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Charity Highlights: Our 2025 Christmas Contributions

I trust you all had a good Christmas and enjoyed time with family and friends. At the time of writing, we are between Christmas and New Year, which is always the time of year when you lose all track of days and dates. Why is that? We are preparing to leave for the UK for a quick visit, with my youngest son having to return early for football training.

I wanted to update you on a couple of charity events that we’ve been involved with. A few weeks ago, I interviewed Charlie Quirke, the son of actress Pauline Quirke, who was walking 140 km in five days for Alzheimer’s Research UK. He completed the walk and, to date, has raised an amazing £273,147.00!

The charity wrote:

“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much to everyone who sent Charlie a message, shared on social media and donated. He couldn’t have done it without you all. We will be going into 2026 full of hope for the future and hope for a cure.”

One of the main reasons for my return to the radio with Wave Mallorca was to restart our push to help charities on the island and beyond. All the way through the year, we help promote charity events on air, and in June we held our own Radiothon. Another important time of year to help people is at Christmas.

We’d like to thank everyone who helped us along the way.

Everyone who donated money, with special mention to Helen at Martial Arts Mallorca, Mark Millward, and Hooties Golf Society.

All the people who helped us with our raffle — whether you sold or bought tickets or donated a prize.

The three auction prize donors and the people who won them.

Nice Price and Eroski Bendinat, who allowed us to carry out food collections outside their shops. Nick from Yachting Gives Back for organising it, and the volunteers who gave up their time to help us.

We managed to fill a van and a car full of food for the homeless.

Quentin Theander from Mallorca Christmas Trees donated two Christmas trees to Llar Kurt and Llar Inge, who look after homeless people. 

The three charities that we helped in different ways were Yachting Gives Back, Fundación Nazaret, and SOS Animal Mallorca.

Nick from Yachting Gives Back said:

“Many thanks from all of us at YGB to all the team at Wave Mallorca and all your generous listeners and sponsors for your great support. The money raised will fund several of the monthly shopping trips we do for our chosen local charities.

Merry Christmas!”

Guillem from Fundación Nazaret said:

“Very good morning, and thousands of thanks to all the listeners for the vouchers for all the children and young people of Nazaret, but especially super thanks for remembering them. That makes them feel that they are important to someone, despite not being able to enjoy Christmas with their families. For all this, thank you very much and happy holidays!”

Maxi from SOS Animal Mallorca said:

“Thank you so much for your initiative to help the animals of SOS Animal, and also to your listeners. With the food donation, our cats and dogs will also have a Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thanks a lot to all of you, and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Thanks again to everyone who helped us. We look forward to 2026 with even more enthusiasm to help more people both here and beyond.

Support Local Businesses in Mallorca This Holiday Season

Mallorca is, of course, known for its summer sun, but increasingly it is diversifying into a year-round destination. The weather has been much milder this current winter, and as we lead up to Christmas, Palma and Calvià are becoming the go-to places for shopping, Christmas markets, and great food and drink.

Well done to Calvià Council for offering their voucher scheme again, where residents could receive up to €40 off at participating shops. There was a budget of €250,000 on offer, which ran out in a matter of days, but it was a welcome boost for shop owners who remain open throughout the winter. I have highlighted here a few businesses that are working hard up to Christmas with food, drink, and gift ideas.

No Christmas is complete until you get yourself a tree. Not a fake one though — in my opinion, it has to be real.

At Mallorca Christmas Trees, their arborists (that’s tree surgeons to you and me) have been growing and selling the highest-quality, most sustainable, and durable Nordmann fir Christmas trees since the industry commenced in Denmark in the early 1970s. Their philosophy has always been to prioritise quality over quantity, ensuring the ethical treatment of workers, the earth, and their clients. These values are essential to their organisation. For every 10 trees they cut, they replant 14.

Tree stands, branches for decorations, and delivery are available at an additional cost.

For more information, please visit http://www.mallorcachristmastrees.com, find Mallorca Christmas Trees on Facebook and Instagram, or call or WhatsApp Quentin on +34 611 718 440. Mention me and he’ll give you a little discount. 

