difficult match and we hope to get something positive.

“We’re more of a pressing team in attack and they will perhaps look to get behind us. Whatever happens in Butarque, there world won’t end. There will come a time when the level of the teams at the top will drop, it’s impossible to keep up at this pace. When that time comes, you have to be calm and value the work we’ve done.

Abdón Prats has struck four times in his last three games, although the Coach stressed no player is guaranteed a starting spot among a highly competitive squad.

“Abdon is a player who is on a roll and we have to take him into account, but no one is indisputable. Other times he has played and not scored, and we have been happy with his work.” I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t start today. 

Next Wednesday they play Guijuelo in the Copa Del Rey First round. Club Deportivo Guijuelo are from Salamanca, founded in 1974 they play in Segunda División B – Group 1, holding home games at the 1,500-seat Estadio Municipal de Guijuelo. They currently lie in eighth position in their league out of ten having played seven games, won 1, drawn 2 and lost 4. It will be interesting to see what time he puts out in that one. 

Atlético Baleares finally got a win last weekend when they defeated Las Rozas by 2-0. Early goals from Iñaki Olartua in the 8th minute and Vinicius Tanque(The Tank) in the 11th minute. 

They are up to fourth now in their league, but 10 points behind the leaders Rayo Majadahonda. This weekend they have a home local derby against UD Poblense. Poblense are still without a win but have drawn 5 games. Last week they drew 0-0 at CDA Navalcarnero. 

UD Ibiza dropped their first points of the season away at second placed Orihuela with a 0-0 draw. There’s another local derby in Ibiza too where UD will play Peña Deportiva. 

Copa Del Rey games for all our teams this coming week.

UD Poblense v Olot Weds 14.00

Atlético Baleares v Fuenlabrada Weds 19.00

Guijuelo v Real Mallorca Weds 19.30

UD Ibiza v Compostela Thursday 19.00

Peña Deportiva v Tarazona Thursday 19.30

And a special night for CD Cardasser who are hosting La Liga leaders Atlético Madrid on Wednesday at 19.00. 

In Tercera Group A, no games last week so Andratx still lead from Manacor. In Group B, Platges de Calvia are level on points with PE Sant Jordi. 

In Division Honor, CD San Francisco got a great draw with Barcelona 1-1 to keep themselves mid table. Real Mallorca also had a great result winning away at Girona 1-2 and Penya Arrabal lost at home 0-1 to top of the table Espanyol. 

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 

So the Government here have brought the curfew forward from Midnight to 10pm in order to try and suppress the rise in infections. The 14 day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants across the Balearics was 260, up from 223 a week ago. I’m not sure if I’m honest if that is going to make any difference to the numbers. Surely COVID doesn’t spread less because we’re locked up two hours earlier? President Armengol has described the coronavirus situation in Mallorca as “complicated” and says the curfew has been changed “to avoid the most risky activities.” 

If they were “risky” why let them open in the first place? What it does do is put more pressure on the bars and restaurants that have taken on the time and expense to open, and now need to decide whether it is financially viable to continue. I’ve already heard of a couple of bars who will now not be open on Christmas Day who were previously going to open for lunch. They have said that as the future is not certain, they don’t want to take the risk. The problem for everyone is that it’s stop, start, stop, start and nothing seems to have changed. It’s quite hard to understand why, as I for one have done everything that has been asked since we came out of lockdown. Masks, wash hands, keep your distance you name it I’ve done it and I’m sure the majority of people are adhering to the rules too. So why are we no nearer solving the problem? 

Well the answer is staring us in the face and why it’s being allowed to continue is for me utterly ridiculous. When the Government decided that PCR tests were needed to enter the island, 12 out of the 17 autonomous regions in Spain had a worse infection rate than the UK and Germany. Yet anyone arriving from the mainland was not asked to have a test to gain entry. We have just had a holiday here in Spain and many families travelled to the mainland and many from the mainland came here. But not one was asked to take a test. Don’t be surprised if we see the rate go up again in the next two weeks. Not only that but we’ve got Christmas, New Year and not forgetting the Three Kings celebrations coming up. How many people will be travelling to and from the mainland to visit their families and don’t need to show a negative PCR test?  

