Welcome to the first ever online only version of The Islander Magazine, and firstly a huge thank you to all our advertiser’s support in helping us make this happen. Your support has been truly humbling.

Life seems worlds apart from when I wrote my last editorial, just 6 weeks ago. This global pandemic really is a catastrophe for millions of people around the globe, in terms of the health, social and economic effects. Mental health will become a major issue the longer the lockdowns continue, especially those cooped up in small apartments with no outside space and children not being able to run off steam, it really is desperate.

By the time you read this, we are expecting some level of relaxation of the rules which will allow more businesses to re- open and some level of outside exercise to be allowed; let’s hope so.

Here in the Balearics, it’s fair to say we haven’t had the horrendous numbers of infections or deaths, in comparison to the mainland, and being an island make it easier to control who enters and leaves the islands. The lockdown seems to have been an effective course of action for us here and has largely been adhered to which is something we should rightly be proud of.

Of course, our heartfelt thanks and gratitude go out to all the frontline workers, especially those in our hospitals, putting themselves at huge personal risk, especially at times when PPE has been in short supply. They really have gone above and beyond and deserve all our thanks and gratitude. Let us hope that they are all rewarded accordingly, although rumour has it that this may not be the case.

The one good thing which has come out of all this is the coming together of neighbourhoods, friends and family spread around the globe. The nightly applause at 8.00 pm is as fervent now as it was 6 weeks ago, which really is heart-warming, and as a result, we now have a long daily chat with a neighbour who we hadn’t previously spoken to! Zoom parties have now become a part of our weekly lives, and our new way of socialising…… it cuts down on taxi fares!! Talking of Zoom and other video conferencing tools, why didn’t we think of buying their shares??!!!

It’s good to see that STP was re-opened last week , and our industry can at lest do some work and create some economic activity, let’s hope it’s not too long before things are back to something more like normality, although the Med charter season is looking unlikely to really happen this year.

Let’s hope we can be back in print next month, and please stay safe and well.

Fair winds!

Simon Relph – Editor