Author: somethingforyourmallorcaweekend

I've lived and worked in Mallorca since 1990. I've worked at Pirates Adventure & Radio One Mallorca. I now work at Wave Mallorca Radio and have my own Concierge service called Prioritymallorca.com. This blog will give you my news, views and my life on our island in the sun.

Nothing beats coming home #Mallorca

At last a weekend without a celebration. The last 3 Weekends have taken in Christmas, New Year and Reyes so it’s time to get back to a little normality.
Just in case you need reminding;
32 sleeps to Valentines Day.
71 sleeps until British Summertime and the clocks go forward.
76 sleeps to Easter.
126 sleeps to the Royal Wedding.
152 sleeps to the World Cup starts.
We’ve returned from our holidays and whilst I love a holiday getting back home is always a bonus. Last week I told you I decided to release this column as a blog and I’m delighted by the first weeks reaction. SomethingforyourMallorcaweekend.com is the name of the website and it’s been viewed over 200 times by people in Spain, UK, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Andorra, USA and Australia. The idea for the blog came from the fact that a lot of people knew I wrote a column and wanted to see it more often. I always want to bring a lighthearted sometimes serious view of the island, my life and anything else going on in the World. But with more focus on Mallorca and all it’s offerings. Being on holiday one of the first questions you get asked is where you are from? Most people assume the answer will be England but are intrigued when you say Mallorca. I’ve lost count of the people that say how lucky you are(which is true) and why come to Mauritius when you’re always in the sunshine? I try to explain that during the summer I’m too busy to enjoy the sunshine and beaches although I do try every Sunday on my day off. The winter the temperatures do drop so we need to go further afield to enjoy the same. Mallorca winter time does open its doors to other activities such as cycling. Three different guys I chatted with say Mallorca is one of their go to places when cycling and with Team Sky holding their winter training camp here every year then there is no better.
Keeping it Mallorca, I told you on holiday I was reading the new Richard Branson book “Finding My Virginity”. I remember years ago there was talk that when he sold La Residencia Hotel in Deia he was abandoning Mallorca. Well in the book he said it was in fact a necessity to save the whole Virgin business due to the global market slowdown. He mentions in his book how much he loves Mallorca and he has since bought back Son Bunyola, a spectacular mountain estate in Banyalbufar, 13 years after a planning row pushed him to sell up. When his initial proposals were blocked, in 2003, he spoke of his sorrow at leaving the island.
“It was a very sad decision,” he told a local newspaper at the time. “I had great plans for Son Bunyola and I was ready to invest a sizeable sum of money in the project.
“However, the area’s mayor lacked the necessary foresight and the project was shelved. It was a great shame.”
Sir Richard rebought the estate through an arm of his Virgin empire called Virgin Limited Edition, which is used to buy property around the world. He writes on the website “Welcome to Son Bunyola, my favourite Mallorcan retreat! From here you can appreciate the stunning beauty of the Mediterranean from the tranquillity of your own private villa. I hope you enjoy your stay as much as I always do.”
Blue Peter has been named the greatest children’s programme of all time, according to industry bible the Radio Times.
The long-running kids show, which started in 1958, topped the list compiled by a panel of TV experts including Noel Edmonds, David Walliams and the Chuckle Brothers.
Blue Peter, which notched eight million viewers an episode at its peak and received 1,000 letters a day from viewers, it beat the likes of Grange Hill, Newsround and Tiswas to top the list.

1. Blue Peter, 1958-present, BBC
2. Grange Hill, 1978-2008, BBC
3. Newsround, 1972-present, BBC
4. Tiswas, 1974-1982, ITV
5. Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, 1976-1982, BBC
6. Vision On, 1964-1976, BBC
7. Live & Kicking, 1993-2001, BBC
8. Going Live! 1987-1993, BBC
9. Play School, 1964-1988, BBC
10. Crackerjack, 1955-1984, BBC
11. Play Away, 1971-1984, BBC
12. Pingu, 1986-2006, BBC
13. Rentaghost, 1976-1984, BBC
14. SM:TV, 1998-2003, back this year, ITV
15. Animal Magic, 1962-1983, BBC
16. Byker Grove, 1989-2006, BBC
17. Jackanory, 1965-1996, BBC
18. The Box Of Delights, 1984, BBC
19. How, 1966-1981, ITV
20. The Borrowers, 1992, BBC

Lots of memories in that list. My favourite growing up would probably have to be The Multi-Coloured Swap Shop with Noel Edmonds every Saturday morning. It was sad to hear of the passing of Keith Chegwin over the holiday period. “Where are you Keith?” Were the lines Noel used to shout every Saturday. He’d be somewhere in the U.K. and kids from that area would go down and swap their unwanted toys for different ones. A bit like a modern day EBay!

