In the nick of time

I took, Jemma, Laura, Molly and Rory to Murcia Airport this morning for their flight back to Manchester.

They had really good weather whilst here even though it was a bit hot and sticky some days.

Now though we are paying for that heat and humidity. A storm started brewing this afternoon, the sky darkened and we could hear thunder in the distance. We quickly put everything back under shelter and got the towels in that had been left outside by the pool.

There was only a drop of rain but it hasn't cleared yet so there is chance for more. In fact the weather over the next few days is forecast to be iffy with a chance of more storms.

Retail therapy

No trip to Spain would be complete for my daughters would be complete without the chance for a little retail therapy.

When they first came out, it was a trip to Torrevieja, then they opened Habaneras shopping centre. Now, a day at La Zenia Boulevard is a must.

The girls had already been down to Bigastro where Laura picked up some clothes for Molly and Rory on sale at the local children's clothes shop. Now it was the turn of Primark and Zara to supply clothes. As Laura says, Spanish children's clothes are quite different to those she finds in British shops.

So what did I buy? A new cart for my garden hose - wasn't that exciting?

After lunch at Che, Molly was ready to play in the upstairs children's area and then she and I went for a ride on one of the animals whilst the girls visited other shops.

Bought a little time

Having sorted out the pushchair and shown my daughter how to deflate the bed, I have been sent back outside to my Macbook and pipe. Apparently I am less trouble when I am out of the way. The only thing is I am being bombed by flies but still that is a small price to pay for a few moments of peace.

Don't get me wrong, it is wonderful to have the house filled with laughter and to be able to spend time playing with my granddaughter. My nine month old grandson is gurgling away as he sits in his high chair waiting for the rest of his breakfast. My cup of tea has just arrived and the sun has risen high enough to warm my back.

Life is good!

Chaos has arrived

It is great having the children and grandchildren over but they don't half make a smallish house look even smaller. Since we only have two bedrooms, the lounge has to double up as a third bedroom with an inflatable bed. Before that, the lounge was turned into a play area for both Molly and Rory. The floor and coffee table were covered with toys.

Since Molly and Rory are sleeping in the spare room where my desktop computer is housed, I am currently outside with my MacBook. Even then, I have just been told that the little pushchair that Molly wheels her doll around in needs fixing urgently. Molly has even brought me the keys to the shed where the tape is located. I have also been told that the inflatable bed needs deflating. That means that this post has to be curtailed DOH!

They call it the bottle

Although I have commented about the drinking habits of people in Bigastro, there is one aspect that is to say the least annoying. The young people organise what is called 'botellón' during the summer months. In Bigastro it is up at La Pedrera where they congregate until the early hours of the morning.

At Campoamor large numbers congregate on the Esplanade de la Dehesa much to the annoyance of the residents there. Young people arrive in cars with carrier bags laden with plastic glasses, bottles of rum, gin, whisky along with mixers and proceed to party.

You can just imagine the sort of problems this creates, for one thing there are no toilets in the area.

Daylight robbery

When we were in Mallorca, we hired a seven seater people carrier to transport us around. The company we used was Goldcar.

My son in law picked the vehicle up from Palma airport and paid 110 euros for a full tank of diesel. Several journeys later, it was showing we needed to refill. We could only get 55 euros of fuel in and then it was up to the brim. Clearly a full tank from empty was half the price that Goldcar had charged and I very much doubt it was actually full to start with.

After several more similar journeys my son in law took the vehicle back with three quarters of a tank of fuel left for which they gave him a 18 euro refund.

No doubt Goldcar put in a further 10 or 15 euros of deisel, claimed it was full and charged the next customer another 110 euros.

The whole business stinks of dishonesty. Why don't they just charge a proper rate for hire instead of making it up with the so called extras?

