Some pictures from Elche

The palm park

Street entertainment

Plaza

Basilica

Her name is dame

The Dame of Elche is regarded as the most important piece of Iberian art dating from the 4th -5th century BC. She was found in Elche in 1897, subsequently sold to the Prada museum in Madrid. She is normally kept at the Archeological Musuem in Madrid but is currently back in Elche where she is on display in the museum there.

Yesterday we spent the day in Elche and apart from seeing the Dame we climbed the 163 steps to the top of the Basilica tower, took the train ride round the palm park and visited the shops.

In force

These four have joined the existing eight to make twelve local policepersons in Bigastro. Hopefully they will have more to do than rescue women from elevators.

PS I wouldn't fancy being arrested by a girl who looks a lot younger than my own daughters.

Corpus Cristi

In the excitement of having the girls here we had almost forgotten that this weekend is Corpus Cristi which of course is an important event in the Catholic calendar. Having found the programme it does explain why we have had fireworks this morning.

Note that on Sunday the candlelight procession is followed by a "great thunderstorm". Could that be more fireworks?

Fiestas Corpus Cristi 2006

Programación de las Fiestas del Corpus Cristi de este año que se celebrerán del 16 al 18 de junio.

DÍA 16 DE JUNIO

* 8,00 Horas Dulzaina
* 20,30 Horas Pasacalle Banda Unión Musical de Bigastro.
* 23,00 Horas, Concierto a cargo de la Banda Unión Musical de Bigastro, dirigida por Manuel Gutiérrez, en la Plaza de la Constitución


DÍA 17 DE JUNIO

* 8,00 Horas Dulzaina.
* 17,00 Horas, Juegos Infantiles y Gran Gynkana (Duración desde las 17,00 a las 21 h) en el Parque Huerto del Cura.
* 22,30 Horas, Actuación de la DOMINGO ARATES Y MAYI “ESPECTACULO DE MAGIA” Y EL GUATEQUE DE LA DÉCADA
* Al finalizar DISCOTECA MÓVIL.


DÍA 18 DE JUNIO

* 11,00 h. Pasacalle Unión Musical de Bigastro
* 19,30 h. Misa Solemne.
* 20,15 h. Procesión del Corpus. Al término “ Gran Tronada”

That was hard

I suppose after a year of Spanish lessons we should have expected a test which stretched us. In any case that is what we got. We had to think and think hard about the answers to some of the questions. Whilst we still have a limited vocabulary it is difficult to formulate the answers that you would like to give. It isn't easy getting your head around the very different grammatical structure of the language either. Still when the "going gets tough.... ".

We got home in good time to watch the dismal performance of England against possibly the weakest team in the competition. We were pleased that the goals came from Liverpool players but were not pleased with Crouch's efforts otherwise. In fact the only player that looked sharp was Lennon who brightened up the play on the right flank. Maybe England will do better against Sweden - we hope so.

After the game we went down to Torre and had an excellent meal at La Muelle. Sitting outside in June on a balmy evening watching the sea lapping against the shore as you eat has to be one of the best parts of living in Spain. We rounded the meal off with an excellent cup of coffee at the old Casino. Come July and more so in August, Torre will be packed at night but last night we almost had the place to ourselves after 11:00pm - nice.

Today the game plan is to go to Elche but only when Pam gets up!

Best laid plans

The plan for today was to go down to the market in Bigastro. It is now 11:20 and nobody is dressed. By the time we get there the market will be closing down. Not a problem though since we bought vegetables at Orihuela market.

This afternoon Pam and I have our Spanish exam. The girls were going to stay at the house and sunbathe by the pool. It is kind of sunny but not cracking the flags so that plan may go adrift as well.

Tonight Pam thought we could go down to Torrevieja and have a pizza at La Muelle. The girls want to watch England play football on the television. The girls bought me a blow up England hand which will be wasted if we don't watch them play. So if we go to Torre it will have to be after the game finishes.

Maybe tomorrow's plans will work out!

Back in business

We haven't got the phone back but at least we have a connection to the internet.

The weather, which according to the reports is not brilliant, is sunny. So the girls are getting the benefit of a tan.

As you can see Pam is very happy to be re-united with her daughters and they are very happy to pick up a bargain (or two) at the market in Orihuela. Even if you have enough shoes to wear a different pair each day morning and night it is hard to resist another pair at 6€,

Last night we took them down to one of the bars in town for a meal. They really enjoyed having tapas in the country where they originated rather than in some posh restaurant in England. Not only were the tapas better but the price was a lot cheaper.

