Minorca spotlight

JUST when it appeared that spring had finally sprung, Minorca spent the weekend subjected to gusts of wind at speeds of up to 102km per hour, and an 8 degree drop in temperatures. The strong Tramuntana, or north wind, rattled across the island over the weekend, bringing with it over 15 litres of rain in three days. “We haven't been able to lift up our heads since November”, said Antoni Mercadal an agricultural technician from the island's Crop Defence Group. “We've faced five bursts of tramuntana, with lots of salt and cold in too short a period of time”. Mercadal explained the impact of the change in temperatures on the island's crops. “The sharp drop in temperatures and the salty wind may have put the brakes on the growth of the most tender shoots”. Mercadal claims that fruit trees, especially apricots, plum and cherry trees, will have been seriously affected as they are beginning to bloom. By way of compensation, the rainfall has helped water crops, as well as increasing reserves in the island's aquifers. The wind caused considerable damage across the island: fencing collapsed in Torre Soli, an aerial was sent flying in Mahon and in a different street, the wind detached a window, a tree was uprooted on the road to Son Bou and in Es Castell, a traffic light was victim of the strong gusts of wind. Maritime traffic was also affected with ferries cancelled. Mahon's port was closed from the early hours of Sunday morning, as gusts of wind with speeds of up to 100km per hour swept across the water, boats awaiting entry to the port sought shelter off the south coast. With gust of up to 60km per hour in Ciutadella, the port also remained closed there. The wild weather was also responsible for three electricity cuts in just two days. The longest power cut, affecting the entire island, lasted nearly 2 hours. It occurred on Sunday evening when the wind affected cable connections with Majorca. An uprooted tree caused another power cut on Saturday, affecting 2'000 people and 300 people were affected by a late night power cut on Saturday. Minorcans may have had more than enough of bad weather for this winter, but it's not over, with a second wet, cold and windy spell expected to begin on Thursday.

Balearic funding for ferry service

THE Balearic government has announced it will contribute to the financing of the ferry service connecting Ciutadella and Alcudia during the winter months. ISCOMAR, the firm running the service, said it will abandon its winter ferry service connecting Minorcan and Majorca at the end of 2005 unless it receives help from the Balearic government in early March. The winter months are slow for the company, ISCOMAR claims to have made losses of 1.5 million euros from operating all year round. Both Ciutadella's mayor and president of Minorca's island council, Joana Barcelo, expressed their concern that the transport link would disappear without proper support. While other companies operate during the more profitable summer months, ISCOMAR is the only firm that maintains a year round service in operation.

Balearic Government transport politician, Mabel Cabrer, announced that the government had considered ISCOMAR's viability study and the government's commitment to maintaining the service. Cabrer announced the Balearic Government intends to provide a service similar to the one that connects Ibiza and Formentera, where companies compete for the contract, offering a minimum service of one ferry to and from Alcudia per day. ISCOMAR expressed its satisfaction that the government is willing to cooperate in maintaining the route, while its competitors, Balearia, have announced they will present a bid for the route once the public competition is announced.

Minorca wants to take on Ferreries bypass

PRESIDENT of Minorca's island council, Joana Barcelo, has announced she may ask the Balearic Government for control of the Ferreries bypass project, if this is the only way to take the project forward. “If it seems that we can take the project on in less time, then we will ask for management of the bypass”, Barcelo explained. Barcelo made her requests to politicians in Palma last week. Barcelo is hopeful that Minorca will be awarded control of the bypass, which would enable direct contact with Central government in Madrid. Currently, all traffic heading west on the island towards Ciutadella has to pass through Ferreries along the narrow, winding main road. The bypass proposes connecting Ferreries' industrial estate with a straight road and tunnel through the hillside, before reconnecting with the main road. Balearic politicians are meeting with Madrid's public works minister on April 19. A decision on Ferreries is not expected immediately, however, as the project isn't yet finalised.

Chapel to reopen

FATIMA Chapel, a stone built church in the countryside near Mahon, is to be reopened to the public in May this year. The church has been closed since March 2004, when surveyors considered the poor state of the roof a danger to visitors. Over the past year, the roof has been reconstructed, with new beams and mares stones, a locally sourced stone made from sand grains and calcium carbonate. The restoration project has cost 40'000 euros, but a large proportion of this has been donated by locals who “adopted a beam” for 500 euros each. The Mahon church, Sant Francesc, is responsible for the chapel. Its rector, Antoni Fullana, has announced a series of events planned for reopening of Fatima. Its reinauguration is planned for May 14, a date which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the laying of the first stone. Fatima Chapel was built between 1955-56, with the aim of enabling local farmworkers to attend mass without having to travel to the nearest town. The stones used to construct the church were taken from the rocky north coast, around Favaritx lighthouse.

Young Musicians compete in Ciutadella

CIUTADELLA is to play host to Spain's National Young Musicians competition on April 15. The competition will see 26 wind and brass instrument players from across the country aged between 17 and 23 years descend upon the island. Minorca has one homegrown musician competing, Ona Cardona. The 22 year old clarinet player is studying music at Catalonia's Superior Music School, where she is in her third year. Cardona is becoming a well-known name in the music industry: in 2003 she won the first prize for chamber music in Art Jove, and first place in “Intercentros”, a national competition - the prize for which was a chance to perform with Spain's Radio and Television orchestra as a soloist. The only other competitor from Balearics is Carlos Flores, a clarinet player from Palma.

Judging the competition are famous names in Spain's classical music industry, including Carlos Cruz de Castro, composer and head of production at Classical Radio, part of Spain's National Radio; Enrique Gamez, director of Granada's International Music and Dance Festival, the trumpet player Vicent Campos and other renowned musicians. The auditions begin at 9.30 on Friday morning, with the order of play decided by a draw. Once the eliminatory rounds are over, finalists will perform at 4.30pm.