ART IN MENORCA

Art Gallery In Sa Caleta

Maribel Fernandez Ponseti is a painter born in Valencia. She loves travelling and lived in London for 10 years, which partly accounts for her fluent English. She moved to Menorca at the beginning of the 1980s. Maribel has been painting professionally since 2004 and has exhibited in Florida USA, Madrid and Menorca.

This year Maribel’s workshop in Sa Caleta is open to the public every Thursday and Saturday from 20:00 to 23:00 all through the Summer Season. There she displays her best pieces at her address, Signe d´Aries 15, Sa Caleta, Ciutadella.

On Saturday evenings she is also inviting artists from other disciplines. These evenings will start on 5th August 2023 with the actor and coach Paolo Girelli with his play “El Camino del Humano Imperfecto” - Imperfect Tour

Other evenings to be confirmed will include the presentation of Luis García Alucha books and there will also be Poems and Music… Those evenings will be exciting and worth visiting. Free entrance. Everybody welcome!

ART AND SOLIDARITY!

Maribel also had a supporting exhibition at Pinzellades d´Art Gallery in Alaior until last month based on photographs of Madagascar children. Now the Collection “Va de petits Gegants” - “It’s about little Giants” - is back at her home and they will be shown at the workshop from the 1st August 2023 onwards. The sale of these pieces will go partly to Malaria 40 (www.malaria40.org) to improve the life condition of the most needed through their projects on health, education and emergencies.

Look out for more information on Instagram: m_ponseti

THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE - FROM BELGIANS TO MR BEAN VIA BABEL

The former Menorquín politician, Maite Salord, recently appeared in a lengthy column in the Menorca daily newspaper (the Diario, as it is popularly known) to express concern about the risk of the loss of the language that is derived from Catalan, but still quite distinct in Menorca. Those of us who have devoted much time and energy towards trying to be able to understand and be understood in Castilian Spanish might groan a little at this, especially because it seems that an awful lot of official communication, from road signs to missives from the Ayuntamiento, seems only to appear in Menorquín. And let’s set aside for now the rather odd decision to post signs only in Menorquín about parking restrictions that really apply primarily to tourists. In that vein, we might spare a moment of sympathy for a seminarian from the Netherlands, studying in the northeast of England, who was given a placement in Stockton - where there is a very strong local accent. There was an occasion when two new couples, one from Belgium, appeared at the entrance to the church, and I sent someone who had worked in Brussels to talk to them. At first, he chose the wrong couple, but then came back and said, ‘After completely failing to understand the people from Solihull, I had no problem with the Belgians!’ We do not all speak the same English. Language can be seen as an inconvenience and an obstruction to communication. The Bible has something to say on the matter. The Old Testament story of Babel imagines a time of one language, with people unified in communication. This led to the planning of audacious deeds, most notably the building of a tower to the heavens. As the book of Genesis presents it, God did not favour the plan, and confused the people’s language. This is open to different interpretations. The scattered people of Babel can be seen to have been punished by the action.

However, another way of looking at it is to wonder whether to have only a single way of describing the world, only a single way of depicting human life, might impoverish us. Unity can be great, but uniformity less so. In one of the Star Trek series (Next Generation), the Borg appear: a people, a species who are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called ‘the

Collective,’ under constant supervision and guidance to ensure uniformity. The assimilation into a unified mind leads to lack of dissident voices which might be seen as the root of a conscience, leading to ruthlessness. Uniformity robs us of the possibility of alternatives, of choices, of checks and balances in our ways of making decisions.

So, the confusion imposed upon the people of Babel (in effect, upon humanity as a whole), while potentially being a punishment, might be one of those two-edged swords which also has a benefit, and can be a blessing. There are four gospels in the New Testament, each of them telling a story from a slightly different point of view. Someone once used the analogy of four witnesses observing a traffic accident, who see the same thing, but report it differently. Human beings trying to relate divine truths will inevitably run up against the limitations of human expression of things beyond our comprehension.

As the Bible sees it, the voice of ‘the other,’ whether in the form of the voice of a neighbour, or the voice of the divine creator, is a voice to which we need to listen. Truth is seldom one-dimensional, and we depend upon one another to explore different ways of seeing life.

Language may often seem to be a barrier, but it might really be a doorway. Other languages help us to experience something new. As the Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, who is fluent in German, has said on a number of occasions, learning another language becomes as much about learning a culture as about understanding vocabulary and grammar. When I was working in research and development in the 1980s, in the early days of personal computing, and long before the current form of artificial intelligence was anything but science fiction, we were thinking about ways to measure the competence of software programming. One of the younger members of the team came up with this criterion: the computer tells a joke; people laugh. He had grasped one of the truths about language: humour is one of the most difficult things to communicate, which is why Mr Bean’s popularity transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries.

Different languages and voices lead us towards other visions and perceptions, and they expand and broaden our understanding of one another and of life. We can treat this as an inconvenience, or we can treat it as an opportunitysomething that applies to many areas of life! The disappearance of minority languages diminishes all of us. And even though it can be an inconvenience to struggle with Menorquín after learning Castilian Spanish, as I have often reminded people, when a native of Menorca speaks to us in Spanish, they are doing us a favour, by using their second language to help us to understand and be understood. This is why it might be at least polite to reciprocate, and try to meet them halfway, through our endeavour to learn Spanish - something else that applies more broadly in life, when someone tries to meet us halfway. And the lesson of language might lead us to try to look through what may appear as a difficulty to unearth a blessing.

