Move Over Felicity….!

I never imagined when watching the cult TV show ‘The Good Life’ that one day we would be growing veg and keeping hens ourselves. Despite being warned by several friends not to get too attached to them I didn’t sleep well on their first night here.  I was acutely aware of sounds coming from outside in case a fox was hanging around and was up early to check that they were all still alive.  My worries were unfounded, they were fast asleep in their little house when we turned up with breakfast!

A local man called Brian built the chicken coop and came on Sunday morning with his son Grahame and the six 8-week old chicks.  When it was ready I put them all in the coop.  Brian then looked round at the veggie patch and said “they love a bit of cabbage”.  He strolled over and ripped a few leaves off Ken’s last huge cabbage (as I watched Ken’s face for a reaction), shredded it up and gave it to the hens who devoured it in no time. 

Bridie and Paddy eat a raw chicken diet. Bridie licking her lips at the prospect!

Now what Brian doesn’t know is Ken’s history with cabbage. Family members reading this will now be rolling around laughing but in case you don’t know the history click to read this blog ‘Memories of a Cabbage’ and you will understand the significance of Brian’s actions!  Ken managed to swallow his initial reaction but I could see the terror in his eyes as Brian walked towards his cabbage and the look of relief when he only took some outer leaves! Not sure Ken could cope with having the heart ripped out of another cabbage! I am sure this will give Brian a good laugh when he reads it.  Ken is now happily feeding his leftovers of cabbage, spinach and pumpkin to the hens.

Another mistake I am told is to name them, but we have anyway; three each.  Ken’s names are Bébhinn, Elisa and Mary.  My three are Felicity, Phoebe and Daphne.

We are looking forward to our first home laid poached egg but I think that will be a few months away. 

Any hen expert out there please leave me all your hen keeping tips as comments on the blog.

IX Certamen de Pintura al aire libre

No, this is not a town hall conscription for everyone in the village to take up their paint brushes and paint the town white!  It was the annual  Labour day painting competition in Colmenar, sponsored by the town hall for all promising artists to paint some scenic view of our pueblo blanco. 

Ken’s favourite

From strategic vantage points all around the village, the artists position themselves for the day to produce a winning masterpiece.  We, along with the other spectators wandered around the village looking at their progress and comparing their canvas with the actual view and behaving like art critics.  We also made a small wager with each other on the winning painting. 

Erika’s favourite

I was surprised to see how far people had travelled to paint and how serious they all were about winning.

A break and some tapas was followed by another tour of the village to see the progress of the artists and to see if our little wagers were looking more promising. 

In traditional village style the judging in the main square was scheduled for 6pm but never starts until after 7pm.  The presentation stage was full of village officials and each category winner went on stage with their painting to hold it up for loud applause from the spectators. In the end the judges decisions did not match our choices so we had no winner of the wager.

Picture painted by Pepe’s daughter

The picture to the right was painted by the 5 year daughter of Pepe from Axalingua Language school. 

Here is a link to more photos on the Ayuntamiento (town hall) website. 

 Click Here

 

 

El Alfilador

Last week at my Spanish class in Colmenar my teacher stopped suddenly in his tracks when he heard the musical callings of ‘El Afilador’. This simple tune was advertising the arrival of the knife sharpening man so we spent a few minutes discussing this and other street services which we remembered from our youth.  

The El Afilador arrived on his modern scooter which we were told was purchased recently to replace his old bicycle which he had for the last ten years. His mobile knife sharpening equipment on the back seat was primed for action. I told the class that when I was young, we had regular visits from the  ‘Rag ‘n’ Bone’ man on his horse and cart and I used to stop playing and run home shouting my mum so she could bring out our unwanted things.   He accepted old clothes for small gifts or money. You never needed to consider recycling or taking things to a charity shop in those days.

Later Ken, who is from Dublin, told me about the ‘Jam Jar’ man in Dublin who offered small goldfish for clothes (old and new).  He said their descendants are probably raking in a fortune as Government advisers to a cleaner environmentally friendly world, but maybe that is just a bit cynical!

Back to School – a blog post by Ken

When living in a new country, I guess there comes a time in every relationship when you realise that your partner is not your full-time official translator, especially when you end up informing all the customers in the local hardware shop that you are very pregnant instead of very embarrassed.  In my mitigation, I do tend to use a lot of English words and just add ‘o’ or ‘a’ on the end in the hope it will be right!  On my previous visit to the same hardware shop, I wanted some sacks so I asked for ‘sacos’ and it was the right word. On the most recent visit to buy chicken wire I was doing an impression of a chicken and shouted out  ‘soy muy embarazada’.  Readers, find out what this means in Google translate or SDL translate, suffice to say I was really embarrassed when Erika (after five minutes of roaring laughter) explained what I had really said.  