More improvements

Following on from the improvements that the previous council made, the new council have forged ahead with shade at La Paz school and outside the Third Age Centre. They have also had a parquet floor laid at Bigastrin. No matter what your politics are, there is no denying that the conservatives in Bigastro have done a lot to improve our town and will continue to do so.

Great service

Sods law - last time the family came out the plastic dome on the pool filter exploded spilling water into the pool box. A quick visit to the pool shop and I had a new part to fit. It actually took me three goes to get a good seal because I was wary of over tightening the nuts that hold it down.

We have family out tomorrow so guess what? Yesterday the valve that distributes the water in the pool box started leaking. At first it was just a drip but soon turned into a steady trickle. It could have been the seal that had gone or possibly a hairline crack in the casing. I wasn't taking chances so switched the pump off and shut down all the valves.

We could still swim in the pool but without the water turning over and chlorine dosing into it things would have gotten bad. The water could well have turned green.

I needed a quick solution so I emailed Gary Liney who lives on our estate and asked if he could help me.

His response was fast and positive. Gary was going to the pool shop this morning and would pick up a new part for me. He would then come to my house after lunch to fit it. True to his word, Gary arrived and exchanged the faulty valve of a new one.

Now those of you who have a pool like ours will know that there are five connections to the valve and that to assemble the valve you need to connect various pipes most of which require a fair bit of  PTFE tape and one which is a glued joint.

It goes without saying that there is the potential for a leak from one of those joints and sure enough, not longer after Gary left, the joint between the return to the pool and the valve started dripping. I emailed Gary to let him know. To be fair I was not expecting him to come back to sort it out until at least tomorrow.

I was wrong because within half an hour Gary was back with his wrench to see if the joint just needed tightening. Less than half a turn and all was well, the joint, like all the others was perfectly dry and has stayed dry.

Now there may be others living here that service pools on our estate but as far as I know, Gary is the only one who is legal. He has a lot of experience and knows the trade secrets to keep your pool in tip top condition.

There are plenty of pool companies that operate in this area as you might expect, some are better than others. Some are so busy that you might have to wait a week or more to get them out. Gary worked his magic for me, got me out of a scrape and so I am pleased to highly recommend him.

If you don't know Gary, send me an email at keith@bigastro.es and I will either pass on your details or send you his details whichever is most convenient.

One in a million

Birds in flight is a specialised form of photography that requires lots of patience, being in the right location and having the right equipment (think long and expensive lenses). I do admire those who go in for this type of work but to be honest, the results are often not that interesting to me.

This photo on Flickr of a bald American eagle though impresses me a lot. Apart from the skill and patience, the photographer had luck on his side. The water was still so he got a perfect reflection, the light was just right to capture detail in the bird and the eagle obliged by trailing its wing in the water.

I imagine that the photographer took a burst of shots and selected this as the best. The result could well win awards - I would certainly vote for it.

The teccy stuff

For those who might be interested, it was taken with a Nikon D750 fitted with a 70-200mm f2.8 lens set at 200mm with an aperture of f4. The shutter speed was 1/1600th of a second and the ISO was 1250.

Now 200mm is very much on the short side for this type of work. Most bird in flight photographers would be armed with anything from 300mm to 600mm lenses even on crop framed cameras. However, as Carol Thorpe would point out, the D750 is a full frame 24 megapixel camera and so it is likely that the end result is a crop from the original

A slight shudder

A small earthquake of magnitude 1.6 degrees was noticeable yesterday in the Vega Baja, especially in the towns of Torrevieja and Pilar de la Horadada, according to the National Geographic Institute . The movement was registered at 10:36 hours, with epicentre in Cabo de Palos.

Let's hope they work

The council have now sited bins like these around the town. The bins have rolls of bags for people to use to collect the excrement from their dogs and of course a place to deposit the bags afterwards.

I just hope that the vandals that pulled off the rubbish bins on the way up to our estate don't do the same with these.

Vuelta Ciclista a España

The 9th stage of the Tour of Spain leaves from Torrevieja on August 30th.