Not sure where you’re going to buy your meat and fish this Christmas? Bespoke Provisioning has you covered. From high-quality free-range turkeys, succulent rib roasts, and whole gammons to fresh fish such as lobsters and langoustines, they offer an exceptional range.

They specialise in the highest-quality meat and fish, fully trimmed, cut, filleted, vacuum-packed, labelled, and delivered on time. You can find them on social media under Bespoke Provisioning, call or WhatsApp Simon on +34 619 593 387, or email sales@mn2v.co.

Amor de Palmera was founded by Yasmin out of her love of art and nature, combining the two through ceramics. She finds inspiration in the beautiful island of Mallorca and the concept of slow living, from creating her own collections to bespoke commissions. This vision is incorporated into all her ceramic pieces, conveying a sense of peace and tranquillity to those who use them in their homes and daily lives, bringing the spirit and energy of the Mediterranean indoors.

Yasmin also offers workshops where participants paint either a plate or a cup. After the workshop, the piece is taken back to her studio to be fired in her kiln and is ready approximately a week later, making it fully tableware-ready. There’s no need to worry about having a creative flair — anyone can enjoy ceramic painting, with plenty of guidance and support to help you achieve the design you’re looking for.

Whether buying one of her designs or creating one yourself, her ceramics make a wonderful Christmas gift this holiday season. You can view her full collection and contact her via Instagram at @amordepalmera.

This holiday season, let Elissa and Mike from World of Wine deliver the perfect gift straight to your doorstep. From exquisite wines and elegant champagnes to premium spirits, they cater to every budget and every occasion.

Whether you’re celebrating with family, thanking clients, or simply indulging yourself, they specialise in delivering directly to boats, villas, and private homes, ensuring your festivities are seamless. You can contact them on 669 075 466 or email sales@worldofwine.es.

All of the above offer great products, excellent service, and good value for money — and by choosing them, you’re also supporting local businesses.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Be A Loser!

After a few health problems, I have decided that the time is right to lose a few kilos. The idea is that this is a build up to Ayesha and I doing a 36 hour live broadcast called the Radiothon on the 9th and 10th of May. But we want more people to join us on what we believe will be a fun way to lose weight and feel better about ourselves. Between us we have put together a great team of professionals who are going to help us along the way and we have called the challenge “Be a Loser”. 

We are teaming up with “Fit Club Mallorca Gym” and Nicky at “Mallorca Wellness Hub” to create a supportive community anyone can join, enabling you to start reaching own personal well being goals.

Nicky has been a health coach for 10 years now helping people.

Using “Herbalife” nutrition products and working one to one with clients to help change small daily nutrition plans and health habits which are tailored to each individuals needs. Not only do you get great results, but you will keep the healthy habits long term to maintain that result. AND as a chef herself and big food lover Nicky’s meal plans mean never having to give up any foods and still be able to have a life!

Nicky will be giving a free and private one to one “Wellness Evaluation” in person or online so that can include people living anywhere outside of Mallorca. 

Providing personalised nutrition plans

Free access to online support

AND one to one coaching

Including a fantastic 10% discount on the all important Herbalife products.

For more information contact Nicky: https://boards.com/a/O1l3C4.3IItiI

Fit Club Mallorca gym in Son Caliu offers the best selection of high-tech fitness equipment in Mallorca and great classes for all abilities to join. Their friendly and knowledgeable staff will be there to guide you and are dedicated to helping you understand how to use the equipment effectively. With our “Be a Loser” community you will also have access to the Recovery Room the ultimate sanctuary for post-workout rejuvenation, as you discover a holistic approach to recovery and elevate your fitness journey, it’s not all bad!

Achieve your fitness goals efficiently and safely with Fit Club Mallorca

Fit Club Mallorca are giving an amazing membership offer for just 75€ a month to include:

Full gym membership

No joining fee

Free protein shake on your first day

A PT induction

Unlimited access to the recovery room

That’s a super saving of 200€

To have access to this offer simply say when booking, you are with Wave Mallorca Radio Community to Be a Loser https://fitclubmallorca.com 

If you’re still not quite sure and want some more information you can always contact us studio@wavemallorca.com / +34 670 704 311

Ayesha and I invite you to join me on what will be a fun journey and I’m sure we’ll have a laugh or two along the way. 

