Supporting the community in the Soller Valley
Published in the Majorca Daily Bulletin
on Tuesday 27th September 2016
Photographs by Rachel Fox
The Island within an Island mentality is a constant force in this place. This applies to problem solving and local charitable giving. Sollerics are traditionally very helpful to those in need and they support local causes. The Food Banks of Soller and the local restaurants who subscribe to Restaurant Aid for the Hungry are a regular feature of life here and hardly get a mention because its just what people do.
A new venture has caught the imagination this year and its all to do with the Sant Bartholomew church. This cathedral like building sits in the centre of Soller and watches over everything. It is visited by thousands every year and its opening times have recently been extended. No more siesta for the church as it’s now open all day for visits and prayers. The church is at the heart of community activities, concerts and daily worship and is a well used and well loved building. It has its own local name as the Cathedral of the Mountains.
The problem with the church is that the windows are cracking and glass and surrounds need repair or replacing. It is said that this is all as a result of the enthusiastic use of fireworks and explosives that accompany our fiestas. The Community decided to held a series of communal suppers to raise money for this cause and that has been the activity of the summer.
Communal suppers always follow the same route with tables and chairs being laid out in the centre of Soller, just in front of the church. You buy a ticket in advance which entitles you to Pa an oli, wine, ice cream and ensaimada. Local donations supply much of what is on offer which means that a fair amount of the ticket price goes to the good cause. The evening is presided over by the Priest who tells jokes, sometimes plays his guitar and is a good bingo caller. The Town Band or the Aires Sollerics are often persuaded to come and do a turn and a great evening is had by all. There have been three dinners this summer and each one is always met with the same response from visitors. ‘Where can I buy a ticket, I really want to join in. Well the rules are rules, don’t you know and you have to buy the ticket at least two days before the event so that catering can properly managed.
The tip is to look out for the big awning at the front of the church advertising these gastronomic delights and then run as quickly as possible to one of the outlets selling tickets. This is the Soller Valleys hottest ticket of the season and your fellow diners will be as local as it is possible to be and you will be welcome – as long as you have a ticket…
Talking Time is a new venture to be introduced by the Port of Soller School. This involves local English speaking parents volunteering to take weekly classroom sessions with the children. They work in tandem with the teachers and just talk and sing in English in the classroom without trying any form of translation. The idea is that chattering, singing or reading a story with pictures to the children allows the concept to sit in their unconscious and contributes to the more formal language teaching they get from their teachers. I have a class of eight year olds waiting for me so I will let you know how I get on.
Beach cleans have been a feature of this summer with many more people consciously picking up their own and other bits of litter from the beach. Many of them are using the Ondine Bags to collect the litter and this is great to see that the influence of Brad and the volunteers from the Ondine organisation is working.
Every part of the Soller community has a good cause they support. Health charities, Child Poverty, cat rescue and neutering, Senior Citizens issues and Alzheimer’s care are only a few of them that I mention today. So many need so much and that is before we look to the rest of the world. Sollerics are represented in the Syrian refugee effort and we are very proud of their work.
This area may be an ‘Island within and Island’ in locality but it certainly isn’t in its mentality.
Sollerics join the rest of Majorca in looking out for one another and for the many causes that are relevant to this place. The Sant Bartholomew Church windows will start their renovations this winter and that is thanks to the people of the Soller Valley.
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