Can someone ask the weather to stop teasing us please! One good day is just not good enough so please rain can you do one now and can we have some sunshine? One of my goals when I set up the radio station was to make sure we did lots of work to help Charities. The Radiothon was set up in 2015 when Jo from our office asked the Breakfast Show if we would consider broadcasting for charity for 24 hours. This was duly accepted and the Radiothon was born. For the first 2 years we helped raise money to help the Pirates Charity Premiere and their charities. When the Premiere stopped in 2016 we decided to keep the fundraising going by setting up The Jacques Sasson Foundation. Jacques will best be remembered for his invention of the Pirates Adventure show in Mallorca and employed me in 1994 and i have worked there ever since. So far, the Radiothon events have raised in total 64,319.98€ and we have made donations to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Son Espases Intensive Care Unit for Children, Salvation Army, Shamabala Fundacion, Bloodwise, Calvia Lions, Help For Heroes, SOS Animal, Fundacion Nazareth and Club Vidalba. This year’s Radiothon will be on Friday the 11th of May from 08.00 until Saturday 11.00. I will be on air for 27 hours with my fellow presenters joining in throughout the day. You can help us raise as much money as possible by sponsoring an hour, challenging us to do something, bidding on our auction, buying raffle tickets, making a donation for a song or just simply making a donation.
The Charities that we will be supporting this year are, Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. The total raised for GOSH since 2004 from Pirates and the radio since 2015 stands at 743,421.03€. Our relationship with Son Espases spans 4 years and in that time we have raised 28,723.89€. The other 2 charities we are supporting are Asociación Ondine and Feliz Animal Andratx. Over the course of the next couple of weeks I will explain to you more about the charities and what they do. If you would like to help in any way please send an email to me below or feel fee to call me on (0034) 670 704 311.
In the past week I have had the good fortune to meet two very different people from the sporting world. Firstly the presenter Dan Walker came to Pirates with his family. He works on BBC Breakfast Monday to Wednesday and presents Football Focus on Saturdays. He’s worked on 5Live and was part of the BBC coverage at the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Olympics. A devout Christian since the age of 12, he made a decision not to work on a Sunday once he started employment and has maintained that throughout his career. The launch of the WTA Mallorca Open happened this week at the Zafiro Palace Hotel in Palma Nova. Tournament Director “Uncle” Toni Nadal was there along with the World number 11 Angelique Kerber who will be taking part in the tournament. This year it will be from the 17th of June until the 24th of June in Santa Ponsa and it’s a great grass court tournament to watch just two weeks before Wimbledon.
Kerber shocked the tennis world in 2016 by reaching the Australian Open final and upsetting heavy favorite and world No. 1 Serena Williams in three sets. Later that season she made it to her second major final, in a rematch against Serena at Wimbledon, but this time couldn’t upset the all-time great. Kerber is dangerous regardless of where she plays, having won titles on all surfaces, green clay, red clay, grass courts and hard courts in her career. She’s an aggressive counter-puncher with an all-court game, and her left-handed strokes often throw off her opponents. Kerber won a silver medal at the Rio Summer Olympics in 2016, and a month later defeated Karolina Pliskova in the U.S. Open final for her second major of the year. She became the new WTA world No. 1, ending Serena’s 186-week reign at the top.
Finally a win for Real Mallorca this week. Comfortable, playing well and 3-0 up for 75 minutes and then putting us through the ringer in the final 15 minutes where Lleida scored 2 goals. A win means they are six points clear at the top from second placed Villareal B, with 5 games to go. This weekend they play Elche who are in third place and seven points behind so a definite 6 pointer. After this weekend they play Olot(H), Sabadell(A), Badalona(H) and Deportivo Aragón(A). After that we will see.
What a week of comebacks it’s been in football this week. Barcelona losing a 4-1 lead to Roma and Real Madrid nearly going out to Juventus. All the talk though has been about that penalty and the reaction from the Juve players especially Gianluigi Buffon. For me it was a penalty, Mehdi Benatia, the guy who fouled Lucas Vazquez should have been sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity and Buffon was rightly sent off for pushing the referee Michael Oliver and basically abusing him straight in his face. At the moment we are not party to what he said but I’m sure he wasn’t wishing him a merry Christmas. Also sentiment can’t come into it either just because it was his last chance of winning a medal, it’s his last season and it was the 93rd minute aren’t excuses. The rules are the same and shouldn’t change. Would VAR have helped? Well not if you watched the pundits and everyone on social media as nobody agrees and everyone has a different opinion. Which when you think about makes football great as if it was all correct what would we have to argue about?
This has got to be story of the week. The National Poo Museum is set to get a permanent home in the Isle of Wight due to its popularity. The world renowned museum, which has dried specimens of dinosaur, human, lion, elk and other animal excrement, is currently mobile but the directors have begun a big push for a permanent home.
A £10,000 fundraising appeal has been launched so the National Poo Museum can renovate and move into Sandown Battery, a disused 19th century fort.
Visitors to the attraction will ‘discover the magic and secrets that live within poo’ as they enter the world of the number two.
The museum’s website has put a call out for donations: ‘Celebrities, would you consider donating one your actual poos to our collection?
The NPA, which started in Isle of Wight zoo, already has famous fans backing its appeal, which has reached £900 already.
BBC Springwatch host Kate Humble said: ‘The world would be a much poorer place without the National Poo Museum.
Enjoy your weekend.
I present the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca, online at http://www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone, Android, The Tunein Radio App and on the Spanish TDT TV service. If you can’t hear me on the radio then you’ll find me working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again i may make an understudy appearance!
Feel free to email me at rprior@globobalear.com