So come on Be A Loser!

Exploring Family-Friendly Travel: Center Parcs to Cancun

We returned from our Christmas break last week with our batteries recharged and ready for what 2025 has to offer. 

Christmas with the family is a must-do for us every year, although tinged with some sadness this year after the passing of my Mother. We stayed at Center Parcs in Woburn for the beginning part of our break. If you’re not familiar with them, they are a holiday resort brand offering family-friendly short breaks in natural forested settings. Operating several holiday villages across the UK, each designed to provide a tranquil escape while offering a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities for all ages. What I love about them is they are so big that you never see a lot of people at any one particular time, and that they are car free. 

I say this every year and I will keep on saying it, Center Parcs would be perfect for Mallorca and particularly to help promote the winter months here. One highlight of our trip every year is going to see our team the Arsenal play and as usual tickets were hard to come by but a good friend of ours managed to sort them for us. At the time of the game, we were staying at the Premier Inn in Gatwick Airport, in preparation for our holiday abroad. So we caught the Gatwick Express to Victoria and then the Tube to Arsenal. We booked our tickets on the Train Line App and halved the cost that we would have paid by paying at the station. 

Our holiday was booked through TUI, who we’ve travelled with for quite a few years now. We find the choice and prices they offer particularly on long haul holidays are usually the best compared to say Virgin or BA. Interestingly, we flew with BA to our destination, which was Cancún in Mexico. We were booked into the Grand Palladium Select, situated in Costa Mujeres. Approximately 45 minutes from the airport. The Palladium Hotel Group is a well-known Spanish hotel chain established in the late 1960s. It operates a diverse portfolio of luxury and all-inclusive properties across several brands, catering to various types of travellers, including families, couples, and adults-only guests. Headquartered in Ibiza, Spain, the group is part of the Matutes Group, a family-owned conglomerate with interests in tourism and real estate. On Ibiza they own some of the most iconic brands including Ushuaia, Hi Ibiza and Privilege Nghtcub. Here in Mallorca, they own the BH complex in Magaluf that they’ve turned into a huge family complex in partnership with Fergus Hotels. 

Palladium aren’t the only Balearic based hotel company with interests in long haul destinations. Melia, Riu and Iberostar are well represented, and it makes you wonder that one of the reasons why the Balearics suffers during the winter months could be their concentration on their long haul offerings. 

Another Balearic business situated at our hotel was the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy. It opened in 2018 and provides excellent tennis facilities for the guests at the hotel. 

All in all it was a lovely relaxing holiday and the Mexican people are very friendly, polite and hard-working. 

One thing I noticed on the way home was, why is it that long haul flights are always such a mess at the end? There is rubbish everywhere, and having flown on many a low-cost flight and see how they keep their flights as clean as possible. Why can’t the long haul flights do the same? 

Freedom Of Movement

Back in May, I wrote this;

“The 23rd of June 2016 was a day when the older generation in the UK totally changed the landscape for the younger generation. It was the day that Brexit became a reality and unfortunately, just over half of the population believed the spin of vote leave campaign more than the spin of vote remain. One of the driving forces for vote leave was immigration, and by taking away the freedom of movement they said the UK would get their borders back. Well that went well didn’t it!

On the one hand, all it has done is to drive the people to take much riskier ways of getting to the UK. And on the other hand, it has denied the younger generation all over Europe, the freedom to travel and work abroad. 

Why is the UK Government so obsessed with denying people the freedom to travel? It seems they and those who voted for Brexit forgot they were young once and decided it is best that they deny the same opportunities to younger people.”

Of the 18-24 year olds, 73% voted to remain and 27% voted to leave. Compare that to the over 65’s where 60% voted to leave and 40% voted to remain. It’s a sad fact of life that some of those over 65’s are now no longer with us, and while I respect their right to vote for what they believed in. Surely a clearer majority should have been put in place to make sure a tight result meant a second referendum? Although you have to be over 18 to vote in the UK, why weren’t the 16 and 17-year-olds at the time not given the opportunity to vote on something that would ultimately affect their future? Unless something changes they’re going to have to live with the consequences of this decision for about 70 years, and it’ll affect every area of their lives from education, to jobs and to travel.