The riders will make a neutralized start, so the squad will travel several kilometres parallel to the beaches at below race pace.

The distance to the flying start will be about 8.5 km to the hamlet of La Mata.

Some statistics for you

During the period January to July, Valencia received a total of 3.6 million foreign tourists, up 4% on the same period last year.

The Valencian community was the fifth most popular destination for tourists behind Catalonia (9.7 million), Canary and Balearic Islands (6.5) and Andalusia (5.1) In the first seven months of the year a total of 37.9 million foreign tourists visited Spain.- up 4.7% up from the previous year.

Last month was the best July on record with 8.8 million tourists, a growth of 6.3%.

The UK was once again top of the list in these first seven months with 8.7 million tourists, up 3.5%; followed by France with 6 million, up 7.8%, and Germany with 5.8 million, 1.3% more.

These three countries account for 54.5% of total arrivals.

The Nordic countries, with 2.9 million showed a decline of 4.6 compared to 2014; Italy, with 2 million (+7.3%); and the Netherlands, with 1.6 million (+4.1%).

The biggest rise was in tourist from the US - up 21.3% at 893,359 tourists. Tourist from South Korea, China and Japan in the first seven months grew by 40.9% overall.

80.9% of tourists arrived by plane and hotels were chosen by 63.5% of visitors.

There you have it, possibly boring figures for some but definitely encouraging for the country. Of course, the improved exchange rate has helped a lot - it certainly helps to make our lives more comfortable!

Certificates in English

A special mention

Some people are Christian and others are truly Christian.

Yesterday, when I was about to be discharged, Sheila Rowlands and a friend came to visit me at my bedside. It wasn't that she had heard I was in hospital, Sheila visits the hospital on a regular basis to comfort the English speaking people there and to offer them magazines and puzzle books to keep them occupied during their stay.

Giving up your time to help and comfort others is a truly Christian act for which I very much admire Sheila. I know that she regularly reads this blog and so will know what I have said about her.

I dare say some would regard writing this blog to be a Christian act because it helps to inform others about what is going on in our town. I don't get paid for this, nor do I get paid for taking the photos that I post on here and on Facebook for people to enjoy.

Each of us needs to find some way in which we can help others, Sheila has found hers and I suppose I have found mine.

A day I'd rather forget

Yesterday I decided it was time to tackle the ever growing bushes in my garden. Foolishly, I left it until the sun was at its highest. Two and a half hours later, I started to feel dizzy, sat down and then passed out. The next thing I knew Pam was shouting at me as I came around. I then flaked out a second time and then awoke to find ambulance men standing by me.

After my trip to Vega Baja, I was taken into an emergency room where they performed every kind of test you can imagine. Blood analysis, ECG, a check over followed by a full body scan and a head scan. At one point, I had a cannula in each arm with a drip to each, oxygen to my nose, electrodes all over my chest and arms attached to an ECG monitor and a catheter to by pass my enlarged prostate. I asked Pam to take a photo just as a reminder but she wouldn't.

I stayed in overnight and had further tests including a blood analysis and another ECG. Sleeping was difficult especially when they brought in another patient to the room at what seemed like the middle of the night.

This afternoon the doctor visited me and gave me his verdict. I need to drink more, only work in the coolest part of the day. The other thing I was told was that your blood pressure is usually lower in the heat. I was advised to monitor it and only take my medication if it is necessary.

Although I'd rather put the experience out of my mind there are two lots of people who I owe a lot to. First of all my neighbours Eladia and Joaquin who came to my help immediately they were told. I really can not thank them enough.

The other group were the staff at the hospital who were efficient, not phased, polite and extremely helpful. I could not recommend the food but the service was first class.

So far so good

As I said on Friday, I upgraded the operating system on my desktop computer to Windows 10. The process was painless and only took half an hour.

The upgrade is free and the license is for life so there is no cost nor will there be in the future. WHat is there to lose?

