Going home

W HEN I was at schools here in the 1980s at the start of the summer term there would always be a large influx of new students. Usually, they were the sons and daughters of people who had moved to Majorca to open a bar. The tourist industry was booming and it appeared that the dream of every Briton was to open a bar in Majorca. But the dream would soon end and come the start of the New Year my new class-mates were moving back to Britain again because their parents´ bar had been a financial failure. This story was repeated throughout my school life in Majorca and in some cases it was the same bar which was bought and sold in a space of six months. It became abit of a joke. Every summer term the new student would say “my parents have just bought the London Pub...” and six months later “my parents are closing the bar and we are going home.” I recount this story because at the moment there appears to be a mass exodus of British residents from Majorca. Obviously the recession is one of the reasons but British residents have been coming and going from this island for years. There is no reason for alarm. I will wager that by the start of the summer term there will be a new influx of Britons again. The draw of the island is too much for many people. Sometimes we take it for granted. Majorca is a fantastic place. It is not cheap but I couldn´t think of a better place to live in the world.