Both the UK and the EU have suffered from an employment point of view, ever since the freedom of movement was taken away. Mallorca has suffered twice in the need for workers from both Brexit and the pandemic. Brexit has brought the lack of workers from the UK and since the pandemic, less seasonal workers from the Spanish mainland have arrived. Meaning some bars and restaurants only open for 5 days a week, and have you wondered why it’s so difficult to get a taxi in July and August? 

Rumours are abound in Westminster that the Government have set up a task force to forge closers ties with our former EU partners. One of the topics is the freedom of movement for 18-30 year olds. I don’t understand anyone who would deny anyone of any age their freedom of movement, particularly if it was to go somewhere looking for work. But if it means our children can enjoy the same freedom as I and many others did, then I am all for it. 

Ryanair Holidays

My life in Tourism began in the mid-eighties when I worked for Butlins holiday hotels as a Redcoat. My experience there led me to start work overseas here in Mallorca in 1990. I was a Holiday Rep for Intasun Holidays, working at the Guadalupe Hotel for my first season. At that time, there were loads of UK Tour Operators. Intasun were under the ILG banner which also included Global, Lancaster, Club 1830, Sol Holidays and the airline Air Europe. Their main rival was Thomson, who had Skytours, Horizon and their own airline called Brittania. There are lots of others too including, Cosmos, Owners Abroad (First Choice), Airtours and Thomas Cook. 

Remember, all this was before the internet was invented, so people booked their holidays with a travel agent or on teletext (remember that!) Low-cost airlines weren’t around at that time, although interestingly a company called Skytrain took to the air for the first time on 26 September 1977 when their inaugural flight departed London Gatwick for New York JFK. This flight carried 272 passengers on one of the airline’s 345-seat McDonnell Douglas DC-10 wide bodied aircraft. The fares charged at the time were £59 (equivalent to £463 in 2024) one-way from London and $135 (equivalent to £1,059 in 2024) one-way from New York. It makes we wonder why the owner Sir Freddie Laker decided to take on British Airways and the large American carriers at that time to fly long haul. When surely it would have been cheaper and more economical to fly short haul? He went bust five years later. 

Ryanair had been in existence since 1984 but by the mid 1990s it had become a big player in the European low-cost market, they were followed In 1996 by EasyJet with their first European flights. Both of these airlines began to totally change the way we travel and giving people the opportunity to arrange their own holidays. Interestingly starting in 1996 in Amsterdam, was Booking.com who have grown from a small Dutch start-up to one of the world’s leading digital travel companies. On the back of both Ryanair and Easyjet. 

This then led to there being fewer Tour Operators, and they started to buy each other up. The biggest mergers were in 2007 when Thomas Cook partnered with My Travel and Tui partnered with First Choice. 

2007 also saw the emergence of Jet2 Holidays who had mainly been a flight only and freight company before that. 

Fast-forward to today, and the travel landscape is very different. 

The Leading ATOL-licensed tour operators in the United Kingdom as of February 2024, ranked by number of passengers licensed, with figures from Statista are;

  1. Jet2 Holidays 
  2. TUI UK
  3. Love Holidays 
  4. Booking.com
  5. EasyJet Holidays

With all the consolidation in the holiday market there is one name that’s missing in that Tour Operating top five. Ryanair have so far resisted the temptation to delve into the package holiday market. Interestingly, though, in January this year they agreed a new partnership with Love Holidays for its customers who wish to book low-cost package holidays. This deal allows Love Holidays customers to buy Ryanair flights, seats, and bags as part of their love holidays package at Ryanair’s low prices.

Don’t be surprised to see Ryanair take that partnership further by buying Love Holidays or another online travel agent and launching Ryanair Holidays. It seems the natural way forward and having seen what EasyJet have done, I’m sure they won’t be far behind. 

December 1st!