As I said to you last week my Easter was spent in Menorca watching my Son play for his team San Francisco in the MeCup. Now Menorca is sometimes given a bad rap compared to the other islands but I have to say it is a beautiful island, very green at this time of the year and in a way it reminded me of England. It has an area of 702 km2, rounded by a coastline of 216 km, a distance from north to south of 47 km and from east to west of 17 km. Meaning you can get anywhere on the island in no time at all.
One of the most famous dishes on the island is caldereta or Lobster stew. The lobster is added to a sofrito of onions, tomatoes, garlic, parsley and boiled, and is eaten with thin slices of bread. It is one of the most famous dishes in Menorca and the King of Spain goes to the restaurant we were in. It’s called Can Bernat des Grau on the Mahon-Fornells road in case you go and I urge you to!
We were staying in Santo Tomas on the coast where quite a few of the teams were staying. We were told by the receptionist that they were only opening for the tournament and closing again once we left. Now I know Easter has fallen early this year meaning there is a bigger gap between that and the official start to the summer. But surely with better planning and marketing those hotels could have remained open? In a previous column I mentioned that the workforce are accustomed to only working 6 months of the year and there seems to be no desire from either the airlines, the hoteliers and therefore the workers to change this. I keep banging on about it but it needs to come from Government who should offer these businesses tax breaks to at least give them a chance. Surely it’s better for the local economy to have these people working and paying into the system rather than collecting the Dole money?
Back to the football which to be honest was tough for the boys who were playing teams that were bigger than them. They played 5 games losing 4 and winning their last game. One of the games was against Español which was the most famous team they played and although they got beaten 5-0 it was a great experience. As in fact was the whole trip, flying together as a team and travelling by coach to each match gave them a taste of life as a professional footballer. Mind you we did have to throw our Son in the shower as I swear he hadn’t done so himself in 3 days!
On Sunday we and all the teams and supporters went to the finals. There were 3 age groups, under 11’s, Under 13’s and under 15’s. It was also no surprise to see them contested by the professional teams.
The under 11’s Schalke v Español which the Spaniards won 1-0. The under 13’s Español v Villareal which was won convincingly by Villarreal 3-0. Finally the under 15’s between Barcelona and Villareal. I had made a point of going to watch Barcelona on 3 previous occasions just to see if their football philosophy runs through to the youth level. And it does, they were a joy to watch. Especially a 14 year old called Xavi Simons. Born in Amsterdam, his dad, former player Regillio Simons, happened to be a Barça fan, and more specifically, a Xavi Hernández fan. His mother, Peggy, also liked Xavi so they named their son after the then 23-year-old Barcelona midfielder. He grew up in the town of Rojales in Alicante, where the family moved when Regillio retired as a player. The young Xavi started playing football for Club Deportivo Thader, where he was handpicked by former head of La Masia, Guillermo Amor, when he was just seven years old. You have to be something special for Barcelona to be after you at such a tender age. In Barcelona they say he’s a kid who plays like a veteran. On top of that talent, Xavi has everything you need to become a fine footballer. He is hard working, competitive, constantly running where the ball is both in attack and defence, and has been a leader and captain ever since he arrived at the club. He has over one million followers on Instagram and is already playing in an older team. I watched him help destroy a team from Japan and another from Mallorca but both the semi-final against a strong Borussia Dortmund team and the final against Villarreal were a different matter. So much so that the final was a 1-1 draw which then went to penalties and surprisingly Villareal won. But believe me that boy is a talent and a name that you should look out for. A really good trip and a very well organised tournament which if your kids have an opportunity to go to in the future make sure you go. That also goes for Menorca a great alternative from our other islands.
With the first quarter of the year now behind us, the best-selling albums and songs of 2018 so far have been revealed.
Having shifted over half a million copies, the soundtrack to the Hugh Jackman-led ‘The Greatest Showman’ tops the list of albums, as the Official Charts Company reports. After spending 11 consecutive weeks at No.1, it has now enjoyed the joint- longest consecutive run in the top in 30 years with Adele’s ’21’.
Ed Sheeran follows behind at No.2 with last year’s ‘Divide’, having shifted an extra 223,000 copies of the album in 2018. Sam Smith comes in at No.3 with ‘The Thrill Of It All’ after selling 105,000 this year, followed by Rag’n’Bone Man’s ‘Human’ 100,000 of its 1.1million copies sold this year.
Elsewhere, Dua Lipa is the most successful female artist of the year so far – with her self-titled debut shifting 95,000 copies in 2018, and her massive single ‘IDGAF’ notching up 509,000 combined sales. Her video for ‘New Rules’ broke records after it was viewed over 1billion times on Youtube.
The highest-selling debut album comes from former Fifth Harmony star Camila Cabello, who also ranks at No.9 in the singles chart with the runaway success of her huge single ‘Havana’.
Meanwhile, Drake‘s ‘God’s Plan’ tops the biggest singles chart after shifting 755,000 sales, as well as 76million streams.
Real Mallorca are definitely struggling at an important time of the season. Their last win was 6 games a go but they still hold a six point lead at the top with 6 games to go. This Sunday they are at home to Lleida Esportiu, kick-off at 12 midday at the Son Moix. They still look like they’ll make the play-offs but finishing top gives you 2 chances to go up in the complicated system they use over here. By finishing top they would play a two legged tie against one of the 3 other top teams in the other divisions, win that and they’d go up. Lose that and they join the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams in all the divisions in knockout games for one other place. Confusing I know, but that’s Spain for you.
Sad this week to hear of two people passing away from the sporting world who I grew up watching on TV. Ray “Butch” Wilkins the former Chelsea, Manchester United, AC Milan, Rangers, QPR and England footballer who since his retirement has been involved in coaching and punditry on TV and radio. By all accounts he was a lovely man who had time for everybody and always spoke intelligently about football. All the comments on tv, radio and social media showed you how popular he was.
Eric “The Crafty Cockney” Bristow, was World champion five times between 1980 and 1986, he also won five World Masters titles and was a founder player when the PDC was formed in 1993. He was awarded an MBE for his services to sport in 1989.
He worked as a TV pundit and was the guy behind the scenes who told the cameras where to go when the guys were throwing their darts as he knew every possible checkout. He appeared on ITV show I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here in 2012.
Both legends in their fields who will be greatly missed.
Football fans are hardy types especially those who travel away. So spare a thought for the fans of Russian second division team Baltika Kaliningrad who had to travel to Luch Vladivostok, which is 10,000km away and the quickest way to get there is flying which takes 11 hours one way! And guess what it was an awful 0-0 draw!
Enjoy your weekend.
I present the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca, online at http://www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone, Android, The Tunein Radio App and on the Spanish TDT TV service. If you can’t hear me on the radio then you’ll find me working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again i may make an understudy appearance!
Feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter! At the time of writing this I’m in Menorca watching my eldest Son play in tournament called the MeCup. There’s over 3,500 people here for it making it an early Easter present for the island. I told you in an earlier column that Neymar, Coutinho and Casemiro played for a Brazilian team here in 2008. There are clubs from all over the World at U-11, U-13 and U-15 level including Barcelona, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Villarreal, Español and of course my sons team CD San Francisco. It’s an amazing experience for all the boys and to be honest I’m having a great time too! Menorca is so different from Mallorca and Ibiza and I’m looking forward to discovering more of the island while we are here.
I keep in touch with things happening on Ibiza on a weekly basis from “Our Man in San An”, Martin Makepeace. I’ve known Martin for over 20 years and every Tuesday he gives us an update on the radio about the White Isle. Big news this week from San Antonio council who voted to reduce the opening hours of all the bars, clubs, cafes and restaurants. They have to close their terraces by midnight and be cleared by 12.30am and they have to close at 3am. Yes you heard right in the so called party island everybody in the West End has to close at 3am! Is this a sign of things to come in Mallorca? Can you imagine the bars and clubs in Magaluf having to do the same here? The arguement is that there’s a noise problem that disturbs the residents in the area. Now this is not a new problem and the residents I have no doubt knew about it before they moved into the area. If this was a year round problem I would have sympathy but as Martin has told me on countless occasions Ibiza’s season lasts from June to September. Four months for all the bars, cafes and clubs to make their money and now they’ve been told they have to close at 3am. That’s a big kick in the teeth for them and for me it doesn’t make sense on so many levels. Employment, taxes, social security, rents and the knock on effect to all the companies that supply these businesses. Is it the death knell? Well some might see it as an opportunity for change, but why change when in reality it’s not broke. Martin told me “it’s a sad day for San Antonio but not unexpected. An area famed for nightlife is being targeted by a council that detests the tourism that the town attracts. You can now get a later drink in most UK towns than in the West End of San Antonio!”
As I said above it’s a coalition council and my understanding is the PP voted against the change but are in a minority. There are local council elections coming up in May 2019 so it will be interesting to see if this is part of their manifesto to reverse the decision.
Talking of local elections and reversing decisions did you see Biel Company, the President of The Partido Popular in the Balearics tell the councillors of the PP from all four of the Balearic Islands that the party will repeal holiday rentals legislation and zoning criteria if it wins the election in May 2019. Now lots of things get promised by political party’s to get into power and when they do get in you then you get the old well we didn’t realize how difficult it would be…blah, blah, blah. I remember one party promising to rehouse the Mallorca cricket club as they thought it would help with the Expat vote, as we know it never happened and as I said last week they can’t get a team together for the Balearic Cup. Another thing to think about is that if we do leave the EU on the 29th of March next year we will not be allowed to vote in the local elections. That came from the International Department of Calviá Town Hall.
Real Mallorca struggled again last Weekend and only a last minute debatable penalty got them a point away in Hercules. Good to see Lago Junior back playing as he is a game changer and his “Panenka” penalty in the last minute was coolness personified. Mind you if I was the Manager I’d be going nuts at him to blast it as hard as he could. Another away match for Mallorca against Valencia B on Sunday. They are the leagues top scorers but also leak quite a few at the other end so hopefully Mallorca can get back to winning ways. It looks like the away game against Elche in two weeks could be the pivotal one to decide who finishes top. It’s in Mallorca’s hands with 7 games to go so let’s hope they get that all important first place.
Every Monday on the radio we have a feature of all the films at the cinemas in English. We do this in conjunction with Michael Barnes who has a great Facebook page called Mallorca Cinema Showings – English. Last Weekend Peter Rabbit was showing at the Ocimax, Michael said that there was more interest in his post about it than other in the two years since the Facebook page began. So much so that the early showing sold out leaving some people disappointed. That hasn’t happened apparently since the last James Bond film. Always best to check before you go and don’t forget you can buy your tickets online.
Before I left for Menorca I went to the dress rehearsal of Pirates. Great to see some of the old faces and plenty of new ones too. I have to say the changes they’ve made to the show are refreshing and as always the level of acrobatics is unbelievable. Even if you’ve been before get yourselves a ticket it’s 3 hours of non stop of great entertainment with food and drink too! They have 2 shows next week on the 4th and 6th of April at 18.00., book online at http://www.piratesadventure.com or call 971 130411.
Enjoy your weekend.
I present the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca, online at http://www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone, Android, The Tunein Radio App and on the Spanish TDT TV service. If you can’t hear me on the radio then you’ll find me working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again i may make an understudy appearance!
Feel free to email me at rprior@globobalear.com