The Government is still pushing for PCR tests for domestic travellers arriving in the Islands at Christmas. “We are ready, if necessary,” said Health Minister Patricia Gómez, who admitted that the Government has failed to convince Central Government to make it compulsory for domestic travellers to provide their own negative PCR test before entering the Balearic Islands.

If that is the case why have the Canary Islands been allowed to let foreign tourists to travel to the islands with an antigen test, instead of the PCR test that the central government recently made into a requirement for coming to Spain? The regional decree goes into effect on Thursday despite the fact that it contradicts central government regulations on international travel to the country. 

Despite that though the Canaries have just been added to the UK quarantine list. Which means that from this morning they must self-isolate for two weeks. 

Grant Shapps the transport secretary said this was because of rising infection rates on the islands. New rules that come into force on December 15th and will allow them to reduce the isolation period if they take a negative test after five days, but the test will have to be done privately, and will come at a cost of between £65.00 to £120.00.

This is a huge blow not only for the Canaries but for the travel industry too leading up to Christmas. But it does go to show that if we can’t get our infection rates down then the same thing could happen here next Summer. 

Whilst the change in the curfew time has led to many thinking we will return to a lockdown I personally do not believe that right now. We have two other choices before that. Firstly make every traveller arrive with a negative PCR test and if that doesn’t slow the rate down, close the airport and ports. For me if those two measures don’t work then a lockdown would seem the only way forward. We must insist on Central Government that an island that depends on Tourism can’t keep chopping and changing its rules and regulations. Get the infection rates down and keep them down and be ready to open the doors again for next summer. 

We are all part of the problem too, so we must adhere to the rules. As I wrote last week, we made the difficult decision not to visit our families this Christmas and I know that is a tough decision to make. 

But we must think that short term pain is for long time gain. 

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 

A great week for Real Mallorca. I said last week “If Mallorca can get past both of these without losing, you’d have to say they are genuine promotion contenders.” They actually exceeded my expectations beating Logroñés 4-0 and then Almeria away 0-1. Both teams had won their previous six matches and Mallorca scored five goals and conceded none. 

In the Logroñés game they were helped by a handball sending off in just four minutes, which meant they dominated the rest of the game. Against Almeria in a tight affair, the winning goal was a “worldy” from Abdon Prats. An overhead kick that will be difficult to beat when the goal of the season awards are handed out. 

Last years La Liga Smartbank winners Huesca won the league with 70 points. In their 42 games they won 21, drew 7 and lost 14. They scored 55 goals and conceded 42 goals. Right now in their 16 games so far, Mallorca already have 35 points, so they are halfway to that total of Huesca already. Their record so far is played 16, won 10, drawn 5 and lost 1. They’ve scored 20 goals and conceded just 3 goals. 

It’s very tight at the top with Mallorca on 35 points, Espanyol on 33, Leganés 31. It’s still the three teams that were relegated last season that are the top three. They don’t play now until Monday evening against Castellón. 

Atlético Baleares conceded a 93rd minute equaliser last weekend against CDA Navalcarnero. Having retaken the lead in the 84th minute from “The Tank”(Vinicius Tanque) you would hope that they could close out the game. But right now they’re struggling for form and it wasn’t possible. They’re now in fifth place, 10 points behind the leaders Rayo Majadahonda. The coach Jordi Roger said this week “we need the support of the fans and we will do our best to get 3 points”. He’s a coach under pressure having not won a game since the opening one of the season. This weekend they’re at home to Las Rozas, kicking off at 12 midday at the Estadio Balear. Let’s hope for better luck this weekend. 

UD Poblense were 8 minutes from causing a shock against Real Madrid Castilla. However an equaliser scuppered their hopes of a first win of the season. However a draw is still a commendable result against Real Madrid’s second string of youngsters managed by their former legendary player Raul. This weekend they are away against CDA Navalcarnero, will that elusive first win come this weekend?