December 1st has been named as the best date to put your Christmas tree up. According to the experts at Christmas Tree World, December 1 is the perfect date for other reasons too. By embracing the Christmas spirit early, families are left with enough time to establish their own traditions. Having the tree up can also encourage you to get ahead of the rush when it comes to buying presents for loved ones. Interestingly, minimalist Christmas trees have surged in popularity this year, devoid of tinsel, sparkling fairy lights and homemade decorations. Designs now proving popular with shoppers include trees with metal branches, or skeletal-like wooden frames. It comes after research suggested that traditional Christmas decorations are on the decline, with over a third (34%) of Brits saying they’re boring and half (50%) saying they want their Christmas tree to reflect their passions. Instead, people are opting for more meaningful decor, with more than three-quarters of Brits owning personal baubles that have a special meaning to them. 

Don’t forget, Mallorca Christmas trees are open for business in Son Oms industrial estate. For more information, please visit http://www.mallorcachristmastrees.com Mallorca Christmas Trees on Facebook and Instagram or call or what’s app (0034) 658 342 941.

Britain is a proud nation of fakers, with two-thirds believing we have perfected the art of receiving presents we do not like. As many as 69 per cent of Brits would not dream of telling someone they didn’t like a gift given to them – with a third (30 per cent) regularly pretending to like pressies they actually hate, according to a new survey. In fact, half (49 per cent) admit they often receive Christmas gifts they dislike – so much so that 60 per cent believe they have perfected the art of faking their joy. And, according to one in three (31 per cent) of the nation’s ‘faking experts’, exclaiming ‘thank you! It’s what I’ve always wanted’ in a big voice, is the best way to disguise your dislike, along with common phrases, ‘you really shouldn’t have’ (23 per cent) or ‘it’ll be souseful’ (22 per cent), according to the findings by online card marketplace thortful. Changing the topic quickly to focus on someone else (nine per cent) and hopefully quipping ‘it will look great when I put it on’ (nine per cent) are also among the top ways to hide dislike. In our family we do a secret Santa where we randomly pick a family name from an online app and each person can make up a wish list from Amazon, Etsy, JD Sports, Nike and Look Fantastic to the value of £50.00. Meaning everyone ends up with a present that they wanted and not having to come up with the excuses like above. 

Football league one side Stockport County has embraced the festive spirit with an innovative meal that’s sure to go down a treat at half-time, and it’s already gone viral. 

Food at football grounds can leave a lot to be desired, and you will normally pay through the nose for it. There’s a superb Instagram app called ‘footyscran’ which features good and bad food at football stadiums.

The ‘Christmas dinner in a cup’ has captured the imagination of fans nationwide, leaving them eager to sample it, and it’s already gone viral. The Hatters as they’re known have produced, a delicious offering of tender turkey, savoury stuffing, creamy mash, and rich gravy, and at £4.50 it is an absolute bargain. Complete with brussels sprouts, pigs in blankets, and roast potatoes, the cup prompted comments such as, 

“A lot of pubs would pour that on a plate and charge £18. Pick out the sprouts

and that’s a top half-time warmer!”

Another admirer remarked: “If clubs were judged on food, Stockport County would be in the Champions League. 

Last Friday, we started playing Christmas songs on the radio. Normally we will wait until December 1st but as that’s today, the listeners decided for us to start last Friday. Now just to make you feel old, this year marks the 40th anniversary of Band Aid song ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’ and the Wham! song ‘Last Christmas. Also, it’s the 30th anniversary of the East 17 song ‘Stay Another Day’. 

This week’s Official Singles Chart already has 10 Christmas songs in it, with Wham! The highest at number 8 and Mariah Carey at number 10.

I wonder what will be this year’s Christmas number one?

The Soller Solution?

My nickname of Dad Taxi becomes even more prevalent once the new football season starts. It’s slightly easier this year as my eldest Jacob has taken some time away from playing football to concentrate on his studies.  My youngest Jude, however, is still full on because he is a goalkeeper and has specialist training twice a week as well as training with his team. Although that has also changed a little as he is training with two teams within the same club because of an injury to one of the goalkeepers. 

