Well, today was an interesting day. As I sat down to write the various articles for this month’s edition, something flashed up on Facebook about an article in the Daily Express saying that Mallorca and Ibiza had banned outdoor dining. It came to light as a potential visitor had asked if it was true as she was thinking of not booking.

The expected and rightful amount of outrage followed until a few of us decided to do something about it. We started by emailing the original journalist who wrote the piece (who did get back to one of our number later), but then Hamish suggested I email the actual Editor and usefully supplied his address. All thoughts of the Islander gone for a moment, instead thoughts of our island and our friends who are battling against an already impossible situation pushed to the fore.

So  full of righteous indignation (red mist) I politely (I am British) informed the gentleman of his error, explained the huge damage it could do to our island in these difficult times and sat back ready to be utterly disappointed. Shock horror. Within an hour of the team rallying and sending the various messages we realised that the offending article had been amended and the wind had been quite literally been taken from our indignant sails. I promptly sent a thank you note (again, I am British) and, much to my happy surprise, received a message straight from the Editor apologising and agreeing that nothing of the sort should have gone to print and thanking us for our diligence. We may be a small island but by god we are mighty.

This community spirit led to me thinking about another fabulous neighbourhood project that has been slowly emerging over the last few weeks in the barrio. That of the map of Santa Catalina that has been beautifully painted onto the side of the building overlooked by the imposing church at the top of Sant Magi. The photo accompanying this article does not do it justice, because it is huge and so very detailed and intricate. It is really quite breath-taking and needs to be seen up close and personal.

Many of you will recognise the style from another wonderful mural that many of the patrons of La Nueva Burguesa even feature in. I once had to sneak into the gents to verify that my friends were indeed immortalised just above the urinal. They are. And you would be right in your summation, the mural has been stunningly handcrafted by the wonderful Andrea Moretto of La Nueva Burguesa fame. You can follow her on Instagram and I believe there are plans to sell copies of the mural as maps, which I for one will be buying and immediately framing so that I can get my own slice of her beautifully served Santa Catalina.

Talking of beautifully served and La Nueva Burguesa in one breath brings me perfectly around to the subject of their namesake – burgers. I know that burgers are a profoundly personal subject. You only have to go to the sold-out Battle of the Burger to see how passionately loyal people are to their preferred burger joint. As for me?

My pick if I want one is always the boys at my favourite meaty spot on Sant Magi, La Nueva Burguesa. Is it because Oli would always wave and say hi as I hurried past off to one appointment or another? Is it because they put many of my friends on their walls? Is it because my friend and many others have special burgers named after them? It is for these reasons and many more.

The burgers are brilliant – Tim is always my personal favourite. The guys that run it are young and fun and full of energy and it is always bursting at the seams with people who return time and again. It is a real community hub for our barrio and one that seems to go from strength to strength. It shows what a smile and welcome can do!

I normally feature more places than this, but I thought that it would be good this month to focus on community and friendship, and then maybe, just maybe, the Davids can get the Goliaths to take note. We have strange times facing us, many uncertainties for jobs, businesses, and well, life in general. So, let’s stand together, support each other, stand up for what we believe in, and most importantly be kind. Together we will come through!

Salud!

By Victoria Pearce

https://www.facebook.com/lanuevaburguesa/

Instagram – @andrea.morettobes