Our mother tongue

Dear Sir, THE letter from Mr. S. Cowan of Newcastle-on-Tyne in Tuesday's Bulletin, November 1, reads: “Having read the article by Ray Fleming (Looking Around, October 29) relating to Iran/Israel, I wonder whether Mr. Fleming has any real knowledge of the English language, to say nothing of Arabic.” Can anybody enlighten me as to why the Arabic language is brought into the matter? Arabic is neither the language of Israel, nor of Iran. Like most readers of the Daily Bulletin, I don't speak Arabic; do you? So why on earth is Mr. S. Cowan talking about “Arabic”? Or does this merely demonstrate that Mr. S. Cowan does not really dominate his own mother language, English? Have a good day. HAVING lived in Spain for over twenty years, enjoying their culture and customs, being accustomed to, polite behaviour and respect, generally speaking by the youth of the country, it is sad to record that this seems to be disappearing.One example of outrageous behaviour happened on Halloween night, when gangs of youths (and girls) indulged in an orgy of raw egg throwing here in Son Ferrer. These missiles aimed over our front garden and those of my neighbours (all Spanish). The Policia were summoned but as usual, the miscreants had evaporated. In fact I could not even get a glimpse of the hooligans in my street. Now, I have always been tolerant of the “trick or treat” antics of the younger members of the community, and readily give a “Treat” with admiration for their costumes and paraphernalia. This time however, not a single person knocked on our door. So, the question to be asked is, are these actions now degenerating into outright hooliganism, or, as it is called in Britain, antisocial behaviour? What is going on? Can anyone enlighten me? And what steps will be taken by the authorities to combat a very un-Spanish like phenomenon that has erupted here.