We then took them to the little bar owned by Miguel and arrived back home at 12:30. So rather than the planned trip to Elche we are chilling by the pool today. However to ensure that they don't get withdrawal symptoms we are taking them down to the Habenaras shopping mall later.

Given up the ghost

Finally the satellite equipment that provides us with a connection to the Internet has collapsed. So now we have no internet and no phone until the kind man from the satellite provider company visits our site and installs new equipment. Let´s hope he arrives soon!

On a rather better note the girls arrived last night from England and are here for eight days. We had hoped the weather would stay sunny but this morning there is a bit of hazy cloud. Still it will be better for their pale north European skins.

Not exactly the World Cup

I understand Bigastro's star player, Wayneo Roenee says that he is 300% certain to be able to play.

See how it grows

A lot of sun, a drop of water, a few euros worth of fertilizer and a good dose of TLC






We even have a decent crop of lemons for next year.

Cartagena

Spain is such a large country that it will take us the rest of our lives to see all the places that we want to.

Cartagena is not far away though and we had intended to go there soon. So when Rosa's Tours offered a trip there including lunch for 19€ we jumped at the chance.

We had a really good day. The city is both beautiful and excellent for shopping. So much to see and only a limited time on our trip. We must go back again and explore some of the buildings that we didn't have a chance to see.

Calle Mejor from the port end

Calle Mejor from the other end

Ayuntamiento from the port

Ayuntamiento from Calle Meyor

A view of the port

On - off -on

We've had problems with the Internet connection since April. Yesterday it was off and then back on but you couldn't reach any web sites. Then it went off and now it is back on but the telephone is off.

Now the water has joined in. Last night there was very little pressure. First thing we had no water at all and now it has come back but at reduced pressure again.

Next it will be the electricity!!!

Unexpected

We had thought of having a lazy day by the pool yesterday until our friends John and Jean phoned and asked us down for lunch. They had Miguel's family coming round to look at their house and decided there was enough food for another two. Jose Miguel, who is tuly mad, has a bar in town which we frequent. We had a really good day and as a bonus got to practice our Spanish.

Today we are playing hookie from our Spanish class because we are booked on a coach trip to Cartagena. Lunch is included so no cooking for Pam again! Hopefully I will get some more good photos today of the old town.

In the meantime here are some more of my pictures from Aire06

Aire 06

As you can see a brilliant show presented in ideal conditions.


Frecce Tricolori from Italy.


The magnificent Airbus 300.


Patrula Aquila from Spain (based at San Javier).



The heart was the Red Arrows thank you to the crowd.

Hmm.

One of the questions in our Spanish textbook asked us to write a sentence about José María. The correct sentence was "José María esta hacienda la comida y tú vas a recoger la mesa." No problems there - José María makes the food and you are going to lay the table but how can someone have a boy and a girl's name? I asked our teacher and she told us that whilst José María is a boy, María José would be a girl. The rule only applies to the name María though.

Then I found this picture of a lady at the Feria and wondered whether she was María José or José María. Whatever she is called she seems to be enjoying that cigar. Is it just me or is there something sexy about a woman smoking a cigar?

The meal sounds good

The Progressive Women's Association have organised a trip to the nearby Tabarca Island.



If I wore my pantomine costume do you think they'd accept me as a progressive woman?

Battle of the weathermen

Let's not talk about yesterday when it rained all day. Instead let's look at today. The BBC says it will be sunny in Torrevieja which is 23kms away. Meteo Sam says it will be dull with some rain in both Orihuela and Torrevieja. Looking out the window I'd say Sam has got it right. So thumbs up to Sam and a raspberry to the BBC.

The forecast for tomorrow is much better either way which probably means it will rain.

I wouldn't want anyone to think we are obsessed with the weather. Just that when you are retired like we are you need the weather to be good so you can get outside. Days like yesterday you are cooped up with little to do. To make matters worse our Internet connection was so slow I could have gone to the places and picked up the pages on paper quicker.

I can feel the wave of sympathy wash over me as those of you who are working say a loud AHHHH! Thank you for that.

Town planning.

On Tuesday the Mayor of Bigastro apparently had a meeting with 25 property developers. The idea was that to discuss the criteria for construction and urbanisation in the town. In particular the necessity to develop a joint proposal for the benefit of the people of Bigastro.

At least I hope that is what they discussed. Sounds like more cranes, more lorries, more blocked roads and more flats. Let's hope they get it right.

The rain in Spain

Falls mainly on Bigastro or so it would seem. To say that we have had a lot of rain overnight is an understatement. It won't be enough to see us through even part of the Summer of course but at least I won't need to water the garden for a few days.