So, the decision was made, it was back to school for me, and Erika booked me on a one week intensive Spanish course in the Axalingua language academy in our local village, hoping and praying that the hardware shop incident did not reach their ears.  It’s amazing to have memory flashbacks on the first morning of Spanish school as Erika handed me the book, jotter, pencil/ pen and one Euro for the coffee break. My flashback brought me to my first day at school in Dublin, on the backseat of my mother’s bike as she smiled, then and every day since.

The full accessibility!

We have just had a great week with mother and daughter guests Anne and Ruth who returned for the second time to Casa Media Luna for a few days rest and relaxation, some days out and a few tango classes.  We hired a motability scooter for Anne, who has restricted mobility so that she could make the most of her stay and explore Malaga. We picked the scooter up the day before they arrived and took it to the airport to pick them up.  Ken had great fun driving it from the car to the arrivals hall at the airport! 

They went to Malaga for a day and were treated like royalty as the red carpet was rolled out especially for them (and afterwards for the Malaga film festival).  The staff in the Picasso museum were fantastic and they gave Ruth and Anne a special tour through the basement to see the old Roman walls.  It was also free entry into the Cathedral for Anne.

The following day they went to Torre del Mar where they enjoyed a long meander along the seafront and a leisurely lunch in a chiringuito.

Ruth managed to fit in two private tango classes with us, a visit to our Colmenar class and a night out at a milonga with Ken.  It was a fun packed few days, before they returned home refreshed.

Milonga en restaurante San Telmo, Malaga

Last night was the first milonga in restaurante San Telmo organised by Marta and Manuel.  San Telmo is a lovely Argentinean restaurant with a nice dance floor and great atmosphere.  We took some of our beginner’s class in Colmenar to the dance. Eleven of us in all and for some, their first ever milonga.  I think there were a few pre-milonga nerves but everyone got up for a dance and had a good time.

It was so good that Marta and Manuel have proposed a monthly dance with the next one on 19th May.

Fab!

Waxing Lyrical about Semana Santa

Easter or Holy Week (Semana Santa) in the region of Andalucía is a very special and unique event. All the streets in all the major cities of Andalucia are packed with thousands of people watching all the parades. The life-like wooden or plaster sculptures called ‘tronos’  are carried through the  streets by penitents dressed in long colorful robes with pointed hats. Leading each ‘trono’ is another group of penitents with pointed hats carrying large lighted candles.

During the parades the children approach these penitents with a short stick or a ball of paper and ask them to spill some hot wax onto the sticks or balls. It is a tradition where the children become very competitive with each other, all trying to build the largest wax ball.

This is a lovely tradition, except days later when the festival is over the streets are covered with solidified white and red wax. We only discovered this recently after driving into Malaga.  We turned down a street in the old town and started to worry when suddenly there was a screeching noise coming  from our car tyres.  After several discussions on the possible causes, on the home journey we noticed  the noise had stopped. Last night we drove to a milonga in Malaga again with some friends and as soon as we went down the same street the noise came back again.  We both felt slightly silly when our friends explained that the cause of the noise was the wax from the roads sticking to our tyres!

Adiós Colmenar – by guest blogger Sara El Hassani

March 31, 2012 by saraelhassani

Ken and Erika

It’s my last evening here with Ken and Erika in Colmenar, and time to write my final blog entry from Andalucia. As I write, I am looking out at the mountains while a lovely log fire burns brightly behind me.  The evening sun casts a rosy glow over the mountains causing them to glint and glisten in the evening light. Outside there is a strong smell of wood smoke in the air. This place is peaceful beyond description and worlds away from the hustle and bustle of home.

Erika, busy altering my vintage jumpsuit

Erika has kindly been altering a vintage cat suit that I bought in Malaga yesterday. It was a great surprise to find a second hand shop there, and an even better surprise to find an outfit so utterly suitable for tango!  We drove to Malaga by the old road which wended its way through the forests of the Montes de Malaga. The route was spectacularly beautiful, especially as we descended towards the sea and the old town.  

Sara and Erika

Malaga town itself is a lovely mix of old and new with almost as many churches as shops, and a brand new marina where the rich and famous hang out with their ‘super yachts’! There was also a sense of impending excitement in the air, as preparations were being made for Semana Santa (Holy Week).  From tomorrow, hundreds of men will carry very heavy, painted statues of the Virgin Mary, and process with entire communities up and down the narrow, hilly streets of every town and village in Spain, for the whole week leading up to Easter day.

