002 torrevieja outlook april ok

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Clocks Spring forward 1 hour 30 March

Nยบ002 April 2014

Feria del May Books and Roses

Retreat to Basque Region Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

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This is the second edition of Torrevieja Outlook which brings us a late Easter and into Springtime.

Torrevieja is a holiday resort on the Costa Blanca, south of Alicante. As such it caters for visitors with a wide range of facilities including cultural and sporting events, fiestas and live music in many bars and restaurants. The airports at Alicante and Murcia are half an hour away. It has an enviable micro climate, a result of the sea and two inland salt lagoons. July and August temperatures are above 30ยบC and wintertime is normally mild with temperatures

around

12-20ยบC.

The

town

has

13

kilometres of sandy beaches and craggy coves.!

Within the harbour area there are three leisure marinas for yachts and small boats; fishing fleet and ancillary facilities; and a salt loading quay for the town's traditional industry, shipping salt to all corners of the earth. The town has around 200 plazas, parks and gardens, which forms a great attraction to Mediterranean flora and fauna, as well as a stopover point for many species of migrating birds. Notably are the two salt water lakes that take up a large part of the municipal area and have their own unique species of wildlife. One lake produces salt and the other at La Mata area is a protected natural parkland with facilities for birdwatching.!

Torrevieja has a rich cultural and fiesta programme throughout the whole year with activities recognized as of international acclaim. There is a musical conservatory that is the basis of many musical events for bands, chorale concerts, dance presentations, and theatrical groups. Of note this year is the 60th anniversary in July of

the

international

Habaneras

and

Polyphonic

competitions and concerts.!

The town has impressive sporting facilities and is attracting international sportsmen to use for training purposes and various sporting events and now local sportsmen and women are making their mark..!

The aim of this internet magazine is to promote the town and offer English speaking residents and visitors information about the history and activities in the area.!

!

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Mother's Day in UK is 30 March and in Spain is the first Sunday of May !

Some Mums are Rascals, and some RASCALS are Mums

Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

It takes someone really brave to be a mother, someone strong to raise a child and someone special to love someone more than herself. Any woman can be a mother but it takes someone special to be called "Mum". !

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SOME APRIL FIESTAS IN ALICANTE PROVINCE! Foto: Mark Tissington

Easter is a bit later this year and many fiestas are based on whenever Easter falls and may coincide with local celebrations this year and even run into early May processions. The season for Moors & Christian parades gets really underway this month, although there have been some Mig Any short winter celebrations. On Easter weekend 18/20 (Good Friday -Easter Sunday) an Artesan Fayre is held in Xàbia.!

The Monday following Easter Monday 28th is the feast of San Vicente Ferrer, known as the day of la mona. Some towns celebrate it before or after the day. A Romeria is held in Benidoleig: other fiestas are in Benejama, Biar, Guardamar del Segura, La Nucia, Torrevieja. Moors & Christians parades in Teulada and San Viicente d Raspeig hold wonderful parades over this weekend.!

On this weekend thousands of people take part in the Romeria of the Virgen del Rosario in Albatera.

This event dates back to the 16th century the group ending up at the sanctuary of Serralba at the foot of the mountains. Usually the town lays on a giant paella for the occasion after the mass. The Moors & Christian festivities in Busot are held for 4 days falling on the weekend after Easter Sunday.!

22 - 24th April! Moors & Christian Fiestas in honour of Saint George in Alcoy. !

22 - 25th April! Moors & Christian Fiestas of Banyares de Mariola.!

On the Second Thursday after Easter Sunday an enormous romería of la Santa Faz in Alicante which coincides with 1st May celebrations.!

On the 4th Sunday, from the previous Friday, 25th-27th the patronal fiestas of Benissa last for a week.!

23rd April - 1 May Benifallima hold Moors & Christians parades.!

27th April to 3 May Jávea celebrates the fiestas of Jesús Nazareno.!

Last Saturday of the month the Festa de Romer takes place in Xaló.!

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.!

For St. George and Alcoy !

by Dave Stewart!

