Thursday 31 March 2016

Shocking Incident in Casarabonela.


                                                          Jesus de las Torres

If anyone thinks that spending long periods of time in Andalucía is all fun, fandangos and fiestas, think again.We've only been back a week and I've been electrocuted, Mrs.Sanchéz is walking on crutches, Tommy is lovesick again and to cap it all the roof is leaking.
All this during Semana Santa (Holy Week) too. It's enough to try the patience of a saint and there's no shortage of those  round here at the moment.

The trip down here went without incident. We went to the right port this time and were welcomed aboard by the friendly and helpful French crew. Tommy was pleased with his 'pet friendly' cabin and his complimentary bag of doggie goodies. 
The 'Cap Finisterre' is a recomissioned Greek ship which still bears signs of its previous life plying the Aegean. The catering is not as good as on the 'Pont Aven' which was a pity as we could have done with beefing up a bit for our obligatory two hour stint on the oars.


                                          The 'Cap Finisterre' leaving Portsmouth

The entertainment on board was top class. We won first prize in the 'Music Quiz' with a little help from a Geordie couple who let us keep all the prizes; two Brittany Ferries pens, a pack of Brittany Ferries playing cards, a mini Toblerone and a Brittany Ferries notepad. Tommy was dead jealous, I can tell you. All he got was a bit of rope, a Brittany Ferries collapsible dog bowl, a bag of dog treats, two bones  and some Brittany Ferries poo bags.
Mind you, the poo bags came in handy when Mrs.S had a spot of seasickness in the Bay of Biscay.

We arrived in Álora on Palm Sunday in the rain, just in time for the first procession of Semana Santa to be cancelled. It would have been La Pollinica (Jesus on a donkey) but  the rain would have spoilt the the costumes and it's a bit dangerous carrying a heavy throne with a man, a donkey and Maria Santisima del Amparo Auxilidora on it through wet and slippery streets.

                                         La Pollinica, just before being rained off.

We arrived to find our street clear of parked carsso we pulled up right outside our door and started a leisurely unloading of  all our stuff as wet, downcast disappointed donkey followers trudged back from the church, their Domigo de Ramos ruined. We expressed our deep sympathy as we took our time transferring our worldly goods to our Spring Residence.
 No hay mal que por bien no venga!' (Every cloud has a silver lining).

Semana Santa in Álora doesn't really get going until Thursday and then we have two solid days and nights of processions and the local Mercadona supermarket closes its doors as a mark of respect. All the  bars stay open for food and drink and even a few  impromptu 'pop ups' appear, run by enthusiastic and devout Holy Weekers who can't see why a silver lining shouldn't follow a cloud of incense.
As most of the processions pass by our front door Mrs S.and I feel very involved in it all. It's a good time to meet and wave to all our Spanish friends as they file by in long robes and hoods, some with pointed 'capirotes'. We're not always sure who is waving.
We were lucky to have English friends staying with us who had never seen Semana Santa in Southern Spain before (apparently they don't bother with it much up north). They were very impressed by it all and are talking about starting a few processions in Dudley when they get back.
There seem to be more pointed hoods every year. Strangers always find them fascinating and alarming. Apparently if you still think of the Ku Klux Klan when you see them you're still a tourist.

                                     Nuestro Padres Jesús Atado a la Columna

Jueves Santo (HolyThursday) and Viernes Santo (Good Friday) were beautiful sunny days. Smiles shone from all Perote faces, especially bar owners and the stalls selling drums. In my opinion there is nothing quite so endearing as to stand next to a little kid with a new drum.
Drums form an essential part of the processions and the children of Álora whose parents can not afford to buy them use 15 litre plastic paint buckets which are just as effective in spoiling an otherwise peaceful Spring evening. I don't mean to sound grumpy, after all these kids don't have chocolate easter eggs or bunnies to look forward to on Easter Sunday or hot cross buns on Good Friday. They have to be content with drums and the two big army processions which are a star attraction on Thursday and Friday.


