BLUES BROTHER

INTERVIEW: Meet the new Blues-Brother-loving, Catalantalking, British mayor of a town in the heart of Mallorca

THE results of local elections in a small village in the Balearics surprised more than a few people - not least the winner himself.

For once the dust had settled and the customary negotiations between the political parties had been concluded, the Mallorcan town of San Joan found itself with a strapping, six-foot one-inch Brit as mayor. “I’ve lived here for nine years - and somehow I am now the mayor,” Richard Thompson, 52, tells the Olive Press with endearing self-deprecation. Standing in municipal elections with the Mes per Mallorca party in a small village in the heart of the island, Thompson knew that - with the team he had assembledhe had a chance.

Not just to win, but to become the first British mayor in Balearic history - and the third ever in Spain, after Mark Lewis in the Costa Blanca in 2008 and Carmen McPhee in a Leon village in 2013.

But would the 2,000 residents of San Joan, more ru-

By Walter Finch

ral and isolated than other towns, vote for a foreigner born near Brighton in the south of England?

“It’s a real tribute to the villagers that it wasn’t an issue in the end,” Thompson said.

“They felt we had the best team and we were going to do the best for the village.

“I’m sure the fact that I’m a foreigner crossed their minds. They’re like, ‘well, we’ve got a guy who wasn’t born here, he’s not got Spanish nationality, his Catalan is only improving...

“But, you know what? We’re gonna vote for this guy to be mayor.’”

It helped that Thompson was already a recognised face in the village.

Married to a local, he arrived nine years ago and opened a language school through whose doors all the great and good of San Joan must have passed through at some point.

“I’ve taught between three

Balcony fall

A YOUNG Brit on holiday in Ibiza has died after tragically falling from the third floor of his San Antonio hotel room.

Police said they were investigating ‘all lines of inquiry’ after sources said he had been in his room with a friend of unknown nationality.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate John McKenna, 22, just after 11am on Friday but he was pronounced dead at the scene. An electrician from Carlisle and a keen amateur footballer, McKenna was staying at the Hotel Levant in San Antonio.

and four hundred people in the village,” Thompson explained.

“And if I haven’t taught you, the chances are I’ve taught your son or your daughter or your grandchild.”

He also endeared himself by taking part in the village’s ‘Playback’ talent show - ‘a little like Soan Joan’s Got Talent.’ His latest on-stage choreo- graphed performance? A five-man fedora-wearing, sunglasses-adorned tribute to those kings of cool, the Blues Brothers In a small town where ‘everyone knows everyone’, throwing oneself so wholeheartedly into the local customs and traditions goes a long way. So far after his first couple of weeks in the job, his new constituents have been flocking to him to shake his hand and offer congratulations. But then they invariably raise some minor issue that perhaps he could help them with - ‘a pothole in their road or low water pressure at home.’

“I know I’m still in the honeymoon period. I think the rule is, in politics, you’ve got about 90 days of grace to bed in.” Hopefully, by then, Thompson will be well on his way to implementing his party’s 12-point environmentalist manifesto.

Voted top

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.

Flags of shame

SPAIN’S natural beauty is legendary. Just take a look at our special travel article on the Costa de la Luz this edition.

The historic Cadiz coast gives a unique glimpse into an older way of life while the laid-back lifestyle is a draw for those who want to escape the hordes of northern Europeans this summer.

But - and this is a message the Olive Press has long hammered home through our ‘Hands off our Costas’ campaign - the authorities should be careful not to ruin the very surroundings that attract people in the first place.

It’s all well and good trumpeting our beaches with Blue Flags in a bid to woo the tourists.

The honours handed out by the European Union are a good way to galvanise our town halls into cleaning up their act and being rewarded for success.

But we believe it is far more important to pick up on the far more shocking cases that still shame Spain.

So hats off to green group, Ecologistas en Accion for handing out their 48 unwelcome Black Flag awards each year. The dreaded awards are designed to shame politicians into cleaning up pollution, protecting the environment and curbing further development.

In many places - such as around Tarifa in Andalucia and the Costa Blanca - this excellent pressure group highlights the final unspoiled stretches of our coastline.

But in the Balearic islands the focus is rather different. Here the focus is on noise pollution, with two Black Flags handed out for ‘unrestricted’ use of jet skis as well as noisy party boats.

The cacophony doesn’t just assail human ears - which is bad enough - but also affects wildlife.

The Balearics are a haven for many marine and bird species including whales and turtles.

These thrive in peace and quiet, but could stay away by unrestricted party boats and jet skis.

Surely there is enough room for man and nature to coexist.

It is time the authorities thought more about nature and less about mammon.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Alberto Lejarraga alberto@theolivepress.es

Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

John Culatto

ADMIN Victoria Humenyuk Makarova (+34) 951 273 575 admin@theolivepress.es

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