So the best laid plans of mice and men as they say. Wednesdays are supposed to be our beach days. We didn't go last week because we were too tired after all the activity of the weekend but were supposed to be going today. The beach chairs, umbrella and cool box will just have to stay where they are.

The weather reports show it getting better by the weekend. We may have to re-schedule our week and go food shopping tomorrow and then perhaps go to the beach Friday.

Oh decisions - decisions!!!

Sunday is of course the day of the Aire 06 show. We really need clear blue skies for that otherwise we won't see much of the spectacular displays that are promised.

Getting ready

You can guess how we intended to spend Monday.



.. this is the pony tail palm we bought last week which Pam wanted me to show you.

¿Hola que tal?

So what kind of Sunday did you have? Hopefully a peaceful one. I went out for a ride on my bike exploring further the Huerta which is the market garden area on the other side of the main road.We then spent the afternoon lazing in the sun and dipping in the pool. Later on we had a BBQ.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. In fact so good we might do the same again today.

Saturday night we went to Pilar de Horadada to watch the Campeverde theatre group perform a couple of comedy sketches. Very good they were too. I couldn't help but notice though that not only were the actors all of a certain age but the audience were too.

John was directing me back from the theatre and made a hopeless mess of trying to get us out of Pilar. I don't think he realised that was good drinking time we wasted driving round the back streets of the town.

As it happens

So yesterday turned out to be a better day weatherwise than I thought it would be. Although there was thin cloud it didn't stop the sun from shining. We still went shopping though.

The good news is that Pam's prescription for her glasses hasn't changed. The even better news is that the optician didn't charge for the eye test. Sods law though - last night when I took my contact lenses out and went to put my glasses on one of the srews flew and the lens dropped out. So I have to go down to the optician to get a new screw put in. Now why didn't that happen the night before?

Small consolation

Those of you in the UK who have had rain on and off for the last two weeks will not comiserate with us. However a little sympathy wouldn't go amiss.

It's May - nearly June and the weather here is not great. It should be hot and sunny not mild and cloudy. Temperatures should stay in the mid twenties not be struggling to keep above 20. Most distressing though are the clouds that keep rolling over. They are not the sort that provide rain just obscure the sun. We like to see the sun. It's what we bought sunglasses for.

I mean come on - this is Spain for goodness sake. The place where people come to get a tan and escape from the cold northern climate. Folks have paid good money to holiday here and enjoy themselves. They don't want to go round in trousers and sweaters. They've got suitcases full of shorts and T-shirts to wear.

OK the odd day has been brilliant - blue skies, hot sun without a cloud in sight. How can you plan your week on that basis? We need to know that each morning we'll get up to sunshine.

Ah well I suppose we'll just have to have another day of shoppping. Actually Pam needs some new glasses because she can read better without the ones she has so we have a good excuse. Let's hope the optician speaks some English otherwise when he asks "is this one better or worse" she might just give the wrong answer. With the weather as it is she won't need them to be tinted.

What we missed

We decided against going to the beach. There was a layer of thin cloud about and a strong breeze which meant we would have been sandblasted rather than tanned yesterday. Instead I got on with some much needed gardening; tying in new shoots on the climbers, potting on the tomato seedlings and clearing out the weeds and grass. I also took the cover off the pool and stored it away for the summer. Now the water is at 26 -28 degrees C it is plenty warm enough for swimming.

Just to show you what we missed though here are some pictures of Guardamar beaches. Guardamar has 11km of white sand beach from the mouth of the river down to Campamor. Although the beach in the centre gets very crowded in August there is always plenty of room if you are prepared to walk a little.

Delighted shepherds

Any shepherds in the area would have agreed that a red sky at night was indeed a sign of good weather at least for the morning. By 5pm yesterday though the clouds had rolled over and the wind had picked up. By 7pm it was calm again.

The sunset last night was just dull. It doesn't seem to have made any difference though - the sky is brilliant blue and the sun is shining. Wednesday is now our beach day so let's hope that the clouds stay away until at least 6pm.

Prize for the breast photograph

Bigastro Town Council are trying to promote breast feeding by offering a prize of 200€ for a photograph that promotes " Maternal Lactancia, Quality of Life of the municipality of Bigastro ".

I wonder if they are looking for a judge?

Red sky at night......

Yesterday we had this spectacular sunset. I'll let you know if the rhyme we learnt as children is true.

Speaking of seeing red.... There was a meeting last night at the Pedrera called by the Villas Andrea Residents' Association. It appears there have been more shenanigans with someone sending the Chairman an anonymous letter. One of the committee members read the letter out and it seemed to us that there were some very good points raised in it. Those got lost though when the Chairman made a statement saying he had had enough. We weren't quite sure whether that meant he was resigning. It didn't matter though because a huge wave of sympathy swept over the meeting and he ended up being convinced to carry on. All very dramatic and a total waste of our time.

