You Bring The Spoon. We'll Give You Solid Soup.

The excitement around town is so acute you can almost taste it. Small lorries are trundling down our street towards the Plaza Baja de la Despedía with strange wooden objects which will be made into stalls, a stage and an open air kitchen to serve more than seven  thousand portions of absolutely free Sopas Perotas to hot and hungry aficionados of this splendid town's signature dish. (Free Aloranean olives will be on offer too.)
Yes It's coming up to El Día de las Sopas Perotas. (You bring the spoon we'll provide the Sopa).

Here's our ever popular Alcalde José Sánchez (no relation) announcing the day.

The chap in the Guy Fawkes mask is a visiting chef.


It's not often that the rest of Alora's population get's an excuse to come down to the Plaza Baja, the centre of the town's 'Casco HIstorico' (Historic District). Indeed, many Perotes (people from Álora) don't even know it's there, even though it's only a short walk from The Plaza de La Fuente Arriba and the Ayuntamiento (town hall).  I am told that several concejales (councillors) of long standing have only ever been down to The Bottom Square, as it is affectionally known, to watch the 'Despedia' performance on Viernes Santo (Good Friday), to get married or to buy illicit substances.
A big clean up operation (literally) is in progress ready for the Big Day (Saturday) although I have not seen the two new 'Limpiarettes' recently. These two ladies of a certain age were to be seen, always together,  wearing their official Hi-Viz chalecos, and pretending to clean the streets around the town. The regular chap has been on holiday for a month. You'd bump into them unexpectedly sometimes  as you rounded a corner, sitting on a doorstep having a ciggy and a chat. Their hearts were clearly not in the work. One of them would poke her brush at a cigarette end while the other would kick the rubbish bin a couple of feet further on down the calle. A couple of repeats and then a break, and so on. The Ayuntamiento's training programme is to blame. Too much emphasis on glamour.

                                                 Street Cleaning School, Álora
 A big piece of waste ground, just outside town has been cleared for the 'Park 'n Ride' service and a dangerous-looking electrical junction box has been attached to the rejas of our bedroom window to provide power for a  street food vendor. (Nobody asked our permission!!) We usually get the bloke selling straw baskets. No chance of a free snack, though, if the wicker man's refusal to even give us a discount on a log basket  for blocking our doorway is anything to go by.

I took a picture of the dodgy box this morning. It's got six cables coming from it already now and it's only Thursday. I think the bloke with the marijuana factory at number 46 is using it to power his horticultural lights.

Regular followers of this highly popular, but still humble organ will already know that Sopa Perota is not a soup at all. It's made from stale breadcrumbs, onions, water and potatoes and is therefore 'suitable for vegetarians', one of the few dishes that you can get round here that is. We are expecting coachloads of this hardy breed to arrive on Saturday to take advantage of the park and ride facility but I expect many will arrive on bicycles or on foot, bless 'em. (that's the rest of my readership gone).
You can get your free Sopa by queueing in the Plaza Baja for an hour in the searing heat or by staying up in the Plaza FuenteArriba  where some of the bars will be giving it away, too. You can get ice cold beer there,as well. My advice would be to get down early to the Plaza Baja where Manolo and his family will be dishing out Sopas and lots of other tasty food outside Bar El Mocho.

There will be live entertainment down in the Plaza Baja too. The main even is a performance at 3.00pm.by the very popular Flamenco-style group Los Compadres de Álora, starring my pal Joseli who looks after the castle.

                                                       Los Compadres de Álora
 
 That's enough name dropping and it's time for that ever popular feature,

'Pies From Around the World'

This week we feature The West Cork Pie Company (Proundly Handmade in Schull)

Our friends from Clonakilty (County Cork, Eire, population: 4721) who have just arrived for a stay in Álora and are well known to many readers  for their Clonakilty Black Puddings and Clonakilty White Puddings, turned up on Tuesday with a selection of these delicious pastry treats and invited Mrs. Sánchez and me and our friend Colin to try them out. Yummy Yum.
We had a Steak Pie, a Chicken and Leek Pie and a Pork Pie. All good.