Much better news across the water on the White Isle of Ibiza. UD Ibiza maintained their 100% start beating Hercules by 1-0. In a tight affair it took then to the 93rd minute to break the deadlock. Head Coach Juan Carlos Carcedo said afterwards “The substitutions helped us to get to the last minutes of the match with plenty of options to find the decisive goal”. That’s 6 wins from 6 games, scoring 12 conceding just 1. This weekend they face Orihuela, who lie in second place 7 points behind. You’d have to say if they win that, they’re favourites to go to the next stage. 

Orihuela is where Peña Deportiva lost 1-0 last weekend. They lie in 5th place on 6 points and as I mentioned last week, the goals scored column needs filling up. Just one so far and if they want to progress they need to find the net. They are at home this weekend to CD Alcoyano.

In Tercera, Andratx still lead the way in Group A after a 1-2 win in Ibiza against SD Portmany. Manacor are 4 points behind with a game in hand after beating Soller 2-0. No games this weekend because of the holiday. 

In Group B, no game for Platges de Calvia last week meant they were joined at the top by PE Sant Jordi who beat Binnisalem 2-1. Like in Group A, there’s no games this weekend because of the holiday but next weekend it’s first against second as Platges de Calvia take on PE Sant Jordi. 

In Division Honor, Penya Arrabal were the only team to get a point last weekend, in a 1-1 draw with At. Villacarlos. Real Mallorca lost 0-2 at home to Club Esportiu Europa and San Francisco lost 1-0 away at UD Cornelia. Penya lie in 4th, Mallorca in 6th and San Fran 7th. This weekend there’s difficult matches for all of our teams. Penya are at home to the leaders Espanyol, Mallorca are away to Girona and the pick of the games is San Fran versus Barcelona. It’s a shame that fans won’t be allowed in to see that game but you can see it on the CD San Francisco Facebook page or on Barcelona TV. 

My eldest Son Jake’s team, San Francisco Cadete B came back from 0-1 to Patronato to win 2-1. They play them away this weekend in the return. Still no sign of a return to competitive matches for my youngest Jude in San Francisco Alevin A but there’s a possibility of a January start. 

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 

For most of us 2020 has been a year to forget. Normality hasn’t been a word commonly used this year or if it has it, it’s been known as the  “New Norm”. With that in mind it has slowly but dawned on us that our normal family Christmas isn’t going to happen. Ever since I moved here in 1990, Christmas has always been celebrated in the UK. I’m a firm believer it’s a time for families to come together and celebrate. Unfortunately it’s not going to be possible with all the problems that this year has brought. My Wife and I both have elderly Mothers and the risk for them is too great, even if we take a test before we go. Also we are quite a big family so getting us all together from all the different tiers is all but impossible. We also thought about all the things we like to do apart from seeing our families, like going to pubs, going to restaurants, watching football, going to the theatre, going to the cinema, visiting London, are all going to be difficult to do too. We have always said to ourselves that it would be nice one year to spend it here, so this is our year. I do bang on about how great this island is all the time, so I’m coming round to enjoying a festive time here. 

Whilst it will be tough not seeing our families we will be able to see them virtually through Zoom like we did every weekend when we did quizzes together during the lockdown. 

Last week we went out shopping and did the no IVA(VAT) day at the Mallorca outlets. We went earlier than last time but even in the daytime it was just as bad as going in the evening. We queued the best part of 45 minutes just to get into Nike and as we only had 2 hours because of the school run. We only managed 2 shops in 2 hours. At the weekend we went tree shopping. We felt that as this probably won’t be a yearly thing we would buy a real tree rather than an artificial one. We went to that garden centre opposite Carrefour on the Via de Cintura behind the Iberostar building. You know the one! They’ve just changed their name, well I say just, I don’t know when they did but I still can’t remember it. Anyway they have a great choice of trees, you pick the one you want and they wrap it in netting, making it easier to transport. 

It now has pride of place in our lounge and dare I say it “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

I’m enjoying going round looking for the things we would normally buy in the UK but trying to find them here. We’ve been sent a few things from the UK but the majority will be bought here. We live in Calvia where the Town Hall has come up with a great idea to help local businesses. Each person over the age of 16 who is registered at the Town Hall can buy a voucher for 10€ and when you go to spend it, it’s worth 20€. There are 2 per adult available. So basically they are giving you 10€ per voucher to spend with local businesses. The list of businesses can be found on the Town Hall website. 