Don’t forget the clocks go forward on Sunday morning! Yes believe it or not it’s the start of British summertime. A few other dates for your diaries.

7 days till the Easter weekend starts (30/3/18)
57 days till Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get married (19/5/18)        83 days till the World Cup in Russia starts (14/6/18)
277 sleeps till Christmas (25/12/18)
284 days till 2019 (1/1/19)
371 days till the UK is scheduled to leave the EU (29/3/19)

So 83 days until England go to the World Cup(that’s if they do). Since the first Panini World Cup album was launched in 1970, children and some adults for that matter have enjoyed collecting stickers of their favourite players. I remember my first sticker book in 1974 and trying to get hold of a Peter Lorimer was impossible. Walking around with a load of Joe Jordan’s and many others trying to get that elusive card. Got it, got it, got it, need it! Were common sounds around the school playground back in the day. Young football fans will have to pay an absolute fortune to get their hands on every sticker this summer, thanks to a hefty price hike. Once upon a time the stickers would set up back a few pence at a time, but just a packet of five will cost you a whopping 80p this time round. That’s a staggering 60% rise on the price from just two years ago, when a packet of five Euro 2016 stickers would set you back 50p. In total there are 682 individual stickers to collect this summer, meaning you have to buy at least 137 packets to have any chance of completing the book, setting you back £109.60. But this doesn’t take into account that it’s pretty much impossible to not get any duplicate players in the first 137 packets you buy, meaning you’re either going to be swapping cards for the rest of your life or splashing out a lot more cash. My youngest loves the albums so there goes the bank balance!

An amazing St Patrick’s Festival last Sunday started with a windy beach clean with Ondine. Over 180 people helped collect just under 4,500 objects ranging from cigarette buts, ear bud sticks, straws, bags and various other objects to a weight of 67kg. Well done to all involved a great job! Note for your diaries, April 22nd in Es Trenc is the next one. I was at the top of the beach road soundchecking for the stage as we had quite a few varying acts. When The Raggles turned up at 10.45 for theirs I offered them a coffee, which was met with total derision and they headed off to the bar for in their words “a proper drink!” These boys are so rock n roll and had been gigging for 2 nights at The Shamrock in Palma. So when I refused a beer you’d think I’d burned all their instruments! It was easier to say yes to a Guinness which to be honest was a slippery slope but we ended up having the best day full of great laughs and songs. Big thanks to the Ayuntamiento de Calvia, John Bruce, BIC, Talahm, Liam Live, Marianne Armstrong, Glenn King, Angel Flukes The Raggles, Dj Little Liam Tot Espectaculos and Bianca Hadley We had a great Craic!

Next Friday the 30th of March Pirates opens its doors for another season. As you know I’ve worked there since 1994 and it’s great to see everybody back working hard for the first show. There aren’t many productions in the World that can boast over 30 years of entertaining people of all ages and nationalities. This year we have lots of great things planned for our Adventure and Reloaded shows plus our Gringos show which we launched last year. Please check out all the social media pages for more information or call 0034 971 130411 for more details.

Working on the radio keeping a close eye on the chart every week is really important. We have a chart show every Sunday in the traditional 5pm to 7pm slot. This is done by a good friend of mine Gus who works on a radio station in Glasgow, Scotland. We learnt this week that The Killers‘ classic hit ‘Mr Brightside’ has celebrated its 200th week in the UK top 100  this past week, almost 14 years after it was originally released. The track, which featured on the Las Vegas band’s debut ‘Hot Fuss’, peaked at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in 2004, but has been an ever-present in the charts over the past few years due to its popularity on streaming services. Streaming data was first introduced to the UK charts in 2014. The Official Charts Company now reports that ‘Mr Brightside’ has been streamed 45 million times in the last year alone and has averaged 878,000 plays and 696 downloads per week in 2018 so far. According to the BPI (British Phonographic Industry), it’s also the most-streamed song of any track released before 2010. If you’re a fan The Killers upcoming UK and Ireland tour dates are:

June 23 – Swansea Liberty Stadium, Swansea                          June 24 – Isle of Wight Festival                                                      July 8 – TRNSMT 2018, Glasgow                                                           July 13 – Bolton Macron Stadium                                                          July 14 – Latitude Festival Suffolk

Next week I’m off to Menorca to see my oldest Son play in the MeCup. I told you a few weeks ago there’s around 3,500 people descending on the island and we’re really looking forward to it. Which brings me to another sporting Menorca story. Henry Blofeld or Blowers as he’s affectionately known recently retired from cricket commentating on Test Match Special. He said in a recent interview, “When I retired from Test Match Special, it did not take us long to decide we were going to live in Menorca, my loyalty to the island insists I must spell it as the Spanish do. There were many contributing factors to our decision but when the thermometer approached freezing point, my aching bones, a legacy of much wicket-keeping seemed to bring them all together. Menorca has a lovely climate, it is almost crime-free and it has only one golf course. It is less pretentious than its two better known Balearic companions with their “look at me” clientele. Last, but by no means least, it has probably the best small cricket club I have ever been to.” To which I can concur as I’ve been there a couple of times. Sad to hear this week that Mallorca Cricket Club won’t be able to go to the Balearic Championships in Ibiza this year. Hopefully one day they can return as i know a lot of people worked very hard at keeping the Club going. 

Another disappointing draw for Real Mallorca last Weekend at home to SD Formentera. I couldn’t go because of the St Patrick’s Festival but by all accounts they were lucky to get a draw. They are still 8 points clear at the top with 8 games to go, courtesy of their rivals not playing too well either. But 1 win in 5 isn’t exactly promotional form and they need to shake off this stuttering end to the season before they get to the play-offs. 