The Valencian region is rich in many traditions and customs, often related to saints’ days. Dungeons and dragons are still favourite computerized games and film subjects and on 23rd April we have England’s mythical St. George fighting a dragon...or here it will be a Moorish one. Alcoy and Banyares de Mariola both have spectacular parades of Moors and Christians from 22nd to 24th or 25th. From 23rd Benifallima also have similar parades and at the end of the month, going into May, Onil takes up the fight. Alcoy has, undoubtedly, one of the oldest fiestas of this type and the costumes are a treat to see in all their variety and colour, with nonchalant Arabs strolling along belching smoke out form their cigars and blunderbusses. In Alcoy a dummy castle is the setting in the main plaza for the various speeches by the ambassadors and the restaurants round about are the kabilas or headquarters for the various files of warriors from both camps. The town’s narrow streets, full of bright bunting, lends itself to this type of medieval spectacular. For those without car there are both buses and trains that go into Alcoy.!

Several stories have been attached to Saint George, the best known of which is the Golden Legend. In it, a dragon lived in a lake near Silena, Libya. Whole armies had gone up against this fierce creature, and had gone down in painful defeat. The monster consumed two sheep each day; when mutton was scarce, lots were drawn in local villages, and maidens were substituted for sheep. Into this country came Saint George. Hearing the story on a day when a princess was to be eaten, he crossed himself, rode to battle against the serpent, and killed it with a single blow with his lance. George then held forth with a magnificent sermon, and converted the locals to Christianity. Given a large reward by the king, chivalrous George distributed it to the poor, then rode away into the golden sunset, much like John Wayne.!

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Alcoy - Bridging the Past!

by Andy Ormiston Alcoy is one of the most industrialized inland towns of Alicante province and the Costa Blanca,

and

presents an alternative to those who look for the beach and the sea.!

It is only 50 kilometres from Alicante city so it is possible to enjoy a shopping spree in Alicante combined with a trip to enjoy the exhilarating mountain breezes of Alcoy and the surrounding natural park of Font Roja. !

The town is situated on the confluence of three rivers which have been used to power several industrial processes such as textiles, paper, chemicals, metallurgy and agriculture. The arrival of the train was also an important impetus to the industrial revolution that hit Alcoy as it meant that heavy goods were freighted by rail to Valencia and Gandia. The Gandia line was actually the work of British companies who invested in the 19th century Spain and Alcoy’s products were shipped by the British from their own port in Gandia right up to the Civil War of 1936/39. !

Today Alcoy has over 60,000 inhabitants who make good use of the new roadway network to send goods by road and also makes it easier for tourists to visit the town which is only about 40 minutes drive from the coast. A Santiago Calatrava Valls designed fountain and underground social centre is a feature of the main plaza where the fiesta castle is erected.!

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Many ancient civilizations have

lived

at

this

confluence of rivers as the Romans came after the Iberians, then the Moors arrived

and

further

developed the irrigation and agriculture. In 1276 the Christian armies ruled the town after the Arab chieftain, Al-Azraq, was killed. It is a medieval town

but

with

few

remaining monuments as many buildings gave way to the thrust of industry in the 18th century. The city centre still has an old worldly ambience with its cobbled streets where the parades of the town’s main fiestas are held – the Three Kings Cabalgata in January and the Moors and Christians mock battles in April. Booming industry led to the construction of around forty bridges at different phases in the development of Alcoy. The rivers of Polop, Barxell and Molinar come together at Alcoy forming the River Serpis. !

Troops enjoying a meal in their Kabila headquarters Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

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Partly due to its industrial context, the citizens of Alcoy backed the socialist and labour movements at the time of the First Republic during which factories were turned into co-operatives. !

The town’s prosperity led to an extension of the original town with a modern area full of shops and restaurants.

Alcoy’s authorities are aware of the need to attract tourists and produce a wonderful cultural and fiesta programme throughout the year. !

San Jorge or St. George is a very popular figure in Spain with his battled against dragons that represent evil. He is patron of Alcoy and is predominant in the annual mock battles between Moors and Christians that are annually held the week prior to the saint’s feast day on 23rd April.