Church News

Worship in the church of Santa Margarita takes place on Sunday mornings at 9am and 11am, as well as at 11am every Wednesday and morning prayer with a focus on healing at 11am on Friday (also on Zoom). Perhaps it is worth noting, as the month of August brings its customary sweltering heat, that the church is air conditioned! Santa Margarita continues to offer worship online, to respect the needs of those unable to worship in person at the church.

The church web site will continue to be the place to seek up-to-date news and information about online worship: anglicanchurchmenorca.com.

The phone number for the chaplain, Paul, is +34 617222382 and his e-mail is chaplain@anglicanchurchmenorca.com

Beverley Ward will be familiar to readers of Roqueta as the writer of regular updates on the volunteer work at the Isla del Rey and other fascinating articles on the history of Menorca. However, you may not know that Beverley is also a keen swimmer and a Spanish National Champion in the sport of Nordic Walking. She takes part in the activity with a group led by Elena Segzdaite of Camina con Elena.

Beverley started in the sport 3 years ago. She had always been a keen swimmer but took up Nordic Walking as it is a very complete activity which exercises the whole body. She says “Anyone can take part and there are groups on the island for different levels. It is great to walk around the Cami de Cavalls, or discover quiet paths in the countryside, but it is important to learn the correct technique at the start. “My teacher Elena is extraordinary. She was born in Lithuania but lives in Menorca and she has taken part in walking or running races around the world in places such as France, Nepal and the Sahara. She set a new and still unbeaten record in the RENNSThike World Championship in Germany in 2021. Her company Camina con Elena takes groups of walkers out twice a week, starting at 6:20 am or 6pm from various locations in the area of either Mahon or Ciutadella as there are groups at both ends of the island. They walk for normally 7-10km for about 90 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Mahon and on Mondays and Wednesdays from Ciutadella, with the option of other additional days of physical training.

The National Championships

There are several Nordic walking groups in Mallorca (none in Ibiza) and so 4-5 times a year there are competitions between the islands . The best four women and four men are then selected to represent the Balearic team in the National Championships. This year the competition will be in Seville. The sport is part of the Federacion de Muntanyisme I Escalada (Federation of Mountaineering and Cllmbing). Beverley has competed in La Coruna, Vitoria, Valencia, Pontevedra, Madrid and Navarra. She has won the Individual Federation Medal in her category each time, and the overall ladies champion for Baleares in 2021 and 2022.

Beverly explained that during the races a penalty card system is used for various infringements. You must be careful to walk and not break into a run and the style is very restricted; arms must be kept in the correct position, the stick must be placed on the ground midway between your two legs and you can’t bend your knees too much or wiggle your hips! If you receive 3 white cards you have to add 2 minutes to your time and a red card can mean a penalty of up to 6 minutes.

How you can get started

If you are looking for a more relaxed approach to the sport then there are other groups on the island also. Beverley started at the age of 68 and the average age in her group is approximately 45 so there are no age barriers. It does not cost a lot of money and you can borrow some sticks when you start. The sticks are not the same as those used for hiking. Footwear should be trail sports shoes with embossed soles for grip but not trekking boots.

Elena often takes out groups on Sundays for daytime walks, from Son Bou for example, and she even organises moonlight walks. She also arranges special events for those with disabilities or those with illnesses such as cancer or Parkinsons. In September there is an Elite Chip Nordic Walking competition being held in Menorca with a course of 12 km around the military land of San Isidro.

Benefits of Nordic Walking

Nordic Walking involves walking in a natural way while using sticks to accompany the instinctive swing of the arms. It is a smooth low-impact sport that exercises 85% of the muscles of the body. The sticks facilitate the forward movement of the body and integrate the movement of the trunk and arms with the lower part of the body. They help to keep the body in the correct alignment when walking.

It is adaptable to the individual, with the objective of improving the physical and emotional well-being of those who practice it.

Nordic Walking originated as a cross-training exercise for elite skiers in Finland, and now it is practiced by people of all abilities worldwide. Scientific studies have shown that the health benefits of Nordic Walking are significantly greater than regular walking, trekking or even running.

Benefits listed on menorcanordicwalking.com

• Increases cardiopulmonary capacity.

• Increases calorie consumption up to 45% compared to walking without walking sticks.

• Release neck and shoulder tension.

• Favours the prevention of back pain, osteoporosis, heart disease or asthma.

• It improves the symptoms of patients with fibromyalgia, lumbar pain, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, Parkinsons and respiratory diseases among others.

• It is indicated to prevent and / or control lymphedema derived from breast cancer.

• It can contribute to strengthening the immune system.

• Improves the psychosocial state of patients with depression or stress.

• Improves functional capacity and quality of life.

• Improves joint mobility.

• It helps in postural re-education.

• Generates a feeling of well-being.

Contact: Camina con Elena Tel: 671 135 632 OR Marxca Nordica offers sessions with two types of intensity, Nordic FIT and Nordic SUAU (SOFT).

Website: https://www.menorcanordicwalking.com/ email: menorcanordicw@gmail.com c/ Tramuntana, 9. Es Grau, Maó – 07701

Tel (+34) 644 751 498 (+34) 669 097 977