I had intended to wait because I was completely satisfied with Windows 7  but then I read that a friend of mine, who is an IT technician in Liverpool, had upgraded his computer. I also read a comment on Facebook from the company that built my computer saying that Windows 10 was the best operating system that Microsoft has produced. They recommended all of their clients who had machines with Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 to take advantage of the offer - so I did. 

The first day I encountered a minor problem when my computer would not shut down completely. All of the programs closed and the screen went black but the computer was still running. Upon investigation I found that I needed to tweak the power settings. With that done, my computer shuts down properly and everything works as it should. 

Would I recommend the upgrade to others?

If you are entirely satisfied with you current operating system, especially if you are running Windows 7, then you can wait. You have a year in which to decide whether to upgrade or not. 

Just like with the Windows systems of the past though, Microsoft will sometime stop support for Windows 7 and then Windows 8. At that time you will no longer get the security patches that are essential to keep your computer safe. By that stage it will be too late to get a free copy of Windows 10 and so you will have to pay whatever price Microsoft decide to charge. 

The bottom line is that there is nothing to fear with Windows 10. Follow the guidelines to stop Microsoft from gathering too much information from you and all will be fine. Having installed Windows 10, you will enjoy a smooth computing experience that is both fast and stable.

PS Although I am recommending a move to Windows 10 based on my own experience,  you have to decide or yourselves what to do. It it all goes wrong and you end up with a dead machine, please don't blame me.

Over for another year

It seems that no sooner does the Fiesta start, it is all over. Today, the Comparsa, La Murga, will finish things off in Calle Purisima.

The statue of the patron saint, San Joaquin, was paraded around the streets of the town in a solemn procession last night. On return to the church there was a grand firework display (see my album of photos).

There have been many memorable moments from this year, more for some than for others. Pam and I always set out with the intention of attending more of the events but then age beats us. For example, we would have liked to have watched the dance show last night but then the thought of waiting in the town square for over two hours and staying up until the early hours of the morning somehow lost its appeal.

One thing for sure, we can say that the Fiesta Commission did a grand job. We have to remember that they have a lot less money to work with than the commissions of the past. To even put on a fiesta was a great challenge for them, a challenge that they met head on and overcame. Well done!

I should also like to offer my personal thanks to all those involved this year, not just the commission but all the others who helped in many different ways. I hope that my photos will help them remember this week in August when the sleepy town of Bigastro came alive and partied.

VIVA BIGASTRO! VIVA SAN JOAQUIN!

That was loud

The intention of the technician who creates a mascleta is to develop a rhythm of sound starting relatively quiet and getting much louder. The fireworks are in no way decorative in fact they have no colour at all .

You can experience the mascleta from this lunchtime in Bigastro by going to this YouTube link. Don't forget to turn up the volume though to appreciate it properly.

http://youtu.be/Pf8y2Zyzk2o 

Unsung heroes

It is all too easy to take photos of the comparsas in the parade and forget about the musicians that accompany them. Here are three of the groups that made for an exciting event last night.

You can of course find the rest of my pictures in an album located in the left hand sidebar but then you already knew that. 

What is the difference?

When you look at the pictures in my album for the Floral Offering, you will find the girls and young ladies in two forms of traditional dress.

The  floral skirts and black tops are typical of Alicante.

On the other hand, the coloured tops and floral skirts are typical of Valencia. 

Especially for us

Today is Pam's and my wedding anniversary and just to celebrate the town have arranged a special parade tonight, as they do every year, followed by a firework display.

Last night they put on a concert for us which was damn good. We were tempted to go to the concert of 80s music but common sense prevailed. As we left the VaiVen we could hear the Dire Straits number, Money for Nothing being played. 

Just what you might need

That was painless

Upgrading to a new operating system can be a right pain in the butt. First off, it can take forever to download. Then the installation can take well over an hour. Finally, you have to sort out everything so you can navigate your way around.