Sardines en la playa

Knowing my love of local markets, Ken and Erika took me to Caleta de Velez today for the weekly Saturday market. The fruit and vegetables were beyond compare, and the smell of spices from the vast range of teas on offer was intoxicating. Erika and I both bought some green tea with mango to try, and it’s absolutely delicious! After the market, we went on to Torre del Mar where we ate a seafood lunch of freshly barbecued sardines, grilled calamares, piri piri prawns and a delicious mixed salad outside a beach bar, facing the Mediterranean.

Sara and Ken

I hear that some visitors come to stay and view Casa Media Luna as a retreat. I’m not at all surprised. I have so enjoyed wrapping myself up in the soft, white, fluffy robes provided, and sitting outside with my cup of tea  watching the mountains in the morning light, or curling up by the log fire in the evening. The promise of Argentinean tango just completes the magic!

Hola! (from Sara El Hassani, visiting Casa Media Luna)

 

March 29, 2012 by saraelhassani

Perfecto! I’m writing here from Casa Media Luna, in Andalucia. Ken has positioned me in the comfiest soft chair on the terrace, directly facing the soft, warm, pale lemon morning sun. I am enveloped in peace and stillness. I hear only some distant birdsong and the low, rumbling sounds of agricultural activity from neighbouring farms. I look across to see layers and layers of mountains in the hazy, creamy, golden light. (On a clear day, I would be able to see across to the Sierra Nevada mountains.)

Ken and his cabbage!

Ken has become a man of the land. On our journey from the airport, he talked with great joy and enthusiasm about all the vegetables he is now growing, including broccoli, butternut squash, beetroot, cabbage and tomatoes. (We enjoyed the most delicious home-grown broccoli and squash with our dinner yesterday evening.) He also pointed out the plum blossom trees, with their white and pink flowers in full bloom. When I expressed my delight and excitement at seeing the big, fat, bright yellow lemons hanging from the trees, Ken made a small detour to show me an orange grove lining a street in Colmenar village, with big, fat oranges growing (and falling) in abundance.

Erika is as ever, in her own inimitable way, magically pulling everything together to make everything work just right! Erika reminds me of the Quaker quote I love so much ‘walking over this earth with a smile’. I tasted her home-made almond milk this morning, natural and unsweetened and utterly delicious.

Tango in Bar Campesino

Although I was exhausted by my early start and turbulent plane journey yesterday, I felt sufficiently revived after an afternoon rest and a delicious meal, to go with Ken and Erika to their tango class in Colmenar village. What a lovely evening! For me, it was sheer joy to dance once again with my favourite teachers, and to experience the lovely, warm atmosphere and sense of real fun that they create between them, and which makes the whole experience so enjoyable. Most of the group were beginners, but they were keen, relaxed and responsive. After the class we all headed across the road to a little Spanish bar, where we danced until midnight.

Sara taking in the views from the Alcazaba of Málaga

The day before I flew out here, I was treated to a session of reiki at the Macmillan centre. My therapist listened to me speak a while and then said ‘It’s lovely that you’re going to Spain to stay with friends. Now I want you to visualise putting those feelings of sadness and your concerns into an envelope. Seal the envelope and put it on a shelf. Don’t take it with you. Just leave it on the shelf for later.’ This has to be the best place imaginable for leaving your worries behind, and for just being.

How green are my almonds?

Green almonds are a delicacy that is becoming more and more sought after by the top chefs in the world as a garnish to use in salads and soups, however they have been popular in the middle eastern kitchen for many years. 

Green almonds are basically an immature almond and are only available here in Andalucia for a brief period around April to the end of May.  After that the hulls start to harden into the shell and become inedible.  One of the other reasons, and perhaps the most important, green almonds are popular is their distinct taste. Within the green almond’s fuzzy soft hull lies a jelly like inside and a skin less, white almond with a gelatinous texture, similar to a firm grape. They have a subtle flavor that has been described as grassy, fruity, and even simply as “green.”

This year, spring came about 4 weeks early and this morning I decided to pick some of our green almonds on the way back from a walk with my dogs.  We have never tried one before but it is as described in books, it tasted very fresh and very green.  

So why wait until you can afford a top restaurant with a celebrity chef when you can come to Casa Media Luna and try them fresh straight from the tree or experience them at evening meal on our terrace from your own personal chef, while soaking up the spectacular panoramic mountain views and admiring our very own green valley!