The legend has it that he

appeared in the sky in medieval times when the Christians were battling the Moors and this led to the Christian victory. Over 5,000 people take part in these magnificent parades with a variety of costumes using leather,

imitation

leopard

skins,

feathers

and

wonderful headgear including projecting tusks. Over 5,000 kilos of gunpowder are used in these fierce displays as battlefields are covered with the clouds of smoke, the smell of cordite and the loud sound of musical bands interspersed with explosions from the ancient harquebus. The rules are only one kilo of powder per person. 200,000 people turn up to see these spectacular fiestas when an imitation castle in put up in front of the town hall.!

An important aspect of these fiestas is the parley between the ambassadors of the two opposing armies using an 1838 text laying down the words of the ambassadors. The first documented reference of these parades is in 1672, but by 1741 the three-day event was a normal part of the town’s life. During the 18th century the firearms were introduced as well as a wooden castle. The actual marching of the Moors was introduced in 1907 and it was not until 1958 that the Christians held their own counter parade. !

At the start of the celebrations on the 21st April around 1,500 musicians participate in the Dia dels Musics with over twenty musical bands marching through the streets. On that evening around seven o’clock the Fiestas of the Pasadobles is held which in turn leads to the Nit de Olla when all the musicians and their families tuck into a traditional potage a dish similar to a stew. !

!

On the morning of the 22nd the troops make their entrance (Entrada) with 14 groups in

each opposing army. The third day is really noisy with the firing of the guns and the battle marked at the end of the day by the miraculous appearance of San Jorge on the castle battlements. !

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Medieval Market In keeping with the spirit of Alcoy a medieval market is held in early March. The town’s narrow streets are bedecked with bunting and flags with suitably clad stallholders, backed up by jesters and buffoons, magicians and street musicians. Here you will find scented soaps, herbs, ointments, and aromatic oils to cure all ailments. Then there are weavers manufacturing baskets, lace goods, potters potting about, bakers producing fresh bread from huge ovens, metalworkers producing copper products and other craftsmen offering a wide range of goods to purchase. !

However, the town centre is easy to stroll around and one can reach other parts of the town, including shopping areas, via one of the many bridges. Off the Plaza España is a pedestrian only square formerly a convent cloister which is ideal to sit at one of the many cafes and enjoy a drink.

Alcoy’s two theaters are widely used producing an excellent and varied cultural programme as well as doubling up as cinemas.!

Orihuela holds an excellent medieval market at the end of January and the central streets are an ideal location to add a suitable atmosphere. Torrevieja and Los Alcazares tends to hold a medieval market nearer Easter. !

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Shakespeare

A Reflection on Will Shakespeare and His Times by Pat Hynd

The 23rd April is the

anniversary of both Will

Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes deaths in 1616, and in Spain is known as The Day of the Book when a custom is for a woman to give a man a book and he gives her a flower…at least! At the time of their deaths Shakespeare was rewriting in English a play of Cervantes. Many towns will hold a Book Fair at this time, especially in Alicante and Barcelona. !

Cervantes

William Shakespeare is an interesting character from an historic view. Although we may tend to view his plays as school text books, in fact often his plays are reflections of events of his times and really there needs to be more done in researching what was going on in England and Europe during his life as a background to his plays.

Some of his characters were taken from people of his

times and remarks by some of his actors reflect opinions current then. The drunken porter in Macbeth for example says, "Faith, here's an equivocator, that could swear in both scales; who committed treason enough for God's sake, yet could not equivocate to Heaven."

Equivocator was a word referring to a

ploy used by Father Henry Garnet, head of the Jesuits in England, at his trial for his supposed involvement in 1606 for treason after the Gunpowder Plot. Some Catholic literary experts put forth strong claims that Will was a Catholic. Also in the same play, set in eleventh century Scotland, Lady Macbeth waits for the night to fall, !

"That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,!

Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark!

To cry, 'Hold, hold'".!