                               Soldiers and drums- what Easter's all about, after all.

This year the Legión came without their goat mascot but a little boy dressed as a soldier stood in. The Legión are paid to appear by the Dolores Hermandad and the Paras, who do not look nearly as fierce, are paid (less) by the Jesús Hermandad. Both groups put on a bit of a show which always includes chucking their rifles around in the crowded streets. This year a new stunt involved getting a volunteer to kneel down while they chucked rifles over her head. 
 

                           I wonder if they have to take out Public Liability Insurance.

All this theatrical stuff, although very entertaining, is just a 'warm up' for the big event of the day, the Despedía (farewell) which happens 'a las 14.00 aprox' in the Plaza Baja de la Despedía, built 400 years ago just for this purpose. There are only two bars in the Plaza Baja which make more money on Good Friday than during all the rest of the year. A rainy Good Friday spells disaster, penury and on one occasion, suicide. Luckily the good weather held and at about 3 o´clock Jesús y Dolores performed their world famous 'dipping' manoeuvre (La Despedía)  before an ecstatic and widely inebriated audience.

                                                                  La Despedía 2016

We watched from a safe distance.

Mrs. Sánchez is hobbling about with a walking stick after slipping in some loose stones up at the Castillo de la Estrella in Teba. Regular and attentive readers may remember this as the place where Sir James Douglas threw the heart of Robert the Bruce into the attacking Arab army a long time ago. The heart can be seen at Melrose Abbey in a lead box. Some tidy-minded soul must have found it after the Battle of Teba (1330) and sent it back to Scotland.

Finally, an update on Sánchez Olive Oil Enterprises SA. 
Our oil is proving popular with the discerning public of Birmingham, UK ,From Our Trees To Your Table . and the trees are looking set to produce another fine crop of olives. All will depend on the weather when the flowers open and, as always, on  how much rain we get before the summer drought sets in.


We went up to Olivar Caicunes the other day to look at the trees and to see what work needs doing. We were greeted by a friendly horse and an electric fence across our entrance disguised as a piece of string. Shocking!
Our new neighbours denied any knowledge of the ownership of the horse but helped me to de-activate the booby trap. What a cheek!. The third  shepherd we tackled admitted that the horse was his but said that he had permission. How did he undo the padlock on the gate?
'Well, everyone round here has a key to that.' 

This weekend they are having an 'Egg Weekend' in Casarabonela.

.




Everyone welcome.  



Juanito Sánchez 31st. March 2016
 

Sunday 6 March 2016

Álora's 'Game of Thrones', A Circus and a Monkey. Pies.

Álora's 'Game of Thrones. A Circus and a Monkey. Pies.


            
                                                            Dolores Coronada 2016

Only two weeks to go to Palm Sunday, the day we should arrive in Álora and take up residence in the Sánchez Spring Palace on Calle Benito Suarez. We'll be a bit late this year but in good time for the main events of the main event of the year - Semana Santa.(Holy Week).  We missed it completely last year- an absence which did not go unnoticed. Nearly all of  the many processions go past our door and it would not be going too far to say that Mrs. Sanchez, Tommy and I have become an essential and much loved element  of the rich tapestry which is Holy Week in Álora. Our door is always open to desperate portaleros (throne carriers) who are bursting for a piss.

Tenacious readers of this humble organ will be aware of the role played by the hermandad and cofradia organisations who organise and pay for the tronos (thrones) which are paraded through the streets of the town during this most holy of weeks.  Almost everyone belongs to one or more of them. Our neighbour, Juani belongs to all of them. We don't belong to any of the eight ( 6 of pasión and 2 of gloria) because no-one has invited us to join and because athiests are not generally encouraged. It is  a  religious festival when all said and done.