More often than not, there are applications that no longer work and devices that need drivers updating. The whole process can take days, even weeks to get things working as they were before.

Sometimes there is a compelling reason to update, for example if the existing system is a dog like Windows Millenium and Vista were. This machine though came with Windows 7 and it has worked like a dream from day one. Thankfully, I avoided Windows 8 and even 8.1 which proved to be hugely unpopular.

Now though, Microsoft have taken the unprecedented step of offering an upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge and for life - WOW!

They say and everyone seems to agree that is the best operating system that Microsoft have offered so this morning I took the plunge and installed it. The process took about half an hour and there were no reports of any errors as the changes took place to my computer.

It might take awhile to familiarise myself with the way it works and I know there are some features that I may never use but at least it works - well so far it does and it feels a bit snappier but that may be just subjective.  

You thought it was hot!

Well today will be even hotter! Is it any wonder that many of the locals are heading for the north of Spain. The good news is that by Saturday it will be cooler dropping to about 30 degrees which will feel positively cold.

What you missed

Those of you who were not down in the town last night missed one of the better organised Infant parades. The theme was Pricesses and Super Heroes. The people of the town did not let us down and came out in style for the event.

Then at 12:30 (a little later than advertised), there was a Mariachis show in the park.

You can of course find albums of my pictures from both of these events in the sidebar. 

San Fermin in Bigastro

Last night the bulls ran along Calle Purisima to the Plaza de Toros set up outside the church. Once they were there, children of different ages were challenged to enter the ring and face a toro bravo.

The youngest provided the most entertainment as they scattered in front of the raging bull. Eventually an ambulance entered the ring to rescue any of the taurinos who had been injured during the contest.

 You will find my album of photos from this very amusing event in the sidebar. 

A tight fit

Alberto arrived yesterday with the T-shirt he promised me.

I explained that this would make it easier for me to take photos because people would recognise me as "the official photographer" and hopefully would not get in my way as I went about my business.

I could have done with XXL but never mind, the material is kind of stretchy and shows of my "toned" physique!!!

One thing for sure, when I wear it, I will be visible.

Just in case....

....you were planning to catch a bus. 

A couple of observations

From the Andalucian Fiesta on Sunday night.

1. By the end of the night there was nobody drunk or even near drunk. During the meal people either drank a couple of small beers, pop or water. Afterwards many just had water and those that did have alcoholic drinks just had the odd one.

You may say but ah yes the event was organised for over 50s and it was true that most of the people attending were 3rd age but there were quite a few younger folk there as well.

We have noticed before that it is unusual to see Spaniards at bars in Bigastro consuming large quantities of alcohol. The behaviour of young Brits at resorts like Benidorm and Magaluf must seem alien to them and even deplorable.

2. When it started to drizzle nobody started panicking, one lady put up an umbrella and that was it. There was no stampede to get inside the third age centre nor to seek cover elsewhere. Only when it had rained harder for about ten minutes did people start to take shelter. As I said yesterday though, they didn't start to flock for the exit. Somehow they knew that the rain would not last and if they stuck it out, then the event would continue as if nothing had happened.

Spaniards seem to have a resilience that we British often lack. Maybe it is having lived through the hard times of the Franco era, I don't know. 

Sleepy eyes

Last night, the Commission de la Fiesta organised a dinner dance for the over 50s at the Plaza Concordia so Pam and I asked Alberto to reserve us places.

First let us talk about the cost, 5 euros per person for a night of entertainment. We also managed to spend a further 4 euros on drinks and 2 euros on raffle tickets. To save you the maths that worked out at 16 euros for a night out for both of us. You could not have got better value for your money if you tried.

What did we get?

