Talk of the North > Previous Issues > Issue 38

Fuel of the Future
Great Chieftains O' the Pudding Race
The Cow behind the Bar
Neighbourhood Watch on Port Bypass
Challenging Times for Champion Swimmer
Mike Neal's Accent on Alcudia




Recipe - Classic Beef Bourguignon

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The refinery, one of only two in Spain, takes used vegetable oil from restaurants and other businesses and turns it into a bio-fuel for central heating systems and diesel-fuelled vehicles. At the moment the product is not available for individual domestic use, but once distribution agreements have been reached, it is hoped that pumps dispensing this bio-fuel will be sited at normal petrol stations all over the island. Pollensa is one of the first councils to support the product by pledging to use it in council vehicles and operating a system for collecting used vegetable oil to take to the Lluchmajor factory (call the Pollensa environment department on 971 532 064 for more information). ESRA President Dorothy Loeffler told the association’s members at the refinery that her family business had already started using the fuel which cuts toxic emissions by up to 80%.

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The plaintive sounds of Scottish bagpipes; tartan scarves, skirts and bows everywhere; and the smell of haggis cooking in the kitchen. Yes, January 25th brought Burns Night round again and the chance to celebrate the birth of the great Scottish poet.

The only poet to have his own national day, Robert Burns was born on January 25th 1759 and died 37 years later, managing in his relatively short life to love a lot of women, father several children and write marvellous poetry. Every year on the anniversary of his birth Scots all over the world get together to remember the man and his genius, shovel down vast quantities of haggis, neeps and tatties and drink the odd dram of whisky or two, or three or . . . .

Puerto Pollensa was no exception to this worldwide trend, and Burns lovers and the curious flocked to The Hideaway restaurant in the port to conduct their annual celebration. Local resident Agnes Forrester started the proceedings by saying the Selkirk Grace before diners tucked into Cullen Skink (a haddock and potato soup). Then it was the big moment as a plate of steaming haggis was brought in to be ceremoniously “addressed” and stabbed by Ian Phillips, below.
After the haggis with its accompanying “neeps and tatties” (mashed potatoes and turnips or swede - depending where you come from in the UK) was dispatched, a Scot who was on holiday in the area, then made a very amusing “toast to the lassies” before the assembled company tucked into Dunelm of Chicken and a very Tipsy Laird trifle. A wonderful, flavourful meal greatly enjoyed by all.

But it wasn’t just an event for Scots, at The Hideaway several nationalities including Spanish, Norwegian, Finnish and the odd English person, joined in the celebrations and raised their glasses to toast the Scottish “poet of the people”. Thanks go to Ted, Jane and Ali at The Hideaway for keeping up the tradition.

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No, I’m not being rude about Lucy. She really was a cow behind the bar at Lu Lu’s Bar & Bistro in Pollensa on the night of Saturday January 27th when she and the rest of the family team held a fancy dress charity night in aid of Josefina’s Animal Refuge.

Well, to be accurate, she was dressed as a cow, complete with convincing udder, and mum Jane wore a very colourful clown costume. Many customers, too, took advantage of the occasion to dig out their flamenco and fairy costumes, cowboy and indian outfits, and there was even a young soldier and footballer or two.

With temperatures plummeting outside, it was even more welcoming and cosy than normal in Lu Lu’s with loads of delicious food on offer for diners who had come from as far afield as Andraitx and Campanet for the occasion. A great time was had by all and more than 300€ raised to help Josefina in her never-ending task of caring for abandoned and maltreated animals in the area.

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The next stage of the Puerto Pollensa bypass, which links the Alcudia sea-front road to the section of bypass starting near Caprabo supermarket, is moving ahead fast with bulldozers forging their way from the Llenaire area, see picture below.

The new Gotmar Neighbourhood Association is watching developments closely as the work edges ever nearer to Gotmar itself, and has pledged to take up any complaints from local residents over dirt, access problems or noise etc with Pollensa Council.

Contact Garry Bonsall on 629 326 181 or 971 547 647.