If you remember last week I was talking about Spain who were on the verge of qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup having not qualified for the tournament since 1999, with the side only needing to beat Belgium ranked 25th in the world to join Georgia as qualifiers from the second tier of European rugby. By not winning the game they lost out to Romania who now go through. The controversy came as the game was refereed by a Romanian official that penalised them 28 times to Belgium’s 8. Surely they should have changed the referee to take away any possibility of bias? The defeat means that Spain miss out on automatic qualification for the World Cup next year, and must negotiate a series of play-offs against Portugal and, if they win, World Cup veterans Samoa in order to qualify.

Enjoy your weekend.

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

Feel free to email me at rprior@globobalear.com

 

Happy St Patrick’s Day! A busy weekend planned with today England v Ireland in the rugby which fittingly if Ireland win they’ll win the Grand Slam. Sunday morning at 11.00 is the beach clean with Ondine over in Santa Ponsa. I’ve said before these guys do a great job cleaning our beaches which they wouldn’t have to do if we were all a little more vigilant with our rubbish. Make sure you take reusable gloves and bags. Don’t forget from 11.00am on Sunday to 7pm the St Patrick’s Festival in Santa Ponsa offering free attractions for the kids, a craft market, food and drink and the bars selling copious amounts of Guinness. The stage line-up organised by Radio One Mallorca is as follows(note times could vary);

Hosts: Richie Prior and Liam Hadley

11.00-11.15 Batucada, Circo Stromboli

11.15-12.30 DJ

12.30 -12.40 John Bruce Bagpipes

12.45 -12.55 BIC choir

13.00 -13.10 Xaranga and Embruixart

13.10-13.55 Talahm

14.00 – 14.40 Liam Live

14.45- 15.00 Marianne Armstrong

15.00 – 15.40 Glenn King

15.45- 16.30 Angel Flukes

16.30 -17.15 Raggles

Break 15 minutes

17.30 – 18.15 Raggles

18.15 -19.00 Music Little Liam

Let’s hope the weather holds up and if you’re coming make sure you come and say hi as it’s always good to put a face to a name, oh and mine is a Guinness! After a few pints of Guinness most people enjoy a kebab and last Tuesday was the National Kebab Awards in the U.K. Hosted by one of my radio friends Lucy Horobin. The annual event is the only one to recognise the contribution made by the kebab industry to the British economy, worth more than £2.8billion a year, supporting around 200,000 jobs across restaurants, suppliers and the food industry.  This year’s awards raised money for the bone and soft tissue cancer charity Sarcoma UK. Every day, more than 1.3m kebabs are sold across Britain. The UK’s first kebab shop, Istanbul Restaurant in Soho, opened during the Second World War and pictures of it feature in the Imperial War Museum. However it was not until 1966 that the famous doner kebab, cooked on a vertical spit first appeared with the opening of the Hodja Nasreddin Kebab House by Çetin Bukey and Kojay Hüseyin in in North London’s Newington Green. There are now over 20,000 kebab outlets in the UK selling around 2,500 tonnes of lamb and chicken doner a week. There are also around 200 doner kebab manufacturers in the UK, with a turnover in excess of £750m.

Continuing the fast food theme did you see the story that this week Greggs the bakers have started to employ doormen particularly in their city center shops. Apparently things get a bit rowdy especially if they’re open in the evenings and also people are trying to steal the famous sausage rolls. We asked our listeners to come up with some headlines for this and as usual they didn’t disappoint.

“Greggs in move to keep doughnuts outside rather than inside.”

“If you’re pie eyed Greggs won’t Crust you!”

“You can’t come in ‘ere “half baked” son !”

“More beef on the doors than found in a steak bake!”

“Bakery chain employs bouncers to keep out unsavouries!”

Sad news this past week of the death of Harry Goodman, one of the most influential figures in the UK travel industry over the past 50 years. The founder of International Leisure Group, which featured well known travel brands such as Intasun, Lancaster and Global, Club 18-30 and the airline Air Europe. I arrived in Mallorca on an Air Europe flight in 1990 as a new Intasun Rep. my family thought I’d last a week and 27 years later I’m still here! I spoke to his Daughter Naomi as Jacques from Pirates and Harry were good mates. We agreed they’d probably be having another great party together.

Real Mallorca got a creditable draw despite being outplayed by second placed Villarreal B. They are now 8 points clear at the top with 9 games to go. Please checkout our Radio One Mallorca Facebook page for a link to a short film called Derby Days: Mallorca – The Once in a Lifetime Derby. It’s a look back at the derby match between Real Mallorca and Atlético Baleares which Mallorca won 3-2.

My eldest Son Jacob will be going to a football tournament in Menorca this Easter called the MeCup. There’s over 3,500 people descending on the island but they have a problem as not enough hotels are open. With Easter falling earlier this year a lot of the hotels don’t want to open for a week and then have people on contract for the whole of April with hardly any people arriving on holiday. We’ve only just been given our accommodation in a hotel which will open but we will have to walk to the hotel next door for breakfast and evening meal as they don’t want to staff the kitchen and dining room. You couldn’t make it up, it’s worth over 2 million euros to the island and they’re struggling to find both accommodation and staff. This outdated system of PARO(unemployment benefit)has to change and everyone in my opinion should be encouraged to work for 12 months, which happens in most other countries in the World.  We found out that his team San Francisco will play Español from the mainland, Atlético Villacarlos and CEE Sant Luis from Menorca, CD Cide from Mallorca and a select team from England called South West Select. I can’t tell you how excited I am that was until I found out that the first game was on Wednesday evening and we don’t arrive until Thursday morning. The team go Wednesday afternoon and I’ve tried to change our flights but to no avail. They play their next game at 09.30 on Thursday morning, our flight gets in at 08.55, so we’ll have to be pretty quick getting out of the airport. I checked with Iberia to see if there was an earlier flight either Wednesday afternoon or earlier Thursday morning. They offered me the 07.15 on Thursday which is an hour early, which sounded ok until they said we’d have to pay 212€ for the privilege! I politely told the guy to stick it in my bestest Spanish and said I’ll take my chances on the later one!

Here’s a headline you maybe never thought you’d see, “Spain one win away from rugby World Cup!” They head into the final round of the Rugby Europe Championship knowing victory over Belgium in Brussels this weekend, will secure automatic qualification in the Europe 1 slot in Pool A in 2019.

Enjoy your weekend.

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

Feel free to email me at rprior@globobalear.com

 

The tourist resorts that have been sleeping in the winter are showing signs of life. I can see it as I visit many parts of the island. It’s 16 days to go until Summer time should officially start when the clocks go forward and 21 days until Easter. Where I work at Pirates which opens on Friday March 30th all the artists are back and are in the thick of rehearsals. Great to see some old faces but also plenty of new ones who will be bringing some exciting new elements to this years show. I will update you more the closer we get but notes for your diaries, Friday March 30th Adventure opens, Friday April 27th Reloaded opens and Saturday May 5th Gringos opens. All of which will be offering great entertainment throughout the Summer. 

Another date for your diary is Sunday March 18th for two reasons. Firstly our friends at Ondine are organising another one of their beach cleans in Santa Ponsa. These guys do an amazing job around our islands. Their team of experienced marine scientists and divers work closely with local authorities and stakeholders to create an effectively managed network of Marine Protected Areas around the Balearic Islands, allowing marine ecosystems to recover and thrive together with prospering local communities and industries. Their Dos Manos initiatives have been developed to tackle one of the biggest threats to our oceans and to ourselves: plastic pollution. Through their Dos Manos Beach Cleans, Schools Programme and Partners Programme they inspire and help local communities and companies to take action while raising awareness, sharing knowledge, and encouraging innovative solutions. Once you’ve helped clean the beach you can come and join the Radio One Mallorca crew and Calviá Town Hall on the roundabout by Ramon Moncada for a cracking day filled with music, market stalls, free kids attractions and street animation. On the main stage will be the BIC Choir, Marianne Armstrong, Talahm, Liam Live, Glenn King, Angel Flukes and the Raggles. We’re there from 11am to 7pm so come and join us for the Craic!