Well first of all we had a a meal comprising, a starter of meats and cheese, a plate of tuna and tomatoes, langostines, gazpacho soup, baked potatoes with garlic mayonnaise, bread rolls with sausages or black pudding, a dessert with meringue on top, custard and almond crumble underneath called "Gloria".  There was a continuous supply of drinks throughout the meal - beer, water and soft drinks and I dare say you could have had wine if you wanted.

As we were eating the bocaditos, it started to drizzle with rain - nobody moved - we all sat there and enjoyed the refreshing relief from the heat of the day. When the rain became heavier we all retired under whatever shelter there was until it stopped. There was no way we were going to miss out on the dessert and the entertainment to follow.

Eventually it dried up, the members of the Commission brought us paper towels to dry the seats and so we were able to enjoy the dessert.

The musical entertainment had been covered with large plastic sheets which were carefully removed and the fun began.

Pam and I left at about 1:30 leaving many still there partying hard.

There was no need to be concerned about where you sat, the people on our table soon started up conversations with us in both English and Spanish. They thought our Spanish was good and we were impressed by their command of English.  

Many thanks to the Fiesta Commision for organising the event and for working so hard to keep us happy (they acted as waiters and bar people for the night). 

Phew!

I took rather more photos of the Coronation than usual. The lighting was fighting against me and so I had to play on the side of caution.

At last I have whittled down from the ones I took to 142 which you can see in the album linked to in the sidebar. 

Alberto Belmonte Terres

My contact on the Fiesta Commission along with his girlfriend Eva and Alejandra.

The workers

Presenting the Fiesta Commission for 2015 who have worked hard to produce a fiesta worthy of Bigastro. 

Gastronomic Day

With fewer people, the food lasted out the course. Many thanks to those who contributed. 

Let me explain

Those of you who got hold of a copy of the book for this year's fiesta must be thinking that my English is dubious to say the least.

I translated the Spanish version into English for the Fiesta Commission and gave them a copy identical to the one that I published on this blog on Friday. I should have given them the Word document to make life easy because it seems that someone transcribed my paper version into the book and made a few mistakes along the way.

Ah well, we are used to having to work out what English translations from Spanish actually mean and having a chuckle at the way they turn out. 

So how was our holiday?

In a word, fantastic!

A splendid villa with wonderful views of the mountains, apart from one dull morning - great weather, some memorable meals and of course, the best possible company.

For Dave and I, the drive to Sa Calobra on the winding mountain road will remain a memory to treasure but we also enjoyed days out on the beach, the trip to Valldemossa, Alcudia old town and the last day of the fiesta at Pollenca.

The real stars though were Molly and Rory who were just a delight - well most of the time! Molly did have a few moments but then she is only five years old and I am sure we all had the odd wobble at that age.

My album of photos from the trip can be reached from the sidebar. Apart from the personal photos, you get to see the countryside of Mallorca along with some random "arty" shots of course. 

The full programme

The Fiesta Programme

Saturday 8th August

8:30pm – The Fiesta Queens to be collected from their houses and then accompanied by the Band to the park.
10pm – The Coronation of the Fiesta Queens (Infant, Junior and Third Age) in the Parque Huerto Del Cura. Germán Guillén Alcocer will be the guest of honour and  speaker.

Sunday 9th August 

10am - The crazy cars competition on Calle Luis Galvez.
1pm – Gastronomic Journeys in the Plaza de la Concordia with typical local fare along with food from other countries.
9pm – An Andalucian Festival at the Plaza de la Concordia for the over 50s. Dress up and enjoy a fabulous dinner dance.

Monday 10th August

Starting at 7pm – Waterbeds for the very young at Bigastrin.
8pm – A special night for the local associations – the Alzheimer Association (Acuérdate de mi), the Association against Cancer and the Association for the Disabled (La Pedrera). There will be a mobile disco with a DJ providing entertainment.

