Football Fiasco

The TV presenter’s tweet had compared the rhetoric of the Conservatives’ immigration policy to the language of Nazis and this created widescale mayhem in parliament and the media. Lineker was suspended from presenting Match of the Day and polemic raged about the whys and wherefores. Meanwhile, the presenter gleefully refused to back down and basked in the limelight while a beleaguered Tim Davie, Director General of the BBC, took cover and quaked in his boots.

Minister, Suella Braverman, waded into the debate claiming outrage at Lineker’s comment while Davie implied that he’d broken the BBC’s code of conduct. Of course, the whole episode was absurd because Lineker has freelancer status and so is not even an employee of the BBC. Furthermore, he is merely a former footballer, delivering opinions about kicking a ball and not a cerebral newsman. Had he been an employee and on the BBC news team, his personal tweet might have rightly got him in hot water as such employees are encouraged to keep their opinions to themselves.

As it happens, Lineker was wrongly ‘cancelled’ by the BBC and so it was only a matter of time before the corporation would come grovelling back, begging him to resume his position on the football show once more. Many TV colleagues had backed Lineker, refusing to present the show while he was temporarily suspended. Of course they had. Imagine if any had dared to break ranks with such an influential colleague? They’d have been marked men and women by Lineker and his celebrity fans for evermore.

So, humiliatingly for Davie, he had to eat humble pie and now faces mutiny within the ranks over the whole fiasco. His head might well roll but bigger than Davie is the fate of the BBC which continues to hang in the balance. Perhaps this latest act of incompetence spells the end of the licence fee and the gilded position that the Beeb has always enjoyed. Is it time to cut it loose before it hangs itself voluntarily?

Chesty Coughs

Apparently as a precautionary measure, various popular cold and flu medications have been removed from the shelves of pharmacies, including some of those produced by Boots the Chemist itself. Products containing pholcodine such as Sudafed and Day and Night Nurse have been withdrawn by drug regulators as some might cause rare cases of anaphylaxis and brain disorders. Isn’t that cheery news?

It’s incredible how trusted products can be knocking about for years until they are suddenly deemed dangerous and the enemy of the people. I remember when talcum powder was given a bad rap and everyone recoiled in horror having happily used it on babies bottoms for donkeys years.
When living in the UK I was fairly gung-ho about taking the odd medication on the shelves of Boots that didn’t require a prescription, but I’ve changed my tune over the years. In Palma a few years ago I bought a packet of honey lozenges for one euro from a health shop and ended up that night in A&E with anaphylaxis. They had contained a product called Propolis, a resinous substance produced by honeybees, which can cause severe allergic reaction and be dangerous for those suffering from asthma. I have never suffered much from allergies and am not asthmatic but the doctors at the hospital warned that Propolis can be obtained from countries that chemically spray plants.

Nowadays, I read labels carefully and never buy lozenges from clear bags which do not give exact provenance of a product. I choose branded and trusted products more than those without a company name. Naturally, I returned to the well-known health shop to warn the staff, but they were sheepish and embarrassed and claimed that the stock was now used up and unlikely to be sold again soon. Even reading the medical report did not seem to convince them that the lozenges were that dangerous.

Even when doctors prescribe medications, it always pays to research them online to check for any ingredient that could spark side effects or cause problems. Better safe than sorry in my book, and having lived through a very frightening experience, I hope others will take heed of my precautionary tale.

A new era for famed Kingfisher in Soller

As Krisztian Ersek, popular and respected chef and owner of Puerto Soller’s Kingfisher Restaurant has hung up his apron in pursuit of new adventures and projects in Soller and beyond.
The Hungarian chef who has a string of global culinary qualifications behind him, has decided to hand over the baton to Gerda and Maurice, an entrepreneurial German duo, who are thrilled to be continuing the Kingfisher tradition.

Having successfully run Village Café in Deya for three years, Krisztian created Kingfisher, naming it after the colourful and intelligent bird that represents patience and good fortune. Krisztian is proud and nostalgic about his enterprise which is consistently voted the number one fine dining restaurant in the port. It overlooks the sea at the far end of the harbour and offers a relaxed, warm and friendly ambience with a consistent menu of delicious and fresh seafood platters, fish and chips, gins and good wines. The entire culinary team will remain in place under the watchful eye of experienced director, Mitch.

Like many in Soller, I’m sad to see Krisztian go but know he will be back on the scene with an exciting new project before too long. In the meantime, he extends a warm thank you to all his overseas and British clients who have so loyally continued to visit this bijou and original hangout. Krisztian will be greatly missed by all.