I mentioned above it’s three weeks until Easter and apparently there could be a shortage of hot cross buns this year. US raisin prices have increased by 50% since September due to crop shortages in California. The US shortages have sparked a price rise in sultanas from Turkey, a key supplier to the UK. Prices of Turkish sultanas have risen by 30%  since September. At the same time, currant prices are soaring in Greece. Production there is about a third down, and prices on the UK market are up 40% since September. So you can see there is a problem. However Lidl has just launched a new Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream that is infused with the flavour of the iconic seasonal favourite. The £1.99 480ml tubs are driving shoppers with a sweet tooth wild on social media, with one branding the ice cream a ‘game changer’. It’s made with British double cream and whole milk, so it’s not for those who are counting calories as a 100ml serving contains 129 kcal. 

I must give a big shoutout to my Nephew Will who is currently at the Royal Academy of Music. He like his Dad Don plays bass guitar and double bass. This week he was invited into the Radio 1 live lounge studios to play for Mabel. Mabel McVey (born February 19, 1996), mononymously known by her stage name Mabel, is a Spanish-born Swedish-British singer and songwriter based in London. Born in Málaga, Spain and raised in Stockholm, Sweden, she is the daughter of singer and songwriter Neneh Cherry and Massive Attack record producer Cameron McVey. Best known for her 2017 hit Finders Keepers which reached number 8 in the U.K. Charts she sang her new song Fine Line and a cover of Coldplays Fix You with my Nephew playing double bass. An amazing experience that he absolutely loved and I’ve no doubt he’ll get more in the future. 

Real Mallorca lost their second consecutive game with a 0-1 home defeat by CD Ebro.  It was a really disappointing game with most of the team under performing and they’ll need to get back to winning ways on Sunday when they face Villarreal B the team in second place. They are the team who in my opinion are the best Mallorca have faced all season. They are separated currently by 8 points so a win would see them go 11 points clear at the top with 9 games to go. A loss however and it could be squeaky bum time.

A story that brought a smile to my face this week, former Arsenal forward Sanchez Watt received the most bizarre red card of the season after a referee mistook the player saying his own name for dissent. Watt, playing for Hemel Hempstead in their National League South clash with East Thurrock on Tuesday night, was asked his name by ref Dean Hulme so that he could book him for kicking the ball away. But the official grew frustrated when the answer given was ‘Watt’, mistaking the reply as the player saying ‘What?’ and arguing against his decision. Hulme asked Watt three times for his name, receiving ‘Watt’ as the reply each time, before seeing red and giving Watt his marching orders. Hemel Hempstead captain Jordan Parkes rushed over to explain to the referee that the player’s name was actually Watt, and he had been clearly telling him so all along. A presumably embarrassed Hulme then reversed his decision to punish Watt with a second yellow card for dissent, and he stayed on the pitch. The Ref was probably worried about navigating the famous Hemel Hempstead roundabout system. For those that don’t know, it’s six small roundabouts surrounding one large one and it’s a nightmare to drive around. 

I found this list of the top 30 little victories that we celebrate regardless of its worth and I’m sure you’ll find some of your own in there.

1. Finding money in a coat pocket
2. Something you were planning on buying anyway being reduced in price
3. Getting an unexpected discount on an item when you reach the checkout
4. Finding money on the floor
5. Getting good weather for a special event
6. A delivery expected between 8-5pm comes at 8:01
7. Not needing any work done at the dentist
8. When you get an unexpected tax rebate
9. Turning up at a full car park for someone to leave so you get a space
10. Car passing MOT first time
11. Being upgraded to first class
12. Getting in a queue at the front just before loads of other people join the queue 

13. Someone leaving a table in a busy pub just as you arrive
14. Getting home just as the postman was about to leave a ‘Sorry we missed you’ card
15. Finding a parking space right outside the shop you want go in
16. It starting to rain just as you walk in the door / bring the washing in
17. Getting to the bus stop just as it arrives
18. A social event you really can’t be bothered with getting cancelled
19. When the vending machine gives you two chocolate bars instead of one
20. Hitting all the green lights on the way into work
21. Getting the last of something on offer in a supermarket
22. Waking up in the night and realising you still have hours left in bed before you have to get up
23. Parking perfectly first time
24. Getting a compliment from a stranger
25. Getting a whole aisle on a plane to yourself
26. Getting to the station just as the train pulls up
27. Finding the last dress or piece of clothing in your size on the rack
28. Waking up and realising it’s a Saturday and you don’t have to go to work
29. When a bet comes in
30. Having the exact change you need to pay for something 

And finally, Sunday is of course Mothers Day. Wishing all you beautiful Mums out there a fun filled Sunday with your loved ones. 

Enjoy your weekend.

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

Feel free to email me at rprior@globobalear.com

Being involved in radio I try to keep myself up to date with news, sport, showbiz and especially music as much as I can. One thing I haven’t done a lot of in my life is go to concerts or gigs. But in the last 8 months that’s certainly changed. I’ve seen Tom Jones, George Benson, The Stereophonics and have just booked to see Queen with Adam Lambert in Barcelona and Ed Sheeran at Wembley stadium. I’m not sure what’s brought this on but i actually wish I’d done it more often. Come to think of it I’ve seen more concerts than my team Arsenal this past year which to be honest the way they’re playing that’s not a bad thing! Yesterday tickets for The Rolling Stones in the U.K. went on sale and I was really tempted. They are such an iconic band, their music definitely stands the test of time and you have to think how much longer can they go on? 

Talking of doing more of what you enjoy I remember saying in my column at the beginning of the year to read more books and go to the cinema more often. The books will have to wait but we invited a guy called Michael Barnes to our radio studio this week. Michael runs a Facebook page called Mallorca Cinema Showings – English. Every week he lists what’s on at the cinemas in English which sometimes isn’t easy to find. We have turned it into a feature on the Breakfast Show, so every Monday we will give you Michaels Cinema Listings. He does this in his spare time and it’s a really useful page. It’s a closed group that has over 2000 members and if you ask to join Michael will add you. It’s important that we support the cinemas showing films in English as they will carry on if we do. Don’t forget that it’s the Oscars tomorrow night and at the time of writing 3 of 9 films nominated for best picture are currently on at one of our cinemas.

Interestingly enough a study was commissioned by Cineworld one of the big cinema owners in the UK ahead of the third IMAX Film Festival, which will give film fans across the country a second chance to see some of the top releases from last year in IMAX.

IMAX uses a cutting-edge projection system and delivers crystal-clear images, coupled with the customised theatre design and powerful digital sound system. IMAX creates a unique environment that makes audiences feel as if they are in the film.

The study threw up a lot of interesting facts;

Seventy-five per cent of the nation agreed a bigger screen is the best thing about a trip to the movies, with over half preferring the cinema experience for its enhanced sound and picture quality.

One in five said they enjoy watching the trailers and 13 per cent stated it’s the presence of others which adds to the experience.

The research confirmed the best seat in the picture house is, without a doubt, the middle centre followed by the centre back rows.

Two-thirds of adults are more likely to make a trip to the movies with their partner, and three in 10 will see the latest blockbuster with pals.

One in five would much rather a trip to the cinema over a meal out, but just under two in three wish they went to the movies more often.