Keeping it Old Skool, remember Captain Birdseye? Yes the bloke who when he wasn’t
busy over Christmas being Santa Claus who used to say “Only the best for the Captain’s table”. Captain Birdseye was an iconic character, first hitting our TV screens advertising frozen seafood products back in 1967.
Fast forward 51 years and there’s a new captain in town, Riccardo Acerbi, 56, has been picked to be the new Captain BirdsEye. The once aging, seafaring hero will return a rugged, Italian-born silver fox. I suppose now that fresh fish is more readily available the frozen kind isn’t so popular. So they’re obviously trying to catch the eye of the ladies when out food shopping.
Real Mallorca have suddenly become the draw specialists after a disappointing 0-0 against Peralada Girona. In fact it would have been their first loss if one of the Peralada players hadn’t missed an open goal in the last few minutes. A 14 point lead at the top earlier in the season is now just 5 from second placed Villarreal B. I said last week they need someone to put the ball into the net on a regular basis. This weekend they’re away in Ibiza playing Peña Deportivo and next week the much anticipated local derby against Atlético Baleares. More on that next week.
And finally today a football/holiday story that made me smile. My boys were playing water polo in the pool in Mauritius with another English boy they’d made friends with when all of a sudden 3 French boys picked up the goal and said they were off to play football with it! An argument ensued with the French boys saying they can have it back if they play them at football and the winner keeps the goal. After thrashing the French boys 5-2 the 3 English boys returned triumphantly with said goal aloft!
Enjoy your Weekend.
I present the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show with Ayesha Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca, online at http://www.radioonemallorca.com and on mobile through their free App for IPhone, Android, The Tunein Radio App and now on the Spanish TDT TV service. If you can’t hear me on the radio then you’ll find me working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again i make an understudy appearance!
Feel free to email me at rprior@globobalear.com

January 6th

A very happy new year and Feliz día de los Reyes Magos to you all!
A couple of conundrums to start my first scribes of 2018. At what point do you stop saying happy new year to people? Is it when you see them next? As there maybe people I might not see until next Christmas! As an Englishman living in Spain should we be celebrating Reyes too? I’m all for involving myself with the locals although I still can’t vote but more presents? After Christmas and one of my boys birthdays on the 30th of December the idea of more gifts is too much to bear. Mind you the idea of another day off never puts off most people, shame it falls on a Weekend!
I can also get out of Reyes as we’re away on holiday, I’m writing this as I lay by the pool on the beautiful island of Mauritius. Well that’s what I’d like you to think but actually it’s raining today! I’ve become one of those Mallorca holiday makers saying it’s not what they promised in the brochure, asking the receptionist what to do on a rainy day and what will the weather be like tomorrow? To be truthful I’m glad of the break whatever the weather to recharge the batteries and look forward to a new year. It’s a totally new experience for us as we’ve never travelled to this side of the World before and it’s been great fun so far.
On holiday is the only time of year that I read books, I keep saying to myself I must do it more often but never do! I only like reading autobiographies and I’m currently reading Richard Branson’s “Finding My Virginity”. Following on from his previous book “Losing My Virginity” it details how the Virgin founder reinvented himself and his brand for the 21st century. It’s a really good read and if like me you only read 1 book a year then this is a recommendation. It also made me think that since I’ve been off I’ve visited the cinema twice which is another thing I don’t do often enough. I saw Star Wars The Last Jedi and loved it. Don’t listen to the doom & gloom merchants who say it’s not in the tradition of Star Wars movies go and decide for yourself. We also saw Jumanji, Welcome to the Jungle, another one I’d recommend and as good as the previous one starring the late great Robin Williams.
Barack Obama has continued his annual tradition of naming his favourite songs of 2017, “During my presidency, I started a tradition of sharing my playlists,” Obama wrote on his Facebook page Sunday. “It was a nice way to reflect on the music that resonated with me and lift up artists from around the world. With some extra time on my hands this year to catch up, I wanted to share the music that I enjoyed most.”
* Mi Gente by J Balvin & Willy William
* Havana by Camila Cabello (feat. Young Thug)
* Blessed by Daniel Caesar
* The Joke by Brandi Carlile
* First World Problems by Chance The Rapper (feat. Daniel Caesar)
* Rise Up by Andra Day
* Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled (feat. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller)
* Family Feud by Jay-Z (feat. Beyoncé)
* Humble by Kendrick Lamar
* La Dame et Ses Valises by Les Amazones d’Afrique (feat. Nneka)
* Unforgettable by French Montana (feat. Swae Lee)
* The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness by The National
* Chanel by Frank Ocean
* Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man
* Butterfly Effect by Travis Scott
* Matter of Time by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
* Little Bit by Mavis Staples
* Millionaire by Chris Stapleton
* Sign of the Times by Harry Styles
* Broken Clocks by SZA
* Ordinary Love (Extraordinary Mix) by U2
* *Bonus: Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen (not out yet, but the blues 
version in his Broadway show is the best!)

