OUR REGULAR NEWS FEATURE FROM

SUNNY SPAIN    

March 2010

which has been judged the most extreme since 1900 by scientists from the

Spanish Council of Scientific Investigation.  

[click the icon on the left]

We have had slightly higher lows and lower highs,

coupled with exceptional rainfall which has resulted in a profusion of plant growth...

which has resulted in a profusion of plant growth...

Around the region there have been numerous instances of flooding and landslides caused ...

and bull breeders are panicking that their animals will not be fit for the new fighting season due to the rain, which softens the bulls hooves

and in addition they won't eat wet food pellets! 

Thus the average weight of the bulls this year will be about 25 kilos less than normal. 

Meanwhile ,on a more practical front, the A92 dual carriageway connecting Almeria to Granada will be subject to up to 3 months of repair work after rains created a huge 30 metre wide hole in the road. 

Toward the end of the month we experienced hurricane force winds

with the usual collapse of the electricity system

although I sometimes wonder if they don't close the supply down 'just in case.' 

In common with most of Europe Spain has embraced the high speed train  ...

(Alta  Velocidad Española – AVE)

...and with, for example, services between Barcelona and Madrid ( a 325 mile 6 hour journey by car, the train goes from city centre to city centre in just 2 hours 38 minutes).   

Due to the heavy rainfall it is feared that there will be trouble in the air from plagues of mosquitoes breeding in the stagnant pools.  Local authorities are introducing fumigation treatments etc and whilst in our area the evil beasties are not normally a problem in the region it could bode ill for the summer. 

The end of the month produced the usual pageantry for

Holy Week (Semana Santa) 

with villages and towns of every size each having their own celebrations.  

From Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday traffic is closed off in city centres

and the solemn processions take over in the afternoons.  

No wonder the pointy hooded Nazarenos  (Penitents) walk slowly through the streets or indeed that there are so many of them.  Seville for example has 60 brotherhoods some with as many as 2,000 members. 

This is also the essential start of the Pilgrimage season to Santiago de Compostela (El Peregrenacion)

with pilgrims coming from all over the world, although in Spain it is widely advertised with posters in shops and bars. 

There is an excellent book on the trials and tribulations of the pilgrimage called Spanish Steps by Tim Moore   in which he recounts his experiences on the route to obtain the coveted certificate and scallop shells which symbolise the event, it's  also very funny. 

To view / purchase this book on Amazon use the link opposite ...

Thus it was recently announced  that the installation of virtual candles in the

Santiago De Compostela Cathedral is now complete - and for a suitable fee the company will ensure your virtual candle lights up for at least 11 minutes during peak times although off peak it could burn for as long as 31 minutes with a waiting list in operation at busy times. The Dean of the Cathedral highlighted that the new system ensured no danger of fire which was always there with traditional candles.

( What he failed to mention was that the Cathedral will collect 1/3rd of the fees involved!)

The mild wet winter has produced a profusion of blossom both in the garden and on the roadsides

Pansies ...

[The pansies have such happy faces, I think because the weather had improved and the sun came out ]

Thus it was time to fire up the BBQ once again  and take the gas bottle off the drawing room fire. 

One “highlight” of the month was that the Town Hall in its wisdom changed our house number from 36 to 20. 

Now as no one really uses building addresses in Spain (Post boxes or Buzons are the norm) however, this still entailed considerable correspondence with various correspondents from around the world who are more used to the British norm of street name and number for post to be delivered. 

Indeed I have a magazine subscription from the UK  which was rejected numerous times by the British sorting office as being insufficiently addressed, but that has been corrected by the addition of meaningless information.

Incidentally, addresses of businesses and companies in Spain are often very vague to say the least, thus in our neighbouring town of Albox most addresses are given as ...

"past the BP garage      to Mercadona (supermarket)"

and then something like "opposite Cajamar (bank) ." 

Of course it is assumed that everyone knows where the BP garage is to start with.  !!

Further to my comments on tea and coffee last month,

I have recently read a new book

“1000 Years Annoying the French” 

by Stephen Clarke....

in which Pierre Jean Vaillard the French actor is quoted as saying

 “Now I know why the English prefer tea. 

I just tasted their coffee”  

The case rests.

To view/purchase the book click the links

Sue says remember to click for more in her

Spanish Garden:

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