The study also found three in five brits confessed there are films they wish they’d seen in the cinema.

The study also found a trip to the movies is enjoyed twice a month on average, with just under one in 10 going up to once a week.

A fizzy drink will never go a miss during a trip to the cinema for nearly one quarter of Brits, accompanied by a box of sweet popcorn and classic pick ‘n’ mix. 

They were also asked which film do you think should be seen on the big screen and not on TV. Here are the results;

1. Avatar
2. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
3. Jurassic Park
4. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
5. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back 

6. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 

7. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
8. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
9. Jurassic World
10. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens 

11. Titanic
12. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 

13. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones 

14. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith 

15. Jaws
16. Dunkirk
17. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 

18. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
19. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 

20. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 

Another study conducted by Sky Cinema, found that overall one in two Brits thinks an Oscar-worthy actor would be required to play them in a movie of their own life. 

Researchers found that Tom Hanks the seasoned star of Forrest Gump, Big and Saving Private Ryan was the choice the male population would prefer to take on the role. 

And the late great screen siren Audrey Hepburn who starred in Roman Holiday and Breakfast At Tiffany’s came top of the ladies list. 

Thirty seven per cent of Brits believe their character would be the hero of their tale, while one in five would consider themselves an anti-hero figure. 

And one in ten pessimistically think they would ultimately become the villain in a cinematic retelling of their own life story. 

A quarter would describe their life story as a drama, while 22 per cent think the events of their life would work better as a light-hearted comedy. 

Forty one per cent reckon the film which tells their life story would be worthy of a nomination at the Oscars, yet 44 per cent admit the events would likely make for a boring watch once up on screen. 

TOP ACTORS BRITS WANT TO PLAY THEM 

1. Tom Hanks
2. Audrey Hepburn
3. Sandra Bullock
4. Helen Mirren
5. Emma Watson
6. Leonardo DiCaprio 

7. Clint Eastwood
8. Julia Roberts
9. Kate Winslet
10. Matt Damon 

Brits have spoken to declare their favourite films must have at least two car chases, three fight scenes and two twists, much like the format of 1972 film The Godfather. 

Movie fans are suckers for affairs of the heart too as the ultimate blockbuster would also include two romantic moments, a new survey has revealed. 

three fight scenes and two twists – much like the format of 1972 film The Godfather. 

Movie fans are suckers for affairs of the heart too as the ultimate blockbuster would also include two romantic moments, a new survey has revealed. 

The nation’s perfect movie would be directed by Steven Spielberg. 

Favourite actors for starring roles are Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, and Oprah Winfrey. Dame Judi Dench and Hollywood heart-throb Tom Hardy would be the ideal in the supporting roles. The nation’s ideal movie should have a soundtrack inspired by Pulp Fiction, according to the survey. 

Cineworld set out to do the study ahead of the Oscars this Sunday. Elements of the perfect award-winning film would be; 

• An engaging plot
• A drama
• Two villains
• Directed by Steven Spielberg
• Tom Hanks as the male lead
• Meryl Streep as the female lead
• Tom Hardy and Judi Dench as the supporting actors

 • Two plot twists 

• It should feature a hero AND a heroine

 • Two romantic moments
• Three fight scenes
• Two car chases 

• Two hours long
• A resolved ending where everything is concluded

 • A soundtrack inspired by Pulp Fiction 

Shape of water leads the Oscar nominations with 13 and is the bookies favourite to win best picture.

Real Mallorca suffered only their second defeat of the season away at 4th placed Cornelia last Sunday. They are now 9 points clear of 2nd placed Villarreal B with 11 games to go. Mallorca are at home to Ebro on Sunday, it’s 12 o’clock kick-off at the Son Moix Stadium. I must give  a shoutout to my eldest Son Jacob and his team San Francisco. Last Sunday they played Son Ferriol, a team they had lost 3-0 to earlier in the season. 2-1 down with 15 minutes to go it didn’t look like they were going to win. But they equalised and Jake popped up with the winner with 5 minutes to go! We celebrated at one of our favourite restaurants, Can Pedro in Genova. Which has to be said was bursting at the seams and there was still a queue for tables as we left! 

And finally this week a news story that brought a smile to my face. The Winter Olympics closed last weekend and a sporting body is campaigning so that snowball fighting becomes an Olympic sport, so get all your practice in now whilst we’re blessed with the Beast from the East! 

In the wake of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Japan’s 25-year-old snowball- fighting federation says the sport should feature at a future competition. 

The Japan Yukigassen Federation or JYF (Yukigassen means snowball fighting) devised a formal version of a team snowball fight and was recognised as a national administrative body for the sport in 1993. 

The game is played on a pitch 10 metres (33 feet) by 36 metres (118 feet) two teams of seven people, who can hide behind several on-court barriers. 

Both teams have a flag near the centre of the court. They can win by capturing the opposing side’s fag or by scoring a hit on all the other players. 

Being hit by a snowball eliminates a player from the game. 

The JYF says it has a “presence” in 11 countries and in five areas of Japan. On March 6 it is holding a snowball-fighting world championship at the Hakuba Ski-Jumping Stadium in Japan’s central Nagano Prefecture. 

Teams are expected from Hong Kong and China but it is not clear whether snowball battlers from anywhere else will show up. 

Enjoy your weekend.

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

Feel free to email me at rprior@globobalear.com

I spent a couple of days in a cold and wet U.K. at the beginning of the week. Mind you it hasn’t been much better here this week either! One thing I did notice is the huge increase in the use of contactless credit cards. I’m old school and much prefer the cash in my pocket, so how safe are they? Well after a bit of research I found out that two key protections with contactless cards are the £30-per-transaction spending limit and the need to enter a PIN after a certain number of transactions. However, there’s evidence that not all banks are upholding this safety check. Which? “stole” 12 contactless cards from volunteers in the autumn of 2016 and made repeated purchases on the high street until asked for a PIN. Three banks, Barclays, the Co-Operative Bank and TSB allowed the volunteers to spend more than £200 in 10 consecutive transactions in just a few hours without prompting them to enter a PIN. Of course, banks and building societies do refund fraudulent transactions; however, there have been occasions where victims of fraud have waited many weeks to have their money returned.  On a more positive note about this, a Big Issue vendor is selling 200 more copies a week since investing in a contactless card machine. Robin Fabian, 50, was struggling to offload the magazine, which supports homeless people, because so few potential customers had cash. So he bought a contactless bank card reader and it paid for itself on the first day. Robin said: “I’ve sold about 200 extra a week. I hold it on top of my Issues so people can see it. I think I’m the only one in the area with one, which gives me an edge.” I much prefer cash but it looks like that is on its way out. 

Talking of cash with less than a fortnight to go until they are no longer accepted in UK shops, more than £2 billion worth of old-style £10 notes remain in circulation. The Bank of England said the withdrawal rate is ‘broadly as expected’ ahead of the March 1st deadline, at which point the paper £10 note will cease to be legal tender replaced completely by the polymer version. Anyone with the old notes beyond this point will still be able to exchange them for the new equivalent at the Bank of England. According to the latest figures, the value of paper £10 notes in circulation is around £2.182 billion, the equivalent of around 218 million paper £10 notes. Currently, weekly returns of paper tenners are averaging a value £85 million. So have good look around especially down the back of the sofa! 