Here she is echoing the voice of the crowd who witnessed the hanging of Father Garnet and his agony, rushing forward to grab his legs adding their weight to his so that his agony was shorter, all crying out, "Hold, hold.". The plot of Macbeth was inspired by the Gunpowder Plot and the first performance was one year later. For audiences in the reign of King James I (or VI), the idea of the "weyward sisters" would have brought to mind witches, of whom the king was terrified, and Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

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at the time some Danish and Scottish witches covens were accused of summoning satanic storms to wreck the ship carrying the King's promised wife, Anne of Denmark in 1589. The king was interested in religion and wrote and published a treatise in 1603 denouncing sorcery, "Daemonologie". Macbeth's storyline of "dire combustion and confused events" is an obvious reference to the gun power plot. !

Shakespeare's work had to be passed before a censor, the Master of the Revels, who would decide if they were suitable for the general public, sometimes cutting whole tracks out, as happened in a scene about Sir Thomas More, referring to the apprentices' riot at St. Paul's in 1517 complaining against immigrant workers: just like the poor, xenophobia is with us always. The censor instructed the author to completely leave out the insurrection and it's cause. !

Give A Book or a Rose

Henry Garnet's Death

! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

In keeping with the death date of both these wonderful literary giants, Spain tends to hold this date of 23rd April as a Day of the Book. Particularly in Barcelona the Rambla is busy with people buying books and roses. The custom is for the male to buy his lady a rose and she, in turn, gives him a book. I'm never sure if the real intention is just to keep his mind occupied.!

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Retreat in Basque Region!

by Andy Ormiston

Our cover photo is a mural on a cemetery wall in the Basque country showing a Resurrected Christ. Torrevieja has many Christian churches of varying faiths and beliefs, but with one thing in common – they see Jesus as the Saviour. This article is dedicated to the principle of ecumenism on the basis of the teaching, founded on prayer and faith, of Jesus, when he knew that his disciples would be divided once he had died, “that they may all be one, as I am one in the Father and he with me.” The present Pope Francis has made it plain that he wants to see Christians praying that the wounds of the universal body of Christ be healed and he has made several contacts with various religion leaders with the intention of debate and finding common ground.!

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A few years ago I attended an unique retreat experience in the birthplace of St. Ignatius of Loyola, in a beautiful landscape of green hills and woods, fields dotted by typical Basque houses, one of which is a museum next to the Loyola sanctuary. Ignatius was a wounded soldier who realised he was wasting his life as a soldier and, like St. Paul, saw Jesus as his way forward and went on to found a new religious order and write his famous Spiritual Exercises. Last month Pope Francis made his annual eight day retreat, although as a Jesuit already has completed two 30-day retreats in his life as well as many week long ones.!

Saint Ignatius of Loyola was a born-again Christian after his injuries during a battle at Pamplona and he went on to draw up a series of spiritual guidelines of what are known as Spiritual Exercises, designed for thirty-three days of silent prayer and contemplation, but which are often condensed into eight days or even weekend “retreats”. The idea being that a person can “retreat” or retire from the world’s cares for a breathing space to concentrate on his or her personal relationship with God. These exercises have been conducted for over four hundred years with dramatic success, and even businessmen find them useful to concentrate their mind on what is really important. One of the principal aims is to try to find out just "what am I doing here?", then make decisions to improve and move in whatever direction appears to be the correct one.!

Today Ignatian Exercises are popular in the Scandinavian Lutheran Church and have seen a spectacular revival in the English speaking Christian world in a one-to-one system. This entails that each individual person undertaking the exercises has his or her own guide or companion

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who will help them understand their own path towards a closer relationship with Jesus, the Spirit and the Father, with hints on meditation techniques and texts. !

!

!

!

The

Pedro Arrupe Spirituality Centre became home and church to this very mixed group from Finland, Sweden, England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland,

Canada,

America,

Latvia, Lapland, Chile, Peru and myself from Spain - for eight days with English accepted as the common language. from

the

diverse

They came Christian

backgrounds of Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, and Scottish Episcopalian. !

