 Changing Places Week 149 W/C 28th December 2008
What a difference a day makes - not an original line but one that fitted the bill this week. The relations arrived for Christmas coughing their London coughs all over the place. Christmas cheer was in short supply after my sister had an accident and fell out of her wheelchair. Sporting a black eye and suffering the effects of shock she did not have the best time. The day arrived for the guests to go home but instead it was ambulance and police at my house lifting her down the stairs and transporting her off to hospital. The cough had turned to pneumonia and urgent treatment was the order of the day. She now sits in the hospital looking at the view of the mountains from her ward window inhaling the oxygen and absorbing anti biotics via an intravenous drip. At least she did remember to bring her E111 card entitling her to reciprocal health care here in Spain - the complications had she not, do not bear thinking about. Case packed ready to go home and instead an extended stay courtesy of the Spanish National Health Service.
The preparations for the arrival of the three kings in the Port of Soller and then their parade round the town are in full swing. The PTA is meeting daily to make the float and organise the costumes for the children. Paper Mache sun, moon and stars painted in gold and silver were lying on the floor of the playground drying in the sun today. Emma has graduated from being an elf to Shepherdess for this occasion and is looking forward to having a starring role. All the local schools take part in the parade and lots of parents are currently in creative mode keeping their schools float contents a secret. I wouldn't say that there is rivalry between the schools to have the best dressed float but let's just say that the official secrets act had to be signed before you were allowed in to help!
Soller town square is the place to be next Monday evening - come early to get a ringside view of the Three Kings Parade and be in the best place for the sweets that will be hurled at you. Look out for the sweetest little shepherdess in town!
Sun Search Recruitment switched on the computer after Christmas to a record number of people applying for jobs and registering their availability for work. The statistics tell their own story from the time of day that people go on line and how long they spend looking at the site. This must have been a worrying time for those that spent all those hours on Christmas day reading our information. They reflect the big decisions people are making about whether to stay here or go back to the UK. Our agency specialises in English speaking staff and so many of them really love Majorca and want to stay but are finding it impossible to get reasonably paid work year round. Some are making `benefit' decisions - they are not entitled to unemployment benefit here mainly because the jobs they have been doing did not have full contracts or employers paid them in `black' money. So their only way forward is to go back to the UK to seek work and in the meantime they will get benefits because the system is so different there. The effects of this exodus will be the challenge of 2009 and we wait to see it unfold.
Happy New Year - 2009 - is upon us with all its pleasures waiting to happen. The grapes that we all ate in the square last night - one for each chime of the town hall clock - represented our twelve wishes for this new chapter in our personal and collective history. My wishes for myself and my family start with health - after the events of this Christmas it has made us all too aware of life without good health. The rest are private as I am sure are yours! Let the future happen - 2009 - bring it on
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