I am fully aware that this Christmas will be a struggle for quite a lot of people here on the island. On the radio we’ve always done a Christmas appeal but this year more than ever we need your help. 

We are helping the Salvation Army by buying presents for the children, the Fundación Nazaret by buying all the children a gift card for Primark. Son Espases we are paying for a years subscription to Netflix that is used on the iPads in the Intensive Care Unit for Children. Age Concern we are buying supermarket vouchers that can be distributed to the people they are helping. For the Santa Ponsa Food Bank and Yachting Gives Back we are collecting food donations and buying more food. Finally, SOS Animal Mallorca we are helping with food supplies. 

Normally we would help around four charities but this year because of all of the problems we have tried to help as many as we can. 

Please deliver all donations to us at the Radio Station at The Wave House Hotel in Magaluf or at our drop off points around the island. Feel free to call me on 670 704 311 and I can always arrange a pick up. 

We can take money donations via our charity bank account and credit card or cash donations too. 

In the past two weeks a few people of a more mature age have come into the studio and donated money saying they would like to see it help others. You know who you are so thank you. That for me sums it all up and I know from all the charity work I’ve done on the island the people of Mallorca will always step up to the plate. 

If you know of anyone who is on their own please check on them to see if they’re ok and if they need anything. Christmas can also be a lonely and stressful time for some and it doesn’t take much to knock on someone’s door to check if they’re ok. 

Ultimately, Christmas is as much about giving as it is receiving. It’s embedded in our culture as a time where we give to those less fortunate than ourselves. 

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 start the weekend on top of league 2. They’ve been helped by the fact that Espanyol have lost their last two, at home to Girona and away at Leganés last time out. Last weekend they were held to a home 0-0 draw against fourth place Sporting Gijón. In the midweek they went away to Cartagena and won 1-2 to put them top of the league by 1 point to Leganés. Interesting that the three teams that were relegated last season from La Liga are now the top three in La Liga 2. Playing budgets and squad sizes have a lot to do with it. Espanyol have the biggest budget at 45,342€, Leganés at 26,704€ and Mallorca at 19,049€. 

The squad spending limit denotes the maximum amount that each club can spend during the course of the 2020/21 season following the winter transfer market, including spending on the first team in relation to players, the manager, assistant manager and fitness coach (registrable squad, as defined in Art. 38 of the Budget Preparation Rules) and spending on the reserves, the youth system and other areas (non-registrable squad, as defined in Art. 38 of the Budget Preparation Rules). So Mallorca are doing very well to be where are right now and long May it continue. This weekend they are at home to seventh placed Logroñés, who’ve won their last six games, so not an easy game. That’s followed next Thursday when they travel to fifth placed Almeria, who’ve won their last five. Almeria surprisingly have the second biggest budget in the league at 27,582€ and it will be a tough game. If Mallorca can get past both of these without losing, you’d have to say they are genuine promotion contenders. 

Atlético Baleares unfortunately are struggling right now. After their first five games, they’ve won 1, drawn 2 and lost 2. They are in sixth place eight points behind the leaders Rayo Majadahonda and it has to be said the new coach Jordi Roger is under a bit of pressure already. Having invested heavily in the squad in the summer, this is not where the owners envisaged they’d be. A 0-1 home loss last weekend to Sanse with the visitors scoring in the 87th minute. This weekend they’re away at CDA Navalcarnero who lie in second place in the league 

UD Poblense are struggling at the bottom of the league on 3 points. Struggling is probably a bit harsh as it was always going to be tough for them making this step up. Goals are hard to come with only 3 so far, yet they’ve only conceded 5 so they’re not getting gubbed in any of their games. A win would really boost the confidence right now, with Real Madrid B arriving on the island this Sunday. 

Across the water UD Ibiza are dominating their league. Five wins from 5 games, scoring 11 goals and conceding just one. They are already 5 points clear at the top. I watched them destroy Valencia B 0-4 on IB3 TV last weekend. This weekend they are at home to Hercules of Alicante who lie behind them in second place.

Peña Deportiva are more than holding their own with 6 points in their opening 5 games. They currently lie in fourth and whilst they’ve only conceded one goal, they’ve only scored one too! 

