WE ARE VERY LUCKY

By Jason Moore I am never too sure whether the English speaking community on the island is getting bigger or smaller. There are official figures but they don't take into account the large floating population. But what is certain, though, is that the English-speaking community here is extremely lucky to have two outstanding clubs, the English Speaking Residents Association (ESRA) and the Mallorca Cricket Club. There are many other fine associations on the island who do valuable work but hats off to ESRA and the Cricket Club, who are probably the two most mature English speaking clubs but continue to go from strength to strength. During the year I have had the pleasure of meeting many members of ESRA and on Friday night I attended the Cricket's Club Gala dinner. What has struck me is the dedication of their membership and the hard-work done by club officials and ordinary members. When the British-American club closed in the early 1990s I felt that it was an end of an era and I suspected that the so-called club scene would decline. Thankfully I was wrong and I think Majorca should count itself lucky. Whether the English speaking community is getting bigger or smaller it doesn't really matter because the two principal English speaking clubs are doing a first class job and catering for all. We are indeed very lucky.