Certainly a diverse taste in music from the former President of the United States. Might be interesting to hear what Donald Trumps might be! During our Christmas Day show Ayesha and I picked our favourite 2017 songs. Ayesha picked Shawn Mendes “Nothing Holding Me Back” not quite sure if it was the song she liked most or Shawn himself but a good pick nonetheless. I picked Ed Sheeran’s “Castle on the Hill” as the lyrics remind me of my younger years. I’ve been lucky enough to get 2 tickets to see him at Wembley in June. After being disappointed not to be able to see him in either Barcelona or Madrid. I saw him really early in his career at Mallorca Rocks in 2012 and you can’t deny he’s a great singer and songwriter.
It was the surprise hit of the summer, filmed in Mallorca and winning celebrity fans including Liam Gallagher and Stormzy and turning the lucky couples who found romance into instant stars.
A new wave of singletons are battling to find romance on Love Island as 60,000 people have applied for the new series in just 12 hours.
Scores of romantics have signed up to the ITV2 show in a bid to become the next Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood, Jamie Jewitt and Camilla Thurlow or villa king and queen Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies (who have since split up)
And the hopefuls, who must be over 18, have had to get grafting from the get-go to ensure their place on the show, by submitting a home-made video explaining why they would make the ideal villa mate.
The show’s success last year was unprecedented. Bosses are already working hard to ensure the next series lives up to expectations. They will do their best to sign up ideal islanders from the tens of thousands of wannabes apparently. I’m not a fan but the last series attracted a peak of 2.9 million viewers, with 1.7 million watching on average across the seven weeks. So although the show being a mega hit for ITV2, the budget hasn’t been upped to send the likes of Chris and Kem to the Caribbean. Instead, it looks like the show could well be returning to us, where the past three series have been filmed.
Also, despite Love Island sometimes outperforming ITV in the 9pm slot, the show will be remaining on ITV2 and won’t be switching to the main channel when it comes back in 2018. Like it or loathe it you can’t deny it brings a lot of publicity to the island and the crew spent lots of money in San Llorenc des Cardassar last year.
Real Mallorca return to action tomorrow after the winter break. They have a home game against Peralada Girona kick-off at 12 noon at the Iberostar. You can buy half season tickets from the club now and this weekend tickets for kids 5-14 years are just 2€! You can book online at http://www.rcdmallorca.es or go to the club ticket office. After an unbeaten first half of the season albeit drawing their last 4 games it’s important they get back to winning ways and to keep the run going. A couple of injuries to key players mean they are now looking to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window with someone who can put the ball in the onion bag a little more frequently a priority.
Enjoy your Weekend.
I present the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show with Ayesha Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca, online at http://www.radioonemallorca.com and on mobile through their free App for IPhone, Android, The Tunein Radio App and now on the Spanish TDT TV service. If you can’t hear me on the radio then you’ll find me working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again i make an understudy appearance!
Feel free to email me at rprior@globobalear.com