Despite our heretic status we are very pally with folk in both the two clubs in the Premier League; Nazarino de las Torres and Dolores Coronada (in no particular order) and we do get invited to  some of their parties. They are both buena gente who manage to combine deep devotion with eating, drinking and having a good time. They both have sedes (headquarters) in Calle La Parra, on opposite sides of the street. Even though there is a fierce rivalry between the two hermandades they usually get on very well together and go to each other's parties. So do we, and we have to be very careful not to favour one or the other. The big event of the the week 'The Despedía' on Viernes Santo ( Good Friday) is a thinly disguised bit of sparring between the two tronos. Go and see it. It may end in a punch up one of these days.(2.30 pm. Plaza Baja. (Bottom Square) Bars are open for drinks and tapas.)

Semana Santa kicks off on Domingo Ramos (Palm Sunday) with the procession of La Póllinica which is Jesus on a donkey (not a real one). Tommy is particularly fond of this one. Here he is looking out for them (looking the wrong way).





Looking the wrong way Tommy.


 
Here they come.




We're going to miss this.

Easter is early this year so some of the processions may be cancelled. Rain on Good Friday spells disaster for all the bars in Álora but Manolo who runs  Bar Mocho in the Plaza Baja would suffer more than most. It's one of only two big events which take place down there during the year.

                                                    Manolo at Bar Mocho
 
Why can't they make their minds up about when Easter Sunday is anyway? My vote would be for the second Sunday in April. We could work the other days out ourselves. Everyone would benefit. The Archbishop of Canterbury agrees with me and the Grimsby Evening Telegraph,.is running a referendum on it. 
If David Cameron could get the EU to agree to it we'd be falling over each other to vote to stay in.
                                               David Cameron and Chums

It's got to be better than waiting for a Paschal Moon (the first full moon after a vernal equinox) or we could have it when Greece has theirs, a week later. I can't see how it can make things any better if you live in Grimsby, though...or any worse for that matter.

Olivar Caicunes Olive Oil is proving popular in Birmingham. Next week it will be on sale at the annual St. Patrick's Day Market. ('Come and get a drop of the green stuff!'). We've even got a Facebook page. 

Q. What have Liverpool and Manchester got in common?  
A. The best Spanish restaurant north of Gijón.

Mrs. Sánchez and I went 'up north´ last weekend to see a pair of Áloraphiles who live near Glossop, Terry and Moira
                                                               Up north

As luck would have it, Glossop is within striking distance of Manchester which now has a branch of Lunya (as in Cataluña). I may have gone on a bit  about the one in Liverpool already in this organ; I lose track of what drivel I have already drivelled. Well, however good I said Lunya in Liverpool is, Lunya in Manchester is even better. Like the one in Liverpool it has a big 'deli' section, too, where you can salivate over Serrano hams, super olive oils, wines and all the gastronomic goodies that Spain has to offer. The food in the restaurant is very good indeed. It's not cheap and it's right across the road from a branch of La Tasca, which must be feeling the pinch a bit. The pulpo (octopus) is 'de puta madre'. I am not getting paid to write this. Honest.
You can even get genuine Manzanilla there, but you could buy a bottle of it in Álora for what they charge for a glass there. 

Before Lunya we went for a drink in 'The smallest bar in Europe' but  'the biggest welcome in the world' 'The Circus'. Very cosy but no room to serve food so we went next door but one to The Old Monkey where they had stopped serving food. As luck would have it there is a chippy in between the two pubs so I bought their entire stock of hot pies and smuggled them into The Monkey. 

                                                                 The Circus
 


                                                           The Old Monkey

I know a Holland's meat pie when I see one and this one was a perfect specimen. Mmmmm.
Two good pubs with a good pie shop in between....the perfect sandwich.

While we're on the subject of pies, take a look a these little belters that I found in Oldham Indoor Market.






If you're looking at this on your phone, may I suggest you look at this little lot on your laptop at least. The variety is staggering. I couldn't manage the 'Desperate Dan' but I took home 4 beef dinkies and two suet puddings (which they call 'rag puddings' here). Pie Paradise.

Juanito Sánchez March 6th. 2016