You can get them in Drinagh Spar in Skibbereen and Murphy's Supervalu in Castletownbere.

Readers are welcome to send in pictures of their favourite pies, pasties and other pastry products. The usual commission on all sales resulting will be expected.
 
The Ayuntamiento in Teba ( a few kilometers and even fewer miles up the road) have asked me to point out that they will be having their own  annual Day of The Cheese on Saturday. They also have a Park and Ride Facility, and lots of cheese. It's a pity they mistakenly chose a date that clashes with the Great Guadalhorce Gastronomic event of the year. Good luck Teba!


Juanito Sánchez
September 29th. 2016
 

You Don't Miss Your Water Till The Well Runs Dry

You Don't Miss Your Water Till The Well Runs Dry

                                                      The Battle of Ilipa


In 14 BC. there was a big shake up in the  Roman Empire.

After Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major had bashed Hannibal at The Battle of Ilipa in the Second Tunic War (using the now famous  'Fabian Strategy'), the Iberian Peninsula was carved up into regions.  Romans then moved into southern Spain (Baetica) in a big way. 
What is now Andalucía became 'rich and utterly Romanised' because of all the wine and olive oil here. Not surprisingly thousands of 'middle class Romans' moved over here for the famous 'Mediterranean diet', the availablity of slaves to do the cleaning and look after the kids and for the very tasty 'garum' (fish sauce) which they could only get at branches of Julius Lewis and Vaitrosa in Gades (Cádiz) and  El Corte Inglés in Malaka (Málaga).

 Álora was in the part of Baetica which included Sevilla, Cádiz, and Córdoba and was rich in olives and grapes. Olive oil and wine from round here was shipped all over the Roman Empire in big jugs whch couldn't stand up, called amphoras.

                              An amphora from Málaga found in Essouria (Morocco).

These posh Romans built villas all over Álora with baths and swimming pools so it was handy for them that there were lots of springs around  and slaves to build the villas, grow the grapes and clean the pool. There's a bit of a villa still to be seen, just outside Álora, in the area called 'Canca'.

                                          Remains of the Roman Baths at Canca

When the Romans left, the Visigoths, who weren't known for their personal hygiene, knocked down all the baths but the fuente (spring) at Canca carried on flowing for the next 2,000 years.

But now it's stopped altogether. Lots of people went there for their drinking water, including us. This is a disaster!
 The ayuntimiento (town hall) is baffled. There have been public meetings and demonstrations and several visits to the Canca by concejales (councillors) and peritos (experts) to rub their chins and shake their heads.

José Sánchez (no relation) ('Epi' to his friends) and some peritos having a chin rubbing session up at the Fuente de Canca.

These last two weeks we've been buying bottled water by the 5 litres and have already accumulated piles of empty plastic bottles - not at all eco-friendly, and we've not been able to get out for two days because of the bottle mountain by the door.
 Now Mrs. Sánchez says we've got to have a water filtration system so that we can use tap water to drink and to stop the 'cal' clogging up the washing machine, kettle, iron and water heater and it's better for Tommy too. (which sold me on the idea immediately).

                          Tommy's not too sure about  the water filtration system, though.


It's going to cost un ojo de la cara (an arm and a leg) too.

Better news from Alora.

We arrived back here two weeks ago, just in time for the annual Romería (pilgrimage) which is always a lot of fun. Not surprisingly it involves a virgin on a throne with a baby Jesus. Unlike Semana Santa (Holy Week) which is run by ' Cofradias de Pasión' and everybody is sad, serious and gloomy, the Romería is run by one of the 'Cofradias de Gloria' and everyone is happy and cheerful. Our Patron Virgin is 'Nuestra Señora de Flores' (The Virgin of Flowers.) 

