Leapy Lee - chart topping singer of the 1960s and 70s

Every week I write and article for the Euro Weekly News, an English-speaking newspaper covering all the major resorts of Spain and the Balearics. You can pick up a copy on a Thursday ... or read it here every week.

Thursday 26 October2006

Once more our 'end of season' intelligence is being insulted by the 'figures' being issued by the various government tourist departments. Once more we are being informed everything is 'up' again this year. What pure and utter unashamed twaddle. If the figures we have been fed over the past few years had been even close to the truth ( particularly on Mallorca) we would all by now be sitting in the lap of luxury, selling on our 'bursting at the seams' businesses for a fortune, and all lazily watching the world go by from the decks of our respective yachts. Instead the majority of business owners, particularly bar and restaurateurs are sitting punch drunk in their empty establishments, hardly believing the season is actually over for another year, and wondering how on earth they're going to survive the next seven months. 'Runners' are rife, as many normally honest souls simply drop everything and 'have it away on their toes', unable to cope with mountains of debt - despite probably working 18 hours a day for the past five months. All in all we have yet another disastrous year on our hands. And through the whole debacle the authorities once again inform us, we've had yet another 'successful season'. Give us a break.

Some years ago I prophesised that were the 'all in hotels' not legislated against, the day would come when whole areas would die and the only establishments left standing would be the hotels themselves. Well in the area of Mallorca's Alcudia where I worked this year, I witnessed exactly this phenomenon. Ten years or so ago, I worked in a popular local sea club. The whole area was buzzing with bars, restaurants, amusement arcades and even pony and donkey rides. Four years ago three main hotels went 'all in' and the whole area has quite simply died virtually overnight. Whole rows of businesses are boarded over, hardly a soul is on the streets, and even if they are, spending a mere pittance in the few places that are still trying to continue. Not only this, but with all these businesses now putting nothing into the council coffers the whole area has the seedy run down appearance of shabby neglect. And it serves the politicians right. It's called shooting yourselves in your greedy, 'grab it all while you can' feet. Heaven knows how many 'old boy's' handshakes have been bandied about by these monopolizing conglomerates to allow this situation to develop as it has. But I'll tell you something, if it is allowed to proceed unabated, and council's incomes continue to drop as more and more local businesses founder, this sad tale will be repeated right across the resorts of Espana, hardly the bright outlook we've all been looking foreword to in the phenomenal new emergence of this great nation. For Gods sake get a grip. Monopoly is not the answer. Cut out these cancerous tumours of tourism now before they cause the body to rot back into the black recessions of yore

Somehow last week my statement about many Muslim women wearing the veil simply because their men folk ordered them to, became preceded by the phrase 'I believe' (this to be the situation). This is not in fact the case. I actually know this to be a fact. During my years in the Middle East I became friendly with many local families and, in true Arab fashion, once you became 'accepted' you were truly treated as a friend for life. On occasions when I was invited to their homes, the females would be brought in from their adjoining quarters and, amid much giggling and excitement, the master of the house would give them permission to remove their veils. I always considered this to be a great honour, as indeed it was, and treated the occasion with all the dignity and respect I felt it deserved. The point I'm trying to make here is the decision was by the man of the house and had no connection with religion whatsoever. He would certainly never consider over - riding the prophet Mohamed, it was simply his own personal decision and proof to his guests you were accepted into his family. So you see it never was a case of 'believing' this to be a part of the situation, I have actually perceived it with my own peepers - awright!

And so once more we back away with bated.

A quick word before I go for those of you in or around Mallorca on the 11 th November. Ian and Anne Morrison, frequent quiz inquisitors for many a local charity would like your support at Roosters for a charity of their own. The Charity is the Laurie Engel fund. Laurie tragically died of cancer at the tender age of 13 and his parents have since established a fund to refurbish the facilities of the terminally ill children's ward at Birmingham Children's hospital. You can find more details of this extremely deserving cause on www.laurieengelfund.org . Please help all you can. And that's about it. A quick correction here about Never mind the Buzzcocks, it is of course on BBC 2 and not 1 as I stated last week.

Keep on plodding keep on coddin'

And whatever ya do. Always keep the faith.

Love Leapy

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