Tuesday 11th August 

10am – A tournament of board games (poker, dominoes, card games etc.) in the Parque de la Cruz.
Midday - “Tio the tractor”  accompanied by a brass band will be bringing refreshments to the streets of Bigastro.
8pm – Run with the bulls - starting at Calle Aureliano Díaz, along  Calle Purisima until the Plaza de la Constitutión where there will be a bull ring set up. Young and old are invited to join in and enjoy this bull festival. There will be free granizado  for all at the end.
11pm – The various comparsas along with the Infant and Junior courts will parade from Bigastrin to the Parque Huerta del Cura where they will inaugurate their barracks for the fiesta.
12:30am – Xavier Dentell will present “Malditas Canciones”, a comic show in Spanish.
Following that there will be a mobile disco in the park.

Wednesday 12th August

11am - Traditional games.
Carrera de cintas – ride a bicycle down the street and poke a stick through a tiny ring suspended on a wire across the street to win the favour of  a member of the courts of fiesta queens.
Carrera de tacatacá – two balls on strings tied together which you swing together – sounds easy but requires skill.
Free granizado for all.
Midday – “Tio the Tractor” tours the streets of Bigastro again giving out free beers.
8pm – The traditional Infant Parade. The theme for this year is Princesses and Superheroes. The Infant and Junior courts will be taking part.
Midnight – A Latin Mariachis Show – one not to miss. Think Mexicans in big hats playing guitars!
Followed by a disco until dawn.

Thursday 13th August

11am to 2pm – Video games in the Sala Polivalente of the Auditorio Municipal.
Midday - “Tio the Tractor” again accompanied by a brass band.
6pm until midnight – More video games in the Sala Polivalente.
8:30pm – A parade of the comparsas from the Parque de la Cruz.
12:30am – Variety Night presented by Eduardo Navarrete, featuring Kika Lorace, Hornella Góngora, Gina Boss and Selfide Drag.
Followed by a disco until dawn with DJ Moya.

Friday 14th August

8am - A musical parade of the streets with flutes and drums.
11am to 2pm – Video games in the Sala Polivalente.
1pm – Tapas in the street Calle Antonio Gálvez with music to lighten the day.
8pm – The Floral Offering to San Joaquín followed by Holy Mass at 8:30pm in the Plaza de la  Constitutión.
10:30pm – Traditional concert by the Sociedad Unión Musical de Bigastro.
1am – Concert by the band Los 80 Principales. Taking you back to the golden age of 80s music.

Saturday 15th August

8am- A musical parade of the streets with flutes and drums.
11am to 2pm – Video games in the Sala Polivalente.
1pm – Tapas in the street  Calle Antonio Gálvez, again with music to entertain you.
6pm until midnight – More video games in the Sala Polivalente.
7:30pm – The bands and comparsas prepare for the multicoloured parade.
8:30pm – The Grand Parade of Comparsas accompanied by the Infant and Junior courts along with the Third Age King and Queen.
1am – The Traditional Alborada to welcome in the day of our Patron Saint – San Joaquin.
Followed by a firework display.
2am – Fireworks in the cage for the children.
3am – 5am Serious fireworks in the cage on Calle Acequia!
Followed by a disco until you drop.

Sunday 16th August 

8am – A parade around the streets by Charamita to waken every one up on the day of San Joaquin.
9:30am – Holy Mass.
11:30am - A parade around the streets by the  Sociedad Unión Musical de Bigastro along with the Infant and Junior Courts, the Third Age King and Queen and town officials to the Church.
12am – Holy Mass in honour of San Joaquín with the Manuel Moya Choir.
After the Mass there will be a grand mascleta (fireworks set off to form a rhythm of noise).
8pm – A solemn procession of our patron saint, carried on the shoulders by the Brotherhood of San Joaquín. Upon arrival back at the church, there will be a grand firework display.
1am – “Bigastro -We Dance”. A fabulous dance  spectacular  featuring local people.
And then the final disco.

Monday 17th August

Sometime in the afternoon, the satirical (often political) humour of La Murga in the streets of the town.