Silence in prayer is often taken to be that of the monks in the desert, but busy preachers such as John Wesley spent an hour of silence each day. Martin Luther stated “I am so busy at the moment that I have to spend an extra hour each day in prayer.” For eight days each person on the Loyola course assiduously kept an almost therapeutic silence as they contemplated God and felt an almost tangible Spirit move within themselves and among them. Each day they were free to do whatever they liked in a very loose programme, apart from one daily session with their Companion, who could be someone from another country or another faith. One lady went to San Sebastián for a day to walk on the beach as she had never seen the sea before and was duly inspired. It is easy to understand why mystics find themselves in deserts and on mountain tops.

It is a time of graceful peace, a realization of the Spirit that lives and moves within us. At the end of the week I could see that a few had had a complete inner renewal, they had experienced something or Someone that had altered their perspectives of life.!

Every day in the house chapel there was a service or Mass of each of the religions presented and the striking feature is not the differences, but how much in common each religion has to share.

The only reading used was the Bible and each day the optional daily Eucharist was organised by the experienced ecumenical team offering each individual an idea of the similarities, rather than the differences.!

The Basque area is full of mountains, woods and rivers and really beautiful. For some the closeness of the surrounding beauty of Creation was an inspiration. Others found fruit in the Bible, some in the imagery surrounding the area. The sanctuary is a huge basilica which encloses the original mansion of the Loyola family. The basilica was built by the Austrian wife of Felipe IV and then presented to the Jesuits. Over the years it has been altered and some bits used to decorate the large grounds, such as the twisted pillars in Bernini style. One of the unscheduled Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

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highlights for me was in the room where Ignatius had been recuperating, converted into a small chapel. In trooped a large group of young and old Japanese tourists with a priest and

!

they celebrated Mass in

For information regarding Shrine of Loyola, to announce one’s visit, or reserve the Chapel of the Conversion or the Basilica for group Masses, the address is: !

Japanese

with

great

attention and respect. I thought Francis

how

pleased

X a v i e r,

a

companion of Ignatius, would be as his ambition and intention was to convert the Japanese and here centuries later was the fruits of his work.!

Such a diverse group of us included priests (men and women), nuns, lay people – single, married, divorced, retired – who despite of, or because of, the silence soon settled down to a community spirit often marked by humour. The common goal of seeking God within us, in others and all around, helped this idea of community.

At the end all the participants evaluated this shared ecumenical involvement as a valuable spiritual one at a personal and communitarian level. Most agreed that repeating the Ignatian Exercises and sharing a common spirituality, would be a great experience. For me it was a spiritual, emotional and psychological

!

Santuario de Loyola.20730 Azpeitia (Guipúzcoa) SPAIN !

Tel.: 0034 943 025 000.Fax: 0034 943 025 031 ! http:// www.santuariodeloyola.org!

E-mail: santutegia@sjloyola.org!

Some web sites relating to retreats are:-!

preparation for the couple of years of near death and ill health and

www.sacredspace.ie!

the immobility that followed, which provided other lessons of life.!

www.pray-as-you-go.org! www.ndweb.org (French site)! www.retreats.org.uk! www.spiritualitycentre.org! www.foreningenkompass.se (Swedish site)! www.inigonet.org! bookshop@spiritualitycentre.org

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! !

ANGLICAN CHAPLAINCY OF ST PETER AND ST PAUL - TORREVIEJA! CHAPLAINCY SERVICES - LENT & EASTERTIDE - 2014!

Sun 30 Mar - Mothering Sunday!

Church Centre’s normal Service times!

Sun 6 Apr - Passion Sunday!

Church Centre’s normal Service times!

Sun 13 Apr - Palm Sunday!

Church Centre’s normal Service times!

Wed 16 Apr - Holy Wednesday!

1130

MU traditional ‘Stations of the Cross’ - Rojales!

(Lunch at D’Antonios on completion)!

Thu 17 Apr - Maundy Thursday!

1100 Chaplaincy Chrism Eucharist Service Resucitado (Centro Ecumenico) (La Zenia)!

1900

Holy Communion

Cristo

Lago Jardin!

Fri 18 Apr - Good Friday!

