The royal baby

IT has been an epic week in Britain and all week British newspapers and the TV news have given enormous coverage to the birth of baby George. Sky News gave the big occasion almost constant coverage but what did strike me was that most of the people camped outside St. Mary's hospital were foreign tourists. It was the same story at Buckingham Palace. So was the great British public really that interested in the royal birth? Well probably so but perhaps the media coverage was over the top. There were no parties within the expatriate community on the island but I am sure that many people would have raised a glass to the future King. Now, Minorca does have a small link with the future King George. Es Castell, on the outskirts of Mahon, which is home to the British Vice Consulate and the Anglican Church was known as Georgetown during the British occupation of the island. But even though it has a link there have been no big celebrations according to British bar owners in the area. In fact, there have been no celebrations at all! Minorca is rather proud of its British roots and in Es Castell there is a Calle Stuart and a Calle San Jorge (Saint George). Es Castell is a former British garrison town and the military barracks, now closed in the main square, were built by the British. Has Minorca rather missed a trick? I think so. A small street party in a far flung island with a place once called Georgetown, would certainly have made headlines in Britain.