By the time we had walked back and chatted to several people on the way it was past 9pm and we hadn't eaten. We are told that Spanish people don't eat their evening meal until 10pm or later. I just don't know how they survive - we were darned hungry.

Great for parties

John Reed arrived today with our candles and floating solar lights so we are all set to amaze our daughters when they come out in just less than three weeks time.

For those of you who don't live in Bigastro (which I guess is most of you!) the candles are available from Fun Products but don't expect to get them at John's prices.

Why does my head hurt?

San Isidro must have been a really good guy because he brought us perfect weather yesterday to celebrate him. The procession of people accompanying San Isidro left the church at about 10:30am and worked its way through the town and up to the Pedrera. There were several watering stops on the way and of course the procession was accompanied by fireworks.




Once San Isidro was safely installed in the hermitage, the party began and lasted until he was carried back down to the town at about 7:00pm. On the way back the procession stopped at the top of the town where everyone watched a fallas being burnt and ate lettuce with potatoes.



We followed the procession down into town and then called in at Miguel's bar where we had tapas and drank until 12:30am. The bill for all of us at Miguel's was 23€.

This is Spain Exhibition

This weekend at Los Montesinos we have the expats exhibition of home, garden and lifestyle products. There is eveything from lights for the garden to powerboats on display in three large marquees. In fact this year the exhibition has spilled outside onto the adjoining street.

Pam and I went yesterday and spent a good few hours meeting people, chatting to the exhibitors and picking up information about a whole range of useful items. For example there was a company selling protectors for your car tyres. Not an item that you would need in England but here in Spain the sun can perish the walls of tyres long before the treads are worn out.

There was also a device called the "Mosquitoeater". Rather than just deter the little biters with sprays and citronella candles, you destroy the females which then disrupts the breeding cycle. Having already been bitten this year we were quite interested in that but not at the price they were charging!

What we did buy were three floating lights for the pool and some amazing candles from a guy called John Reed who looks after quite a few pools on our estate. The candles look like any ordinary candle you would put on a table outside at night. When you light them though there is an LED in the bottom which glows up in a sequence of seven colours. Most unusual and very attractive. You can contact John at snowdrop@wanadoo.es.

We also met Andy from Zbeds in Guadamar where we bought our main bed from. Andy came from Bromborough on the Wirral so we had got to know him well when we bought the bed. From one shop in 2004, Andy now has three shops. Good luck to him, he is a nice bloke who gives good service and so deserves all the success he gets.

Perhaps even more spectacular

Last night at the corrida de toros it was the turn of the caballeros or horsemen to fight the bulls. All three of the caballeros showed why in Spain bullfighting is regarded as an art. The skill of these men on horseback had to be seen to be believed.

Out of the six competiions there were four ovations and three ears awarded. Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza was awarded the ears of both the bulls he fought and was carried out through the Puerta Grande to an appreciative crowd.



As you can see, the Plaza de Toros is obviously the place to be for the beautiful and rich of Madrid

It's getting hot in here

According to our weather reports parts of Spain reached 40 degrees on Wednesday. Now that is hot. Our thermometer was just over 30 yesterday and it felt really hot then. We walked down to the market and had a very sweaty walk back up the hill. Our Spanish class in the afternoon was cancelled so we lounged in the pool and under the sunshade. By teatime it had clouded over but was still very warm.

Even the wasps were trying to get in the pool yesterday. The clever ones keep their wings up and fly off. The dozy ones get stuck and have to be fished out with the net. There must have been at least a dozen caught in the pool yesterday and they all have to be removed before Pam sets foot in the water.

It's funny how you can read weather reports online and get such conflicting stories. The BBC say it is going to rain in Torrevieja today but the Spanish satellite TV station Meteo says it will be cloudy to start with getting clearer. Looking out the window it is very cloudy so I hope Meteo is right. More important though we need it to be clear but not too hot for Romeria San Isidro tomorrow.

You can access Meteo online at Meteo Sam and see what the weather is like in Europe. Although you can get the menus in English, he only speaks Spanish. Not a problem though because the visuals tell the story anyway and he is fun to watch. Try him!

Saturday taken care of

San Isidro is the patron saint of Madrid hence the Feria which runs throughout May there and the nightly bullfights at la Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.

He is also the patron saint of farmers and so lots of towns in Spain, including Bigastro, have a special day to celebrate him. This year's Romeria de San Isidro is on Saturday.

