ISLAND

By Christine Brooker

Sant Joan Ciutadella

Hello again Roqueta readers! The fiestas of Sant Joan will be finished when you read this, but here are a few points. The strict protocols in Ciutadella still do not allow women to ride in the ceremonies and there have been protests about this for years. There was yet another meeting between the two factions about possible solutions to the “discriminatory” rules. The “initiatives” continue to be studied.

The bell tower on the Sant Joan de Missa hermitage where all the riders go on horseback to meet for mass before the fiestas start was badly damaged when it was struck by lightning on 28th November last year. Fortunately, this happened on a Monday, and no one was hurt. The bell tower and part of the church were restored in time for the fiestas.

Not so fortunate was the ancestral home of the “Caixer Señor”, the chief rider in the fiestas who always comes from one of the aristocratic families in the town. After first being given the all clear by the ayuntamiento, a second architectural survey found it unsafe and the festivities had to take place in the grand house known as Vivó Truyols. The latter dates from the early XX century and is situated in the Alfonso III square more commonly known as the Plaza de Las Palmeras.

The Island Needs Carpenters

The association of carpenters/joiners/cabinet makers, or the equivalent is one of the oldest members of PIME (the small businesses association). The president Lluis Hidalgo is concerned as the younger generation is not taking over in the sector. There is a lack of qualified artisans and he says although many things are prefabricated nowadays, the type of client that has recently been buying property in Menorca has money and wants bespoke carpentry. Hidalgo says that it is a national problem as alternative university careers have been pushed (have we heard this before, in the U. K. Possibly?!). Hidalgo says that in 1985 he studied in a professional school in Barcelona when he was 14. Things soon changed and the school closed its carpentry section for lack of pupils. He believes that the local schools should see the potential as many going to university graduate and cannot find jobs, whereas in carpentry they are guaranteed work as soon as they finish. In Germany they have a successful scheme, but here he says companies are not interested in helping and there is a general lack of interest amongst the students.

Processionary Caterpillars

A new campaign has been started against moths when they are at the processionary caterpillar stage. Many readers will be familiar with the traps with pheromones that are sometimes installed in the pine trees - and some have seen the local police shooting the cobweb structures full of caterpillars out of the trees. Now “rings” have been installed on some pine trees in Mahón that will prevent the caterpillars crawling down in the familiar line, as they can cause severe allergies in humans and animals.

Letters From Menorca To England In 1813

The historian Jesus García Marín, working in a library in Madrid, discovered a volume of letters edited in Chiswick in 1875. The letters were written by George Augustus Frederick Henry Bridgeman (1789 -1865). His family owned the manor house Weston Park in Staffordshire and between 1812 and 1814 he visited various islands in the Mediterranean. He was accompanied by Robert H. Clive (grandson of Clive of India), and Lord John Russell of the Whig party who was subsequently prime minister twice, in 1846 and 1865, and was grandfather to the famous radical philosopher Bertrand Russell. Bridgeman wrote some letters to his mother which were interesting because he described a Spain at war with Napoleon at a time when Wellington was causing the French severe losses. After visiting Portugal and Spain, including seeing a bull fight in Madrid, the group arrived in Menorca, they also visited Mallorca and they thought the north coast there (Serra de Tramontana) and the orange groves at Soller were marvellous. However the description of Menorca was less than flattering; he wrote “Menorca is a flat island, ugly, full of rocks and empty of trees. Mahón is an excellent town, cheerful and clean with a good tranquil society, although with few fiestas”. They were in Menorca altogether for about two months. Bridgeman knew he couldn’t give his mother too many details because of the war situation, in case he was considered a spy, García speculates that maybe he was...

Ciutadella Puts Brakes On Electric Scooters

Ciutadella has joined other municipalities, Mahón, Es Castell and Sant Lluis in limiting speeds in the bicycle lanes. Ciutadella has put these at 25 km/hour and the others at 20 km. This new rule is particularly aimed at electric scooters. There is also a difference in age, in the eastern towns one must be 15 to ride electric scooters and in Ciutadella 14, crash helmets must be worn for those under 16. Scooters must have front and rear lights, and reflective ones. The use of mobile phones and ear phones is strictly prohibited. Scooters are not allowed on roads or pavements and in stretches where pedestrians have priority the scooters have a maximum speed of 20 kms. and must respect a distance of 5 metres in a continuous line. Fines of 100 Euros will be imposed for underage riders, those without crash helmets or reflective waist coats, using the road when a bicycle lane is available, parking in pedestrian zones, having more people on the scooter than is legal and going without lights or insurance.

Ansa Per Ansa

The creator of the local brand Ansa per Ansa, Yola Febrer, is delighted that Queen Letizia of Spain has been photographed wearing one of her handbags, a fuchsia colour patent leather in a classic style. The business has another connection to the Royal Family as her workshop, shop and offices are situated in the building owned by the Hespería Foundation, in Ses Voltes, Ciutadella. The building was donated by the King and Queen after they inherited it. All the bags are designed there and clients can design their own, assessed by Yola. The brand also has a shop in the Boutique Hotel Gran Melià in Santo Tomás.

Zara And Abarcas

Once again Zara the fashion chain, of the Spanish Inditex group is to sell Menorcan sandals (abarcas) from the Ría factory in Ferreries throughout their shops.