The Virgin of Flowers has been a feature of Álora life since the 15th. century, which is good going since Álora was a Muslim village until 1484. The image itself was made in the 16th. century and narrowly avoided getting destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, I'm told, by getting cut up into manageable pieces by devotees and being hidden in various houses on Calle La Parra.

A lot of eating and drinking is involved in the Romería, as you would expect and we all had a jolly good time up by the convent last Sunday.

 especially our much loved and now beardless alcalde José Sánchez (no relation) Moreno.

What a lucky chap! Indefatigable followers of this humblest of organs may spot the ubiquitous Desiré Cortes, looking, perhaps, just a little jealous, who does manage to photo bomb nearly all the official shots of our revered and hard working leader.

If all this wasn't enough fun for one pueblo, we now have two weeks of 'Japon en Álora' (Japan in Álora) which was kicked off last Friday in the Casa de Cultura  (Cultural Centre) by 'Epi' and Shinji Naganawa, an artist who has lived here for over 30 years and is one of Mrs. Sánchez's  and my favourite painters. During the two weeks we can see Japanese films, Japanese Flamenco and lots of paintings by Shinji.

In this photograph, which does not  feature Desiré Cortes this time , we have our long-standing Minister for Culture and the Environment, Sonia Ramos in Japanese costume. The other lady dressed  in a kimono is our good friend Lina. The highest of Shinji's paintings displayed here is almost exactly the same as the  one in our salón.

Good fun to come

Not long now until our annual Sopas Perotas Day. Whoopee!

October 1st.  ¡No te lo pierdas! (Don't miss it!)

Juanito Sánchez
19th. September 2016


 

Man not yet in Álora hunts for Billy. But where's the water gone?

Man in Álora Hunts for Billy. But Where's the Water Gone?
 

                       Where's the water gone, Marcellus? Oops. It's slipped out again.


Only two days to go before Los Sánchez abandon Brexit Britain and head for the sun soaked sierras of southern Spain, a little paler, a little poorer (£1.00=1.19€) but content in the knowledge that British people have now 'got control back'. Indeed, it's been a delight during the last couple of months to see the  happy, smiling faces of all the newly enfranchised and empowered islanders as they skip gaily down Kings Heath High Street to sign on or pop into Cash Converters to pawn the odd gold ring or mobile phone. Meanwhile Sir Philip Green smiles benignly from his new  £100 billion yacht somewhere in the Adriatic as he opens another  bottle of Krug and toasts all the unemployed staff and penniless pensioners of British Home Stores. It's nice to be in control.

I expect that by the time we come back  to 'post Brexit Britain' they will have built the wall between Northern and Southern Ireland, patched up Hadrian's Wall and the British fleet will be patrolling the beaches of the south coast 24/7.

 

                                            The British Fleet off Brighton Beach

Mrs.Sánchez and I have have just returned from an archaeological expedition in the far south west of Britain on The Isles of Scilly, a group of low lying islands and rocks populated by Scillonians and rare seabirds such as the Manx Shearwater and the mythical Puffin. For hundreds of years Scillonians, a hardy race, have survived by eating barnacles, wrecking ships( allegedly) and providing B&B for passing pirates.

These days the islands are very prosperous. The B&Bs have improved, there are several posh hotels and lots of shops selling expensive clothes, mugs with puffins on them, original paintings, pottery and Cornish pasties. I am told that during the peak holiday period over 10,000 pasties are sold every day, most of them imported frozen from the mainland. (for the lowdown on Cornish pasties the reader is referred to a previous blog 'Home is where the Pies Are' 7/4/2015.).

                                A busy shopping street in St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

                                                  The Hunt for Billy Idol 

A long long time ago all the Isles of Scilly were joined up and what remains today are the tops of the hills. If you are thinking of visiting Scilly, I should get a move on and book now because at the rate the oceans are rising there won't be anything to see at all in a few years. The people who lived here 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, well before pasties were invented, used to bury bodies or their ashes on the hills in graves called barrows or cists. There are hundreds of them on the Islands, so many that  if you don't keep to the paths you could very well fall into one or bump into one and get a nasty bruise. There are more of these graves on Scilly than in the whole of Cornwall.