10 years ago I interviewed the actress Pauline Quirke on the radio. She started by telling me about her acting life. She discovered acting at the age of 9 when a couple of after-school clubs were formed by local teachers. One was Country Dancing, the other was a Drama club. Not fancying Country Dancing, Pauline joined the Drama Club and that’s where it all began. From this start, professional work followed almost by accident. In that year, still aged 9, she was cast in her first professional role as a child arsonist in ‘Dixon of Dock Green’, with her career evolving from there. Pauline appeared in numerous TV programmes including her own chat show at the age of 15 entitled ‘Pauline’s People’ and ‘Pauline’s Quirkes’. Subsequent productions included ‘The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist’, 1980’s hospital drama, ‘Angels’, and TV series ‘Shine on Harvey Moon’. Her many TV roles include ‘Our Boy’, ‘Last Christmas’ (with Ray Winstone), ‘Real Women’, ‘Maisie Raine’, ‘David Copperfield’ (with Daniel Radcliffe), ‘North & South’, ‘Emmerdale’, not forgetting her BAFTA-nominated performance in ‘The Sculptress’ and her portrayal of Susan Wright in ITV’s award-winning drama, ‘Broadchurch’ with David Tennant and Olivia Coleman. Pauline is most famous for her role as Sharon Theodopolopodous in ‘Birds of a Feather’ running 127 episodes from 1986 to 2016. She has won the Royal Television Society’s Award for ‘Best Comedy Newcomer’, the coveted Fipa D’Or Biarritz Award at the Cannes Television Awards and a BAFTA nomination. She is an honorary member of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a patron of the Rennie Grove Hospice, a supporter of Children with Leukaemia, Children in Crisis, and Children’s Hospices UK and has just launched her own Charity ‘PQA Trust’ to help deprived children get performing arts training to build confidence and learn skills for life. At the time of the interview In 2007 Pauline had just opened her very first Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. She told me that she wanted to roll them out across the country. 10 years later there are now approximately 150 academies across the country, with more planned, teaching over 10,000 children aged between 4 and 18 the delights and disciplines of Comedy & Drama, Musical Theatre, and Film & Television. Also coming up in September they are launching a Full time Academy of performing Arts in London. After the interview I went home and told my Wife that I believed she could open the first overseas PQA here in Mallorca. Having come from a musical theatre and dance background and a former Captain Scarlett at Pirates it was perfect for her. After loads of meetings between us the first overseas PQ Academy opened here in January 2009 and is still going strong. Following up from that in October 2016 she expanded into Ibiza too. Last weekend they did their latest production of Annie Jr for al their families and friends to great acclaim. So congratulations to all the students and teachers who I know put a huge amount of work and effort into the production. If you’d like more information about the academy please go to www.pqacademy.com and search for Mallorca. 

A battling 1-0 home victory for Real Mallorca last weekend against Alcoyano to maintain their 10 point lead over Villarreal B. A testing away game on Sunday against 4th placed Cornelia awaits. As I left the ground last weekend I noticed a game of American Football taking place opposite the stadium. It was really weird to see but this was full on and there was a good crowd watching too. The game was between Mallorca Volters and Pioners de L’Hospitalet. The Volters won by 39 – 13. 

And finally a couple of news stories that brought a smile to my face this week. London chicken-lovers have been calling the police asking them to sort out the KFC closure crisis. So many people contacted The Met about the chicken shortage officers had to use Twitter to tell them their favourite restaurant closing is not an emergency. Frustrated police officers in Tower Hamlets tweeted: ‘Please do not contact us about the #KFCCrisis – it is not a police matter if your favourite eatery is not serving the menu that you desire.’ There’s been stories of chicken smuggling and someone even put a bargain bucket on EBay! Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky has been stripped of his Winter Olympics bronze medal after being found guilty of doping. Now not a news story that should bring a smile to your face but this guy was competing in the mixed doubles curling competition! What help do they need? 

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 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

A week full of celebrations this week. Tuesday was Pancake day or Shrove Tuesday to give it its official name. Shrove Tuesday is the day in February or March immediately preceding Ash Wednesday which is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes. Why pancakes? Turns out there’s a pretty good reason. Eggs, flour and milk. Those three key ingredients were once very common things to give up for Lent, so it made sense to use them all up in one handy dish the day before Lent started. We asked our listeners their favourite pancake filling and the traditional lemon and sugar came out on top.

This was quickly followed by Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and 40 days of fasting. It’s a Christian festival and the roots come from people replicating the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus Christ over the 40-day journey he made through the desert. A lot of people use Lent as a way of testing their willpower, often giving up things like chocolate or other sweet treats before Easter. Those of you who are quick with numbers might have figured out that there are actually 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. But many Christians believe there’s no obligation to fast on Sundays, which means it is actually only 40 days once you remove them. Love that little rule change!

If that wasn’t enough then Valentines fell on the same day as Ash Wednesday. Here’s a few interesting facts about a Valentines.

• Most women will not spend half the amount of money on men as they expect to get brought for them.
• There is an increase in the sales of pregnancy tests during the month of March, due to all those wonderful romantic interludes on Valentine’s Day!
• The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
• Women are more inclined to buy cards than men for this romantic day, men preferring to buy flowers and chocolates.
• For many who do not have a human loved one and a pet is their best friend, they will purchase a fun loving gift and chocolates for their animal friend.
• Around 110 million Valentine’s roses are sold 2-3 days leading up to February 14th, mostly red of course.   Out of those 110 million, 73% are purchased by men and only 27% are purchased by women.
• Valentine’s day is the second biggest “event” of the calendar year following Christmas.  It has been estimated that the UK will  spend around £880 million on valentine’s day.   Averaging that men will spend a staggering £611 million while women will spend around £269 on their partners!

Now if you stick to the traditional stuff like flowers or chocolates you probably won’t go wrong but if you tried something from the list below of the worst Valentines Day gifts then love definitely won’t be in the air!

1. A tin of baked beans
2. A live tarantula
3.  An ironing board cover
4. A plastic sheep
5. A desk tidy
6. A car frost cover
7. A tyre pump
8. A tea bag
9. Bathroom scales
10. A watering can fitting
11. A screwdriver set
12. A wheelbarrow
13. A bike pedal
14. A sausage roll
15. A pack of cigarettes
16. A toy snake
17. Shaving foam
18. Dead flowers
19. A colander
20. A torch

Thursday was the Valentines day of silence. Observed by Women whose partners forgot to book them a restaurant or do anything special on Valentine’s Day!

So what have we got to look forward to now?

4 days till The Brit Awards at The O2 (21/2/18)

12 days till the last day to use any old paper £10 notes (1/3/18)

36 days till British Summer Time begins (clocks go forward) (25/3/18)

41 days till the Easter weekend starts (30/3/18)

91 days till Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get married (19/5/18) 118 days till the World Cup in Russia starts (14/6/18)

405 days till the UK is scheduled to leave the EU (29/3/19)

Are you like me watching the Winter Olympics? Just seeing the snow takes me back to Ski Sunday and its unforgettable theme tune. I try if I can to catch the highlights programme each evening. I was hooked on the snowboarding as some of the tricks they were doing were out of this World. Now I’m fascinated to know how you get Into some of these sports. Usually as a kid you go and try a few different things out to see what you like or you’re good at. So I’m interested to know with the luge or the skeleton which is hurtling down an icy track on basically a tea tray and ski jumping which is skiing down a man made ramp and flying off the end, at what point do you decide it’s not for you?

The list below is a survey of landmark moments that Brits would have loved to have witnessed. No Winter Olympic moments, is yours in there?