In Tercera Group A, top of the table Andratx lost their first game of the season to second placed Manacor. Meaning the gap between them is now 4 points and Manacor have a game in hand. 

It’s a little tighter in Tercera Group B, with Platges de Calvia at the top by 3 Points from PE San Jordi. With no game for Platges this weekend, San Jordi have a chance to join them at the top. 

In Division Honor the highest league in youth football, Penya Arrabal managed to get a 1-1 draw with Barcelona. I tried to go to the game but they were only accepting members or players family and had a capacity of 150. San Francisco lost a to and fro game 3-2 to CF Damm. Real Mallorca beat UD Cornelia 2-1. That leaves Penya in Fourth, Mallorca in sixth and San Fran in seventh. 

No game for my eldest last week but he has a game today at 16.45 against Patronato which you can see live on CD San Francisco’s Facebook page. 

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 

A good 3-0 home win for Real Mallorca against Ponferradina the weekend before last took them to second place in La Liga Smartbank. Followed up by a battling 1-0 win at Girona. They are now two points behind the leaders Espanyol, who surprisingly lost on Friday night at home to Girona. Dani Rodriguez is their current top scorer with 5 for the season and he’s fourth top goalscorer in the league which is a great return for an attacking midfielder. Without doubt it’s their defensive record which is helping them, just 2 goals conceded in 12 games. If they win on Sunday they would go top. It will be difficult though as their opponents are third placed Sporting Gijón. 

Martin Valjent and Aleksandar Trajkovski have made history with their countries having qualified for next summer’s European Championships. Although they were unused substitutes in the play-off finals, the former’s Slovakia reached their second-ever European Championships courtesy of a 2-1 win over Northern Ireland in extra time, while Trajkovski and North Macedonia have qualified for the tournament for the first time in their history. 

Mallorca have been drawn away to Segunda B side CD Guijuelo in the first round of the Copa del Rey.

Their cup campaign will kick-off with a trip to the Estadio Municipal de Luis Ramos on the 16th of December. Founded in 1974 and having finished 9th in their division last season, it will be the first time they’ve  faced the team from Salamanca in their history. 

With the Copa Del Rey in mind, an amazing story for CD Cardasser over on the East of Mallorca. It is home to the “Love Island” Villa and 2 years ago the town suffered devastating floods. Their ground was completely wrecked as you can see above. They play in the third division here in Mallorca and a few weeks ago they qualified for the 1st round of the Copa Del Rey. Last week the draw was made and they drew Atlético Madrid at home! Their ground can only hold 600 spectators which is a shame as I’m sure a lot of people would like to watch the game. But might give them a squeak of an advantage over the team currently second in La lIga. 

In Segunda B Division it’s a mixed bag for all of our sides.

Atlético Baleares restarted training last week after 11 playing and non playing staff went down with coronavirus. They have followed  all the protocols and now they’re free to return. They haven’t played for two weeks but return to action today against UD San Sebastián Reyes. 

UD Ibiza continúe to dominate their league, four wins from four leave them four points clear at the top. This week they are away in against Valencia B.

UD Poblense are still battling away, drawing three of their first four games. Scoring goals seems to be the problem with just two so far but having only conceded three they are managing to pick up points. They have a difficult away game this week against Rayo Majadahonda. 

Peña Deportiva are holding their own in fourth place having only lost one of their opening four games. 

This weekends fixtures are;

Atlético Baleares v UD San Sebastián Reyes. Sunday 12 Midday

Rayo Majadahonda v UD Poblense Sunday 12 Midday

Valencia B  v UD Ibiza Sunday 12 Midday

Peña Deportiva v CF La Nucia Sunday 12 Midday

Real Mallorca v Sporting Gijón Sunday 16.00

In Tercera División group A, Andratx lost their first game at home to second placed Manacor but are still top four points clear. In Group B, Platges de Calvia lead by three points from second placed PE Sant Jordi. 

In Division Honor the highest league in Youth football, the local derby between CD San Francisco and Penya Arrabal took place last week. San Fran ran out 4-1 winners to take their first points of the season.  The league is currently being led by Girona, Penya are in third, San Fran in Sixth and Barcelona a surprisingly lowly eighth. 