                           Mrs. Sánchez after falling into 'Obadiah's Barrow' on 'The Gugh'
                                                    (a lucky escape)

These ancient people put up 'standing stones'(menhirs) here and there too. 

                                Two 'Bond Girls' and the Old Man of Gugh. (a menhir)

Nobody knows what they were for, but I was fascinated to read in 'The Fortunate Isles' by R.L. Bowley that there is an actual pagan statue on the island St. Martin's which is 'Britain's earliest known statue.' It was found on S. Martin's in 1989 by a holidaymaker looking for puffins and 'consists of a human face - nose, mouth, eyes and neck all faintly discernable'
Naturally, Mrs. S. and I were on the first available 'tripper boat' to St. Martin's, but not before asking the nice lady at the Isles of Scilly Museum . where the statue could be found.   She wasn't able to tell me, which was a bit surprising seeing that it's supposed to be the oldest statue in the whole of Great Britain!
She told me to ask 'Keith Lowe' who lives on St Martin's.

                                                                 St. Martin's
.
Off we went on the Seahorse (a boat) and after picking up a couple of 'locally made' pasties we went off in search of Keith Lowe. There are only 136 people living on St. Martin´s so finding him wasn't likely to be difficult, if he was in. I knocked on the first cottage door we came across and enquired after Keith Lowe.

'Good morning. I wonder if you could tell me where I might find Keith Lowe.'
'You don't want to buy a pasty?'
'Not today thankyou.I'm looking for Keith Lowe.'
'He's upstairs listening to the radio'.
 
Pause for uncomfortable silence.

'Do you want to speak to him?'
'Yes please. It's about the ancient statue'.
(5-10 minutes later there is a shuffling sound on the stairs.)
'Hello. Are you Keith Lowe? It's about the ancient statue'.
 He was a man of indeterminate age with long straggly hair and wearing two pairs of glasses. Obviously a local sage.
'Ah. Billy Idol'. What about her? We call her Billy Idol cos she's a pagan idol.'
'What a witty and inventive name!.' I ventured, 'Can you tell me were to find her, er, it?

Maps came out and Mr. Lowe, who appeared to have recently risen, described a route to 'Billy' involving paths, a day mark,a menhir, lots of heather and cliffs.

'It it easy to find?'
'Ah. That depends. Some times it's easy. Sometimes she just don't want to be found.'

Off we headed, into a freshening easterly ( a sign of bad weather to come in these parts.)

And we found her.

'Billy Idol'

 
It's not a very big statue. It's not in the guide books and the are no signs for it, but it's supposed to be the oldest statue in Great Britain. I wondered who had really  'discovered' it. Probably Keith Lowe. With a little imagination you can make out a neck. We weren't convinced.  Apparently someone pinched it a few years ago to fill a hole in a wall but now it is cemented firmly to the ground.
It turned out that we'd been trying to make out facial features on the wrong side. On the other side, facing the sea and with the sun at the right elevation it's just possible to make out a human face.

                                                        'Eyes without a face'

Disturbing news from Alora!

When in Álora we get our drinking water from La Fuente de la Canca.It's a natural spring which has flowed continuously for a least 2000 years when the Romans incorporated it into a villa. The water is a bit limey but it's free. Now, suddenly it's dried up. Not a drop from either of the pipes.

The Ayuntamiento, headed by the popular and now bearded José Sánchez Moreno (no relation) is on the case and big diggers have been brought in  to find out where the water is going. No success so far.

Where's the water gone?



The latest theory is that someone has dug a well nearby and diverted the stream. All they need to do is go up in a helicopter and look for a big green patch. There's been no rain for two months. East Peasy. I hope they get it sorted by the time we get there next week.

Juanito Sánchez September 3rd. 2016