Water From San Isidro

The Ministry of Defence will once again cede 30.000 cubic metres of water from the well at the Son Arroçet farm that supplies the military base at San Isidro, to the town of Mahón. The agreement was in place last year but only 15.000 cubic metres were provided due to the state of the aquifers and only half of this was needed as the rain water was sufficient. The water is provided free and, in exchange, the ayuntamiento pays for maintenance, analysis and takes care of the supply to the military installations who use 20.000 cubic metres; 10.000 cubic metres must always stay in the well as a reserve.

Preparations For Festival Lazareto

The music and gastronomical festival that started last year on Lazareto, the old quarantine island in the port of Mahón has changed its venue to the ground of the ruins of St. Phillips Castle (San Felipe) at the mouth of the port, (but its name will still be Lazareto). This year concerts will be on for 13 nights with seating for 2000 including some “balconies”.

Two Medals For Grahame Pearce Beer

The Grahame Pearce beer that is made in Sant Climent continues to win prizes, recently in the Barcelona Beer Challenge, the stout won a gold medal in the Irish beer category, in 2022 it was considered the best in Spain. And a silver medal was awarded in the Experimental Category for the Menorcan talaiòtica.

Legal Offer For Tourists

This year the number of legal tourist places in Menorca is the highest ever registered at just over 84.000. The number of places continues to grow as properties are included which presented their applications before stricter laws were introduced in March 2022. Obviously the illegal offer (which is considerable) is not in these statistics. There are now 5.800 houses with 30.318 places after an increase of 4.2%; the villas provide far more places than apartments and even hotels and apart hotels. Statistics show a gradual increase from just over 66.000 in 2014 to the present figure.

The increase in the number of bars and restaurants has slowed down considerably, this year with a total of 1.354, nine more than last year; there is one restaurant less and nine bars or cafeterias more. The number of places is just over 84.000 which curiously coincides with the number of tourist places.

Last year there were complaints about the loud music, particularly from Es Castell residents. This year music will be orientated towards La Mola fortress using special sound barriers. The festival starts on Thursday 27th July just after the Es Castell fiestas until the 8th August. Acts will be on between 7.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m and there will be DJ’s until 3am There will be wooden terraces with sea views, a 4* Michelin restaurant, 20 food and drink stalls and a chill out area. The artists include Anastacia, Ainhoa Arteta the Spanish opera singer, Village People amongst others (see the full list in our What’s On section). Tickets cost between 50 and 100 Euros per night, though parking spaces and table reservations are extra. Over 1.5 million Euros have been invested and 130 staff are coming from Barcelona, Madrid and Menorca. Golf carts will transport people with mobility difficulties.

Parking In Es Castell

As from the 1st June non-residents can no longer park in the town in Es Castell between 18.00 and 24.00 hours. This rule was introduced by Joana Escandell the alcaldesa last year and was very controversial with protests from the bars and restaurants. Now the new alcalde Lluis Camps is keeping the rule in place saying that it was approved by the town council at the time and it is not that easy to change it.

The rough ground next to Calle Fontanillas at the beginning of Es Castell is to be used officially for 900 cars; a decree has been ratified by the outgoing town council with the owner of the plot of 18.000 sq. mts. whereby it can be used for four years initially. Escandell said that one of the problems had been identifying the owners of some of the plots that need to be compulsorily purchased; she said that this is well on the way to being solved; now Camps will take over the paperwork.

New Work Zones In The Airport

The airport in Menorca now has four new ‘work’ zones for passengers, with plugs to charge electronic devices, two on the arrivals floor and two in the check in area. These are in addition to the ones in the embarkation zone for local flights.

Hunting Reserves Take Up Three Quarters Of The Island Territory

When you drive around Menorca you sometimes see at intervals on the tops of walls or nailed to trees, small squares in black and white with a diagonal dividing line and signs that say “Coto de Caza”. These mean that the shooting rights have been sold by the farmers to local hunters. Recent statistics show that three out of every four hectares on the island are taken up in this way. The sport tends to be an expensive one, as hunters need a licence, insurance, a gun, munitions, and a dog…. There are six hunting societies registered with The Balearic Hunting Federation. Nearly all of them are specialised in some way, for partridges, rabbits and for those using falcons for example. There are also “social” hunting areas deeply rooted in the farm workers culture where costs are shared. Authorizations are issued by the Consell and cost nearly 118.000 Euros annually. Farms in municipalities where there is more countryside obviously benefit most, such as Ferreries and Es Migjorn Gran. The smallest hunting area is 3.5 hectares and the largest 1.289. At the end of the eighties a farm in Ciutadella owned by investors tried to organise commercial shoots but with little success.

Restrictions On Working In The Heat

The prohibition on certain types of work in the open air will be applied in Menorca when temperatures rise to over 39 degrees centigrade. This is a sign of an orange alert and if the temperatures rise to 42 degrees this is a red alert in the Balearics. Although on the mainland last year there were over 41 days of extreme heat, in Menorca there was only one with 39 degrees, on 14th August. Builders start their day at 6 a.m. and finish at 12.30 p.m. in order to avoid the heat, but this can lead to clashes with local police as rules do not permit disturbing neighbours. Gardeners, beach workers and other sectors where people work in the open air are also affected.

Red Palm Weevil

The Red Palm Weevil is still killing palm trees in Menorca. Nine palm trees have had to be cut down in the port of Mahón, the preventative treatment they received has not been sufficient to save them. Port Authorities will replace them but with a different species that does not attract the weevils or their huge appetites. Most of the palm trees were in the Rochina Park area, just near the steps from town leading down to the port.