The statue of San Isidro will be brought from the church and carried through Bigastro all the way up to the Pedrera where there is a chapel specially built to house him. As you can see he will be accompanied by "pilgrims" en route.

Once he is installed in the chapel, we will all enjoy an afternoon of free wine, beer and paella punctuated by the odd firework.

More football

I can't believe this is the third post in less than a week about a game I don't really like. Still when your neighbour is a passionate Arsenal fan and they are playing Barcelona in an important match then it is hard to ignore.

We watched the game and did feel sorry for Arsenal. Tierry Henry nearly made it Arsenal's night on a couple of occasions. Ronaldinho on the other hand looked disappointing. Still on the night Barcelona took the silverware.

Even if we hadn't watched the match we would have known who won by the sound of fireworks set off in celebration around Bigastro. I might have to apply a little TLC when my neighbour appears this morning.

Anyway enough of the beautiful game. Well at least until the World Cup when maybe I will mention it again.

A hard life

We went to Eroski yesterday and Pam bought a coolbox so we decided to go to the beach today to try it out. On the way there we bought a couple of chairs to sit on because we are a bit past lying on the sand.

Guadamar beach is so lovely especially at the Campamor end where it is backed by dunes. There is so much space especially at this time of the year. Added to which I think you get a better tan by the sea than you do in the garden.

So we had a wonderful day out. Oh yes and did it beat working in school? I think we all know the answer to that one.

More cup winners

On Saturday the 13th the girls from Bigastro beat the girls from Torrevieja in the final of the "Torneo de Fútbol Femenino de la Vega Baja" at Dolores. The score was a very convincing 3-1 for the stars of Bigastro C.F.

I can confidently say that, unlike Liverpool, they didn't block any roads or cause any chaos during their celebrations.

Noise and peace

It looks like Bigastro is to be invaded by motorbikes on the 11th June. The riders will take a route from Murcia to Petrer passing through different towns on the way including Bigastro. The idea is to spread the message that life is better without drugs.

The ride will see the culmination of a week’s activities in Bigastro aimed at preventing drug dependency amongst the young.

From what I can understand they are expecting up to 7,000 bikes. That will wake the place up a bit!!






On Sunday 21st May there is a free trip to the Chicamo River. Hopefully there will be more water in it than there is in the Segura.

A lazy day

Apart from a few little jobs and a cycle ride, yesterday was spent just lying in the sun and dipping in the pool. When I say lying I really mean sleeping. The weather was just gorgeous - blue skies all day and warm sunshine. Not so hot that you could feel it burning the skin - just that comfortable warmth that sends you to sleep. So why chase around getting all hot and sweaty? I meant to clean the car and the paving but then there is always manana.

We think our new neighbours came around to see their house last night. The lights were on outside so we knew there were visitors there. Pamela, who went up on the roof to observe, said there were two young children but she didn't see the parents. It would be nice to have a Spanish family actually living next door as long as they don't make so much noise that we can't sleep outside in the sun.

Congratulations

To Liverpool FC who beat West Ham in the FA cup final. The many southerners on our our estate will be smarting at that one.

They'll just have to hope that Arsenal beat Barcelona in the Champions League.

Flamenco and more

Last night we went with our friends John and Jean to Rojales to watch a flamenco show. The lovely theatre there was packed with Brits, Spaniards and Germans. In fact they had turned 300 people away from the all ticket show.

The costumes and the dancing were brilliant. We quickly understood why this troup were so popular. Mostly girls but they did have two young boys of about 12/13 who were amazing and will be excellent by the time they are in their 20s.

As a bonus, a local school of jazz dancing put on a short performance to finish the show off. They were equally good and demonstrated just what talent there is in the area.

The next performance will be in November. We must make sure we book early for that.

European Day

Torrevieja has over 140 nationalities living within its boundaries, not all of them European, of course. This year the civic celebrations for European Day were held in the main square in the town and there was an audience of several hundred present to watch the ceremony that began with some singing by the Nordic Gospel Singers.

When the Mayor appeared he raised the blue flag, with the golden stars representing the member states in the corner of the square. The Mayor then gave a short speech reflecting on the background to the EU and its relation to Torrevieja itself. This was followed by speeches from representatives of three of the 'foreign' communities residing in Torrevieja, the Belgians, the English and the Swedish. It was perhaps ironic that as the English representative gave his speech the weather that had been temperamental decided to go 'British' by starting to drizzle. That was not enough to dampen the occasion though, and a number of acts by folk groups from different countries such as Finland and Ireland followed.

I don't suppose they had a similar ceremony in Birkenhead or even Liverpool.