My eldest son Jakes team San Francisco Cadete B haven’t got off to a great start losing home and away to Sollerense. Both close at 2-1 and 3-2 but hopefully they’ll win next weekend against Patronato. 

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 

Last week I said I’d come up with some ideas to restart the tourist industry. There are two sides to this, businesses here on the island and businesses that bring people to the island. Firstly my attitude towards politicians and what they say has changed over the years. Particularly in the UK where they seem to change their mind like the weather. One in particular who really gets on my nerves is Michael Gove. He’s the man who played a heavy part in the leave campaign in 2016 with Boris Johnson and together they were going to make a bid for Johnson to become Conservative party leader, with Gove as the campaign manager, how could they fail? Well Gove withdrew his support on the morning Johnson was due to declare, and announced his own candidacy! Which he lost to the eventual winner Theresa May. Fast forward to October the 18th this year and Mr Gove was asked if ministers were going to enforce a two-week shutdown across England? The Cabinet Office minister answered: “No”. He added that the spread of the virus did not warrant short-term blanket restrictions “at the moment”.“It would seem an error to try to impose on every part of the country the same level of restriction when we know that the disease is spreading more intensively and quicker in some parts of the country,” he said.Just two weeks later and the country goes into full lockdown for a whole month!
What has this got to do with restarting the tourist industry? I can hear you saying. Well please bear with me as I just had to paint a little bit of a Michael Gove picture. In 2012 he changed the law on parents being allowed to take their children out of school in term time. It was a very controversial law at the time as it took away the flexibility that schools and parents had before. He said It is “wrong” for parents to take children out of school during term time to take advantage of cheaper holidays and there was a call for action to stop holiday companies “cashing in” by ramping up prices during the school holidays. He also said that the holiday industry should “look at itself in the mirror” and ask whether it was doing enough to help its customers. All this did was push the prices up even higher and who was he to say whether a parent could take their kids out of school in term time? In my opinion It should agreed by the teacher and the parents and based on their child’s attendance record and their school work. He added that parents should instead lobby their schools to change their term dates to allow pupils to go on holiday at different times, as the coalition Government had given them the ability to do. Which of course was totally impractical and so never got changed. If there was one thing that rang alarm bells here for me apart from the name Gove it was the word “coalition”. Coalition Governments in my mind are a waste of time, we have one here in Spain who are proving that. All that happens is you’re trying to pass legislation that one agrees with and the other doesn’t. If you remember at the time this was a Conservative/Lib Dem coalition and as always it was a complete shambles. In the 2010 general election, the Lib Dems had built their campaign around a pledge to abolish tuition fees. By the end of that year, however, they had tripled them instead. So much for looking after children’s education. The term time law came into force and the current situation for taking children on holiday in term time is as follows;You have to get permission from the head teacher if you want to take your child out of school during term time.You can only do this if:

• you make an application to the head teacher in advance (as a parent the child normally lives with)
• there are exceptional circumstances

It’s up to the head teacher how many days your child can be away from school if leave is granted.You can be fined for taking your child on holiday during term time without the school’s permission.When I first came to Mallorca in 1990 families used to come from May until October and there were still families coming through the winter too. That all changed after 2012 and if I’m honest not for the better. It means that families have to pay a lot more for a holiday in July and August than they would at any other time of the year. You can’t blame the Holiday industry as they have no choice but to charge what they do. Never has the saying “make hay when the sun shines” been more apt. The pandemic has changed a lot of people’s outlook on life and I believe this should be the time to reverse this law. There are many angles to this and I personally can’t see a negative. Most kids in the UK were off school because of the pandemic for nearly six months. Now the main reason for this was health but the statistics didn’t back up the reason. The infection rate and more important the mortality rate amongst children was very low and the risk minimal. But in the Government’s eyes it was ok to keep them away from school for that period of time. So if that is the case are we still saying that a 10 day holiday in term time is harmful to their education? A break particularly abroad offers a new culture, cuisine, language and the chance for families to bond away from their daily routines. I for one see it as an enhancement to their education. The other side to this, is a boost to industries that have suffered hugely in this pandemic. The holiday industry has been dented enormously with Airports, ports, Airlines, Tour Operators, cruise lines, car hire and all the third party industries connected to them struggling to survive. I’m sure all of these would rather see a greater spread particularly in family travel across the year rather than just crammed into July and August. There is no doubt that staycation UK holiday firms would benefit from this too. You try getting a cheap deal at a holiday camp or one of those forest camps when the kids are off school. This would be a massive boost to the economy in jobs, money to the exchequer and to be honest a Feelgood feeling all round, when the country needs it most. In fact I’m surprised nobody else has thought of it. Please pass it on if you have any Government connections. Holiday destinations like Mallorca would have to play their part too and as I’ve ranted too much about Mr Gove, I will bring that to you next week. Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend! Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am 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

