Noise curbs at party town called ‘lunacy’
Magaluf enforces a new bylaw, an Irish hotelier won’t bow to bullying and Scotland marks its dark history
New noise restrictions aimed at cleaning up the debauched image of a Spanish party town may have gone too far, critics say.
“It’s lunacy,” musician Leapy Lee said of the bylaw in Magaluf that restricts music noise in bars and restaurants to under 60 decibels — less than a typical hair dryer.
If the noise reaches 65 decibels, a sound limiter will be triggered that automatically mutes the volume.
Lee, who performs in bars across the Majorca region, said customers in one venue have been complaining because they can’t hear the music.
“Live bands can’t play at all because the volume trips the limiters straight away,” he said.
Officials are claiming victory in their bid to clean up the image of the region, which is infamous for its under-30s partying and booze-fuelled mishaps.
But Lee fears the moves will instead “kill the place dead.”
Flag-flap hotelier claims bullying
An Irish hotelier who faced a barrage of online abuse after he dared to fly the British flag over his inn says he won’t bow to bullying.
Brendan Rohan said one passerby called the flag, which he raised in order to celebrate a British couple’s special event, the Butcher’s Apron.
“I explained to him that I’m in the hospitality business and I’m not interested in politics or religion,” Rohan told the Irish Independent.
The 64-year-old said he often raises other national flags at his Dunfanaghy Holiday Village in Donegal.
“I’ve flown the Union (Jack) flag like I would for any of my guests that might be here, whether they’re Swiss, German, Canadian or whatever,” he said.
Online trolls have used Facebook’s rating system to damage the credibility of his business, he added.
“I think this is petty bully-boy tactics, which I won’t give in to,” the Irish Army veteran told the paper.
The grim tooth at Scottish exhibition
A grim chapter in Scottish history is being marked with a major new exhibition.
The show will cast a light on the morbid 18th-century practice of teeth-pulling from the unclaimed dead.
The underground trade in human remains is believed to have been fuelled by cashstrapped hospital staff looking to capitalize on the growing market for “real” false teeth.
One of the victims of the macabre trade will be the face of the new display, which runs at the City Art Centre until Oct. 8.
Using facial reconstruction techniques, university experts have created a lifelike image of an unknown young woman whose remains were discovered 200 years after she was buried in the 1700s in an unmarked grave.
Expert analysis found clear evidence that her front teeth were forcibly removed before her burial opposite the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the Scotsman reported.