1. England winning the 1966 World Cup
2. Live Aid, 1985
3. The fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989
4. The launch of Apollo 11, 1969
5. Queen Elizabeth II Royal Coronation, 1953
6. The London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, 2012
7. The Beatles playing on the rooftop of Apple Offices, 1969
8. Usain Bolt 100m win, 2012
9. The construction of Stone Henge, 3100 BC
10. Andrew Murray wins Wimbledon, 2013

Our Government has certainly be getting lots of stick over the tourist tax so I was interested to read this story this week.  Oxford could become the first city in the country to charge visitors a £1-per-night tourist tax. The tourist bed levy could raise at least £5million a year to help improve the city, politicians claim. Liz Wade, the Lib Dems’ deputy leader on Oxford City Council, said residents feel “crowded out of Oxford’s streets by tourists and their coaches”. They “may end up marching” as they have done recently in Venice, Barcelona and Berlin unless changes are made soon, she added. Last year the party’s proposal for a ‘tourism tax’ to be explored by Oxford City Council received unanimous backing. Levies are currently being investigated by a number of UK councils, including Camden and Bath. Be interesting to see what happens. The Local Plan will be discussed later this year before it is adopted next year.

A good away point for Real Mallorca last weekend away at Llagostera. They were reduced to 10 men in the first half but hung on defensively in the second half. Helped by another defeat for Villarreal B, Mallorca are now 10 points clear at the top. Tomorrow they are at home to Alcoyano, kick-off at 12 midday.

And finally a news story that made me smile this week. Spectators fled a rehearsal for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang because it was too cold! A wind chill of -7 reportedly drove audiences out of the arena in the South Korean city. Reports in South Korea suggest up to 35,000 spectators will be given heating pads, blankets and raincoats at Friday’s opening ceremony as organisers seek to mitigate the sub-zero conditions.

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 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

 

Busy weekend for me last weekend. Friday my Wife and I flew to Barcelona to see the Stereophonics in concert. For those that don’t know, for us that’s getting on a plane and flying for 30 minutes across the water. We normally use one of the park & fly companies but this time decided to use Aena the airport company. If you become an Aena client before you make your booking you get a discount on the normal rate. You just drive into the multi storey car park opposite the terminal and walk straight through to security. We flew with the blue and yellow seats airline you know the one and got our residents discount but when I checked in I was asked if I wanted priority seating. I declined and was given seats 7B and 33B! Now they couldn’t have been less accommodating. Firstly not together and secondly both middle seats, so it asks would you like to change your seats? Yes of course I would, but I’m taken back to the pay for your seats page! Gits! So I left it. Sure enough when we got on the plane it wasn’t full so we sat next to each other. It follows on from my hand luggage story while trying to keep the price of the flight down they’re stinging you wherever else they can. 

Talking of which I know it’s old news but Thomas Cook charging for sun beds? I can’t wait to see what happens to that in the summer especially if you share your hotel with the Germans which is quite likely when two of their biggest markets are the Brits and Germans. Also they are giving you the chance reserve your room at a cost of course. Sounds similar to what I said above, they’re trying to keep the price of the holidays holidays down but looking to add as much as they can on the other end.

I watched The Hairy Bikers on BBC2 last week as they travelled around Menorca and Mallorca. I thought Mallorca looked absolutely stunning as they rode around on their bikes and sampled the local food. Great advertising for the island.

Instagram the photo sharing App is a great way to show off Mallorca but sometimes it’s not just about sunshine and beautiful beaches as this next top 10 will prove.

Big Ben clocked up 2.73 million photos on Instagram last year, making it the UK’s most popular sight on the photo sharing app.

A more surprising venue scored second place on the leader board, Liverpool’s Anfield football stadium, which racked up 490,116 Instagram snaps.

Standing the test of time, Britain’s most famous prehistoric structure, Stonehenge, was Instagrammed 454,861 times by awe inspired visitors.

THE MOST INSTAGRAMMED SIGHTS IN THE UK 

1. Big Ben
2. Anfield
3. Stonehenge
4. New Forest
5. Snowdonia
6. Windermere
7. Edinburgh Castle
8. Glencoe
9. Seven Sisters
10. Giant’s Causeway 

Surprised to see Anfield at number 2 but even more surprised to see Seven Sisters at number 9? It must be it’s close proximity to Arsenal, well it can’t be that it’s close to the other team from North London can it!

Instagram is a part of our new high tech lifestyle so have a look at the list below and see what tasks we now don’t do but miss doing.

1. Making mix-tapes
2. Put photos into albums
3. Recording films and TV shows using VHS
4. Having printed photos around the house
5. The excitement of having photographs developed before you can see them
6. Handwritten letters 

7. Sending love letters
8. Sending post-cards
9. Having pen friends
10. Buying CDs / having a CD collection 

11. Using public telephones 

12. Using a telephone directory
13. Carrying a portable CD player
14. Going into the travel agents to research a holiday 

15. Buying disposable cameras
16. Turning to a hard copy of the Yellow Pages
17. Playing traditional board games or cards
18. Owning an encyclopedia
19. Dialling directory enquiries
20. Visiting car boot sales to sell old stuff
21. Remembering phone numbers off by heart
22. Hand-writing essays /school work
23. Ringing the speaking clock
24. Trying on pairs of shoes on the high street
25. Dialling 1471 to see who called while you were out 

A good home win for Real Mallorca this week against a very defensive Ontinyent team. The new signings have given a lift to the team and we bumped into Lago Junior who is well on his way back from injury, which is good news. They are 9 points clear of Villarreal who surprisingly lost at home last week. Interesting that Mallorca took a player from Liverpool this week on loan. The Liverpool website read Liverpool FC can now confirm the completion of the signing of defender Anderson Arroyo, who has immediately moved to Real Mallorca on an 18-month loan deal.

The 18-year-old a Colombia U20 international has joined the Reds from Fortaleza CEIF in his home country, for whom he made 22 appearances during the past three seasons, after a deal was reached during the January transfer window.

Arroyo has departed for a temporary spell in Spain, where he will spend the remainder of this campaign and the whole of the next with Segunda B leaders Mallorca.

And finally this week a couple of news stories that brought a smile to my face.

CORONATION Street has announced that the cobbles will be getting both a Costa Coffee and a Co-Op as part of a new sponsorship deal.

Eagle-eyed viewers had spotted the coffee’s shops recognisable cups and Co-op bags during recent episodes, leading to speculation a deal was in the works, and now the partnership has been confirmed. Now I’m not sure who’s going to own the Costa Coffee franchise but the walk by trade isn’t huge on the Street and are they all going to abandon Roys Rolls? I’m sure Dev’s Corner shop and The Kabin with Rita and Norris aren’t going to be too happy with the arrival of the Co-Op! 

Remember I asked last week if the World has gone mad? Well Snack giant Doritos has been slammed after announcing plans for a “lady-friendly” version of the popular snack which is quieter to eat and less messy. 

Indra Nooyi, the Global Chief Executive of Doritos owner PepsiCo, announced the bizarre plan in a recent interview and claimed that recent research showed how women do not like to crunch loudly or lick their fingers while eating. 

“Although women would love to crunch crisps loudly, lick their fingers and pour crumbs from the bag into their mouth afterwards, they prefer not to do this in public”, she revealed in an interview with Freakonomics Radio. 

“You watch a lot of the young guys eat the chips, they love their Doritos, and they lick their fingers with great glee, and when they reach the bottom of the bag they pour the little broken pieces into their mouth, because they don’t want to lose that taste of the flavour, and the broken chips in the bottom. 

“Women would love to do the same, but they don’t. They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers.” 

“It’s not a male and female as much as ‘are there snacks for women that can be designed and packaged differently?’ And yes, we are looking at it, and we’re getting ready to launch a bunch of them soon.” 

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 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 him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again i make an understudy appearance! 

Feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com