During a press conference at London’s “virtual” World Travel Market, the President of the Balearics Francina Armengol this week reiterated that unless someone can provide details of a positive test then they will provide a means of testing at the airports and ports. She highlighted the availability of hotels to accommodate visitors who test positive, something not offered by other Spanish regions.
From November the 23rd anyone arriving from what is deemed as a country with a high infection rate will have to provide a negative PCR test within 72hrs. To be honest that’s most of Europe except, guess who? Spain! So the Government on the one hand comes up with a great plan to ease the infection rate but on the other decides that even though they still have a major problem on the mainland you can still fly in and out, without any checks. I have a friend who constantly travels to and from the mainland and he said that last week he went to Barcelona and back without anybody checking on where he’d been or where he was going. Bearing in mind that Cataluña is in full lockdown how ridiculous is that? In fact that’s completely negligent of a Government particularly here that is on its knees and wanting a return of the tourism masses but completely by-passes checking on its own people. On the front page of the Ultima Hora on Friday it said that 12 of the seventeen autonomous regions in Spain have a higher infection rate than the UK and Germany. They must change that situation and have tests for all or you are never going to get rid of the problem. 
The President also welcomed advances made with the vaccine, confident that this will help to restart tourism in March next year. That’s all well and good as I said last week but my other comment was a lot of businesses may take the view that Easter falls too early and it would be better to save opening until the beginning of May. Having spoken to a number of people in Tourism since last week. The majority agree with that fact and therefore they will wait until May. I hope the Government is talking to businesses or plans to incentivise them to open. As you don’t want to bring people here and half the island is still closed. 
The other message came from the Tourism Minister Iago Negueruela who said that as well as intensifying health security, the Balearics’ tourism recovery strategy is based on reinforcing the commitment to quality, on family tourism and on the elimination of “tourism of excesses”I’m yet to get to the bottom of what that phrase actually means but I’m sure the Government think it’s getting rid of the younger people in Magaluf, Playa de Palma and San Antonio. Once again as I’ve said before deterring younger people to come is harming a long term love of the island. By all means set the laws in place of what the bars and clubs have to do and that people coming here need to abide by. And if you’re going to do all that then make sure it’s policed properly. I noted this week that the Mayor of Calvia said they were struggling to put a budget together for 2021. I do hope that doesn’t mean a cut back in services, especially the Police. If we’re going to manage this change then it has to be done properly with the right resources. 
So what is the “tourism of excesses”? All inclusive hotels? All inclusive cruises that come in on a daily basis? Beach clubs that shower champagne everywhere? Or people generally having a good time because they’re on holiday? Let’s be honest we’ve all been guilty of a little excess sometime, isn’t that what holidays are about? If it’s done within the rules then I personally don’t see a problem. I think the Government need to understand that. Even our own President likes a bit of excess “allegedly!”
Right now I’m not aware of what can and can’t be done in Magaluf next season. Although I’m meeting with the Mayor next week to discuss it. It will be interesting to hear what plans are in place to kick start a resort that for the majority, by the time April comes around wouldn’t have been open for 18 months! There are a lot of for sale or for rent signs around the resort which doesn’t look good. I keep saying it but for me it’s one of the best beaches on the island and given the right direction and resources can once again return to being one of the top beach resorts in the World. 
It’s been a good news week so let’s keep up that positivity. Next week I’ll have some ideas to restart the tourist industry. 
Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend! Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am 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