Last weekend I was certainly earning my money as he was playing in Soller, which is a good 45 minutes from home. Apart from the football, I love travelling around the island, visiting places I wouldn’t normally go to and discovering the best cafés or bars in those towns or villages. There are not many places I haven’t been to, and If you’re interested, I normally know the best establishments for a Mallorca breakfast or lunch. Sometimes it’s the football club’s bar, but there’s not too many of those, so you then need to go and explore. Now, you couldn’t ask for a more picturesque stadium than the one in Soller, which is surrounded by mountains. The bar there isn’t too great to be honest, but there’s a café just past the stadium that does great Pa Amb Oli. Which is basically brown and olive oil which can be topped with virtually anything. Perhaps I could sell this idea to the Editor? Discovering Mallorca’s best football club eating establishments, I’m more than happy to take one for the team, if you get my drift.

Once in Soller you can’t help but wonder in the beauty of it, both the town and the port. With that in mind, if you’re looking for a place that suffers from “Over Tourism” then this is it. It was a Saturday afternoon in October, but it was still very busy and parking was at a premium. It got me thinking about how places like this can be helped. Before the Soller tunnel was built in 1997, people used to arrive via the tricky mountain road or by train from Palma. Both of those options still exist, but the advent of the tunnel has made access so much easier. Which is where the problem lies. On the one hand, it’s great for residents to get out to work or school, but on the other hand, it makes it a lot easier for coaches and hire cars to get in. So my question is, why did they take the toll charge away in 2017? Surely it’s time to bring it back? Make it free to the residents of Soller, charge a discounted fee to island residents, and charge a fee to those who are just visiting for a day. Then use that money to protect the area. I touched on this last week with the Tourist Tax, as long as you are transparent as to where the money goes, then people won’t mind paying it. Place huge billboards at the entrance to the tunnel and in the town and port showing where the money has been spent. Another idea is a park and ride scheme, with car parks before you reach the tunnel and coaches to bring you in. One coach would be the equivalent of between 15 and 20 cars less. Or you could do park and train. The current Palma to Soller train stops at Bunyola so you could build a car park there, or look to build another stop with a car park. This would significantly reduce the number of cars, but you would have to increase the frequency of the trains, as there are currently only 6 running into Soller on a daily basis. What about park and boat? Not sure if that is done already? Possibly by an organised excursion, but this would be parking somewhere on the coast and being ferried in. Now these are just ideas, and they may have been talked about already, but something needs to be done. We all want the best places in Mallorca to be preserved for now and for future generations. 

A Mallorca Solution For The Winter Fuel Allowance

I have never voted in the UK elections as I’ve been away for so long. Whilst here in Mallorca, we can vote in the local elections, but not in the national elections. Which to me doesn’t make sense, as I’m a resident and taxpayer. Now I’m not one to talk politics but this week I’m going to attempt, well in a roundabout way. I know I need to have a good long word with myself, and believe me I will after this.

The good thing about a democracy is that everyone can have an opinion, you will either agree with it or disagree with it, but at least it leads to a healthy debate.

Every now and again, Governments will release a policy or a decision that really riles up the electorate. Remember the poll tax, the Iraqi war or here in Mallorca the Tourist Tax? The current Labour government has come up with a policy that has caused a lot of controversy. I am of course talking about the winter fuel allowance. Introduced in 1997 by the then-chancellor, Gordon Brown, the winter fuel payment was intended to help older people with their heating costs during the colder months. Paid annually in autumn, it is £200 or £300, depending on age, and had always been universal, paid to everyone, irrespective of income or wealth.

But in a speech in the House of Commons in July, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced that from now on the payment would be given only to older people who received pension credit, meaning only the very poorest pensioners. This is expected to reduce the number who get the money from more than 11 million to about 1.5 million.

I remember my Mum used to receive it and was grateful for the extra money during the winter and enabled her to heat her property for longer than she would normally do. 