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Over in Alcanada, my friend Dorinda Fraser hasn't been too well of late, writes Mike Neal. In fact she has now reached the stage where she is pretty cheesed off about things and who can blame her. In 2005, following a fall during a trip to the UK, Dorinda was diagnosed with motor neurone disease which is obviously a severe body blow in itself, but when you have led an active life to the extent that you were once a world class athlete then such a setback can prove devastating. When life decides to chuck you in the deep end there are only two ways to go - sink or swim. If this were a literal choice then Dorinda would certainly triumph over adversity because, boy, could she swim!

By the age of 11 it had become clear to all that Dorinda harboured a major talent as a swimmer and she was soon singled out for professional coaching. Within three years she was breaking records and had become an English National Champion. The people of the north-east were quick to take the pretty blonde teenager to their hearts and the local press were always on hand to report every sporting achievement of the shy Gateshead girl who was causing quite a stir in the swimming world. "Swimming was my life, it became a full-time passion. Of course, it meant that I missed out on other things, no boyfriends, no going out with my friends..." These days Dorinda admits that she has difficulty in recalling specific details of those heady days, "I was very young and everything seemed to be happening around me. At times it was all a bit of a blur." Luckily her family compiled a scrapbook charting Dorinda's sporting successes and, recently, this priceless volume has helped greatly by resurrecting those wonderful memories.

The highlight of her swimming career came when Dorinda was chosen to represent England in the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia and undertaking a 12,000 mile journey to represent her country must have proved a daunting experience. Happily, on her arrival, Dorinda was quickly made to feel very much at home. She was greeted by her very own reception committee made up of family members who had emigrated to Australia some years earlier, and met six cousins for the very first time!
Dorinda arrived at the Games having already achieved the world's third fastest ever time in the 110 metres breast stroke event. The final saw her pitted against another home-grown champion, the great Anita Lonsborough, who was six years her senior and favourite to take the title. In an epic battle it was Anita who just prevailed, taking Gold for England, with Dorinda finishing a gallant third resulting in a Bronze medal for the golden girl from Gateshead who was still only 15 years of age.

Not surprisingly on her return from the Commonwealth Games, Dorinda was inundated with invitations to attend local events and the Mayor of Gateshead arranged a Civic Reception in her honour. Dorinda found the experience of being in the limelight difficult to cope with. "If ever I was being featured on TV I would immediately leave the room and if I walked down the local High Street and saw a picture of myself in a shop window I would cover my face and quickly walk on by. I suppose I just couldn't take it all in."

Dorinda looked set to represent Great Britain at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics until a training injury ruled her out and although she continued to swim competitively, a new career beckoned and life in the pool gradually began to take a back seat. In 1970 she moved to Barcelona to learn Spanish and then moved to Mallorca where, until three years ago, she was still breaking swimming records in Palma!

With the onset of her current condition Dorinda is taking one day at a time and there is no disputing that recent events have changed her life completely. Yet whatever problems the future might hold for Dorinda Fraser it is worth remembering that she has always won far more battles than she has lost.

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Back in the late 80s I was employed as a holiday rep in London where my job entailed looking after foreign visitors during their visit to the capital. Clients mainly consisted of Canadians (polite and appreciative), Australians (priorities spot on; "Look mate, all this history stuff is well and good but where can you get a decent pint of Fosters 'round 'ere?") and, in the greatest numbers, Americans, who I immediately discovered could be extremely demanding, sometimes unreasonably so. For example "Our hotel room in Texas would be three times the size of the room we have been given here and we wanna know just what you're gonna do about it?" I mean, how on earth was I supposed to respond? Politely informing the client that "Well actually this is England and things are different here" didn't register. Perhaps I should have gone with "I can only apologise. I'll have the walls of the adjoining rooms knocked down immediately."

The thing is that our American cousins are not natural travellers (fact: only around 25% of Americans currently hold a passport!). The majority rarely stray outside their home state let alone leave the shores of the good old US of A. So when the Yanks do venture abroad they are usually completely naive of all things foreign plus they have absolutely no idea of distance. I was once asked by a family from Michigan whether there was a bus tour available whereby... "We can stop to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and then drive on to see Edinburgh Castle in the afternoon." Could be a tricky one that. I'll see if Michael Schumacher is available to drive the bus! It soon became obvious that the UK was viewed by many Americans as being no bigger than the size of a basketball court. Hence... "We're gonna take the train to Liverpool to visit our Limey cousins the McPhersons, you probably know them. Jim McPherson.. tall guy.. early 50s.. grey hair.." I soon became used to this misconception and found that it was far easier to humour the client rather than try to explain that there were over 50 million people in the UK at that time. Consequently I would usually reply along the lines of "Jim McPherson from Liverpool eh.. now let me see... I think I may well have met him. Speaks with an accent? Huge fan of the Beatles?" The delight on the clients face was a joy to behold. "That's the very guy. We'll be sure to give him your best when we see him." There must have been scores of confused people throughout the UK who tried in vain to recall me when my regards were passed on by visiting American friends and family.

