By Soller Shirley Is it just me or is there something very dark about ‘the elf on the shelf’. The scout elf sits there watching and listening all day, and then reports back to Santa in the North Pole every evening. ‘He knows is you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake’….
By Soller Shirley The class of 2022 have imaginative, innovative people amongst them, and this is the story of one couple. Jamie, Constanze and little Athea are new arrivals to the Soller Valley. They love this world and their rural life, 15 minutes from the centre of Soller. They are embracing everything and determined to…
By Soller Shirley At the weekend the clocks went back, and a new season began in the Soller Valley. This is the one that takes some getting used to as it ushers in the new chapter of the year. Many local people have completed their summer contracts and November begins the month of holidays. Some…
By Soller Shirley Village houses in Soller of a certain size have an ‘Entrada’ on the ground floor. For those who love the cobbles of an original entrada it is a throwback to the days when it was not unusual to find the odd goat, sheep or pig wintering there. These days some designers preserve…
By Soller Shirley Hidden behind the mountains of the Tramuntana and at the end of the tunnel lies our city Soller, the gateway to the Hidden Valley in all its beauty. Not everyone is a fan, indeed many find the parochial charms very limiting. Phrases like ‘you can’t live on scenery alone’ are to be…
By Soller Shirley The analysis has started on this year’s winners and losers in the summer tourism world of 2024. Many resorts are in the final two weeks of their season as they shut their doors on 31st October 2024. Some businesses, which normally would be working till way into November, have decided not to…
By Soller Shirley Whichever side is emphasised will always limit the interest. The reasons some new arrivals are here is rarely the whole truth. Many recent arrivals are migrants. They have left economic disasters and war zones and found their way here. Some are refugees and many are asylum seekers. The reason many Russians have…
By Soller Shirley Yes, different rules do apply ‘Queuing in Spain looks different. Instead of standing around uncomfortably in a line shuffling forward every few minutes like robots, in Spain you simply ask who the last person was to enter the establishment, then sit back and relax. When that person has been served, you know…
By Soller Shirley Every town and village in Mallorca has a Church building. The Cathedral is in Palma and is a place visited as a tourist and worshipper by thousands every year. In Soller the biggest Church is in the Placa, St Bartholomew – known locally as the ‘Cathedral of the Mountains’. It is not…
By Soller Shirley I love Soller because it strikes my soul and the primeval need to belong. I loved London, and still do. I am fortunate to have had choice in where I have lived and found acceptance. I was not fleeing persecution, or making an economic choice, when the removal van came to collect…