I arrived in Mallorca in 1990 and back then the winters were just as busy as the summers. One of the main reasons for this was that pensioners would come away for months on end during the winter to get away from the cold weather in the UK. I worked winters here in Mallorca, The Algarve and Gran Canaria, and you’d get rooming lists of pensioner couples and singles, and it was very popular at the time. They had dedicated brochures in those days such as Golden Circle, Golden Days and Leisurely Days and whilst the tour operators still offer this, it doesn’t seem to be something that they push as much as they used to. 

Saga is the one of the main dedicated companies in this market and having done my research I’ve discovered I am actually eligible to go on one of their holidays! 

It got me thinking that why doesn’t the UK government approach the Tour Operators and ask if they would be willing to look at providing cheaper holidays for pensioners? Are you mad? I hear you ask. Well, maybe, but they do have a system like that here in Spain. 

The Imserso scheme is a social scheme that’s primary objective is to offer affordable holidays to the elderly residents of Spain. It is hoped that by subsidising trips for pensioners, their health and quality of life will improve whilst their dependence on others will decrease. As well as benefiting pensioners, the scheme will also benefit the wider community by incentivising economic activity and increasing employment within the tourism sector during the quieter winter months. Something Mallorca is crying out for. 

The Imserso scheme is only intended for Spanish residents, but here’s something I didn’t know. If you are an ex-pat who permanently resides in Spain, then you can take part in the programme provided you meet any of the following criteria:

  • A person who is retired and part of the Spanish public pension system.
  • A person who receives a widow’s or widower’s pension and is aged 55 or older.
  • A person who receives unemployment benefits or subsidies and is aged 60 or older.
  • A holder or beneficiary of Spain’s Social Security System, aged 65 or older 

Mallorca would in my opinion be a perfect destination as it’s only 2 hours from the UK and although the winter temperatures aren’t like the summer. They are certainly warmer than the UK. I’m sure it would be popular amongst pensioners and as I said above it would create employment here. Benidorm does it, so why can’t we? 

Maybe it’s something that could be discussed at the World Travel Market in London in November? Just a thought, now I’m off to have that word with myself and study that Saga brochure. 

Dare to Dream?

A few weeks ago, Real Mallorca started their season with a creditable 1-1 draw with Real Madrid. At the time, I wrote, “There’s always a sense of excitement and nervousness when a new football season starts. How will your team play, where will they finish the season, and will they win a trophy? These are three of the most important questions in most fans minds.” Now having been a Mallorca fan for many years, my expectations, to be honest, weren’t that high. Last season we finished 15th in the league, but we had made the Copa del Rey final, losing on penalties to Atlético Bilbao. More importantly, we had replaced our very cautious and defensive coach Javier Aguirre with a fairly unknown one in Jagoba Arrasate. He was in charge at Osasuna for six years, and they had become a solid mid-table team and two years ago finished in 7th place. What Arrasate was known for was encouraging youth team players to push for first team places, and he wasn’t afraid to throw them in. 

After the Madrid game, things got a little worse for Mallorca, an encouraging away win at Leganés was followed by two losses and a draw. So after 5 games they had 5 points. 

At that time of the Madrid game I had commented on how well the American owners had done in improving the stadium, its facilities and the atmosphere. I was hoping that all that hard work would also transfer onto the pitch. But it wasn’t happening. It looked like Arrasate was searching for his best 11 as he was constantly changing the team, even the goalkeepers. What he was doing though was giving the youngsters a chance. Marc Domenech who 2 years ago was playing with my son Jacob at San Francisco in Palma, was one of the first and encouragingly more are now coming through. Whilst this was all welcome, points on the board were what Mallorca was missing, and it was looking like it was going to be another relegation battle. However, in the space of three games, they have all of a sudden woken up. A battling 1-0 home win against Real Sociedad has been followed by what can only be described as two amazing 1-2 away wins against Real Betis and Valladolid. Bearing in mind that they only won two away games in the whole of last season, and already they have three this season. As they had played Valladolid on the Friday night it meant that for at least 24 hours they were lying in a Champions League place, with Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona above them. That did change over the weekend, and now they lie in sixth place. Today they play another away game at Espanyol, so let’s hope they can continue this run of good form. It’s a great start and has the fans dreaming of Europe next season but let’s not get too excited we are only 8 games into a 38 game season.