I eventually left the job, not because of the people I had to deal with but because I found myself constantly having to justify company policy when I knew darn well that, nine times out of ten, the company was at fault. In the early days I was only too willing to inform hapless clients that if they had read the small-print (page 9, paragraph 4, sub-section 2 of the general terms and conditions) then they would be aware that they had absolutely no grounds for complaint. Yet, as time went on, my attitude changed, and I reached the stage that if I did receive a complaint against the company I would be far more likely to take the client's side... "I'm with you mate. If I were you I'd sue the greedy buggers." Not surprisingly this attitude led my employers to accuse me of a certain lack of loyalty and we agreed to part by "mutual consent".

I am recounting these experiences as, at this time of year, holiday companies will be busy recruiting personnel for the forthcoming summer season and I wanted to offer some first-hand advice to any innocent young thing out there who is considering tasting life as a holiday rep. Be warned, the job isn't all sunshine and sangria. Anyone who has been a rep in their time will confirm that it is a real eye-opener. Don't get me wrong, it sure beats working in Tesco, but be prepared that there will be those people who will not appreciate what you do for them however hard you try, even if you are on hand 24/7. You will need to be confident, thick-skinned, have an unflinching sense of humour and be very much a people person. When little Tyrone is sick over your uniform for the second time in three days after eating too many chips with curry sauce - just smile through it. When the hotel staff complain for the umpteenth time that little Duane is peeing from the diving board into the pool - keep calm and always take the diplomatic approach. The fact that both little Tyrone and little Duane are in their mid twenties and are members of a stag party from Barnsley will only test your patience even more. When problems occur, remember, you WILL get through this. Becoming a rep could be the making of you. Enjoy!

You can contact Mike Neal on Tel: 971 547 492 or e-mail: topteam@electronbox.com

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Here’s a restaurant classic from the 60s and 70s which seems to have fallen out of fashion. Such a pity as it’s the ultimate winter warmer. Time to rediscover why this was such a classic. This version is cooked in a lidded saucepan on the hob which allows you to keep an eye on the slow cooking casserole and serve when the beef is at its most tender.

Serves 4-6

● 900g braising steak (“carne para estafado”), cut into 2 inch squares
● 3 tbsp olive oil
● 1 medium onion, sliced
● 1 heaped tbsp plain flour
● 3/5th bottle red wine (preferably fairly hearty)
● 2 cloves garlic, chopped
● 2 sprigs fresh thyme
● 1 bay leaf
● 350g shallots
● 225g piece of pancetta, cut into cubes
● salt and black pepper

1 On the hob, bring 1¼ tbsp of oil to sizzling point in a thick bottomed saucepan
2 Sear the beef, a few pieces at a time, until brown on all sides. Transfer meat to a plate
3 Next add sliced onion to pan and brown that a little too, then add the chopped garlic and fry together for 1 min.
4 Return meat to pan and sprinkle in the flour, stirring round to soak up all the juices
5 Gradually pour in red wine, again stirring all the while. Add herbs and seasoning
6 Put lid on saucepan and cook slowly over a low heat
7 In a frying pan, fry the shallots and pancetta in a little olive oil to colour them lightly
8 Add to the casserole, together with the mushrooms, then put the lid on and allow to cook until meat chunks are tender (up to an hour)
Serve with new potatoes, red wine and a candle in a wicker Chianti bottle!

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Contact
Ann MacDonald, C/Llevant 46, 2d, 07470 Puerto Pollensa.
Fax 971 864 163
E-mail: carduusann@yahoo.co.uk

Advertising & Editorial Office:
C/Llebeig s/n, bajos (near the square) Puerto Pollensa
Tel: 971 864 703
Mobile: 618 163 478
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am-1pm, 4.30pm-6.30pm