Tonight, we will be on the beach in the Port of Soller. The Feast of Sant Joan celebrates the start of the summer. It is the longest day of the year and is also known as the Summer Solstice. It is one of the most important feast days for Sollerics and is celebrated. The concept is, on the night of Sant Joan, the sun reaches its highest point, before beginning to drop. The sun is seen as a symbol of fertility and wealth.
Sollerics take to the beach or waterside and we gather in our tribes together with friends, neighbours, visitors and anyone who happens along. We are saying goodbye to any winter glooms and welcoming the summer and the depth of feeling which comes with it. We are observing the fiesta of St Juan, and this is a gentle picnic on the beach with candles (if they are allowed). At midnight, tradition says immerse yourself in the water, or for me, have a paddle. Send your intentions out to sea on paper floats and begin the next season a refreshed soul.
Our family and friends have a favoured space on the beach where we gather. Picnic is usually, a pizza picked up on the way, with a few glasses of wine in plastic or paper cups. No glasses, for obvious reasons on the beach. This is one of the favoured nights of the year and sense of community is felt all around the bay. Sollerics living in other places have a sadness if they cannot be with us and we send Facetime chats to enable them to share our moment.
The politics of the last weeks is over now, and all the local political hoardings are taken down. They will soon be replaced by the voting encouragement for Spain’s General Election on Sunday 23rd July 2023. Us residents can’t vote in this one, but we are interested in the outcome. Snap elections for 2023 seem to be a feature of the year. I wouldn’t be surprised in the next one called is for the UK.
The school children of Mallorca are on the move this week. They all have end of term treats which range from picnics in Bellver Woods, Katmandu house in Magalluf, Water parks in Magalluf and Arenal plus many more venues. All these places get an early summer boost from the celebrating children and their long-suffering teachers. For some children that’s as good as it gets, for treats. The child poverty figures for Mallorca have not improved much in the last year. The Food Banks and other agencies are on high alert this summer. Milk projects are coming back to make sure that children drink milk every day. This is a problem which is often not seen. Once school dinners finish for the year there are ‘summer hungry’ children. Some areas are very aware of this and have food kitchens open during the holidays, but this is at best, patchy. Can I appeal to everyone to adopt the concept of ‘it takes a village to raise a child’? Please be aware of the needs of the children in your vicinity. Alert Social Services or the Red Cross if there are any worrying signs. In this Island of plenty, it is to all our shame, if children, in Mallorca, go to bed hungry.
This summer the visitors arrive in their sparkling white trainers which dazzle with their whiteness. The chatter is about how to clean them. You know summer is coming when such conversations dominate the coffee break. I learn something new every day and this week it was about the combination of white vinegar and a little olive oil. which is said to preserve the gleam. Others talk of washing the shoes in the washing machine. However the shoes are looked after, they are definitely this years ‘must haves’. The whiter the better…