1030 ‘Stations of the Cross’ (Inter Denominational) Cristo Resucitado (Centro Ecumenico) (La Zenia)!

1400

‘Watch at the Cross’

Los Balcones!

Sat 19 Apr - Easter Eve - Holy Saturday!

1800

Easter Fire and Holy Communion

Lago Jardin!

2000

Easter Eve Vigil and Holy Communion La Siesta!

Sun 20 Apr - Easter Day!

Church Centre’s normal Service times!

More information on the workings of the Chaplaincy and the location of the various Church Centres can be found on their web-site -- http://c-of-e-torrevieja.com/! and more especially ‘What’s on’? within the Notices section:! http://c-of-e-torrevieja.com/notices.php!

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Bookshelf !

by Pat Hynd

! !

!

Spies and Seamstresses

by Pat Hynd!

This month I would like to draw together two related books by two different authoresses, both connected with Spain, Britain and set during the Second World War and both about two heroic women. The Seamstress is a novel and the other is an autobiography.!

"The Seamstress" aka "The Time In Between" by Maria Duenas!

Many people will have seen this blockbuster as an award winning Spanish produced television series "El Tiempo Entre Costuras" starring the enticing Sira Quiroga and the dashing Englishman Marcus Logan. The actor Peter Vives is an interesting man of his times as he is one of this generation being brought up bilingual with parents of different nationalities. The series faithfully follows the exciting, racy and extremely well written love/spy story by MarĂ­a DueĂąas. !

The storyline starts with a young illegitimate Spanish girl who lives with her mother in Madrid and is taught how to be a seamstress. Her first love dotes on her, but she falls for another exciting man who enthralls her in a passionate affair. But the Spanish civil war is looming and her natural father, a high up politician, decides to meet his daughter and bestows part of her inheritance, making her very well off. Her lover offers Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

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to marry her and sweeps her off to Tetuรกn in North Africa that was under Spanish rule.

He uses her money and jewels, leaves her in the lurch expecting their baby and penniless, with a pile of debts that leads to her imprisonment, but thanks to a sympathetic police officer is put to work in an hostal to pay off her debts, and it here that she blossoms, not just as a seamstress, but fashion designer. Her work brings her into contact with British and German ladies, mostly wives of high ranking German and Nazi officers. !

Enter the British spy masters who use her to report on gossip from the Germans which proves to be beneficial. Here she meets up with Rosalind Fox, born in British governed India, but estranged from her husband. They become really good friends and our seamstress is introduced to a young English reporter and so another love affair evolves.

As the Spanish civil war draws to a close and the Second World War gets underway, her spy master asks her to return to Madrid to continue to work there, both as seamstress and spy. This takes her to neutral Portugal where her former British lover appears, as well as her friend Rosalind Fox. Love conflicts and near death escapes add to the suspense.!

Suffice to say it is a racy story, with brilliant characters, full of drama and narrow escapes from death..and she meets up again with her English lover. It would be fair to say that both the book and the series are riveting and will appeal to both, or nowadays, all sexes. !

The connection between the two books is that Rosalind Fox was a real person who helped the British secret services and also wrote a book about her life.!

Peter Vive as British journalist/spy Marcus Logan and Adriana Ugarte as the seamstress Siri Quiroga

!

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Seducer, Spy, Spanglophile. !

April, 2014

By Pat Hynd!

"The Grass and The Asphalt"

by Rosalind Fox!

!

According to declassified documents, MI6 (with agreement from Churchill) paid out around $200m (in today's values) to Spanish officials in an attempt to keep Spain out of WW2. Sir Samuel Hoare, Britain's ambassador in Madrid, warned London that unless it was paid, there was a real and immediate danger of Spain abandoning its neutrality and of Franco joining forces with Nazi Germany.!

One claim is that this money was merely a loan from Britain to clear the debt Spain had with Italy for assistance during the Civil War. It seems likely that D. Juan Luis Beigbeder was instrumental in this financial deal, possibly influenced by his English lover. This dedicated Spanish soldier was Minister of Exterior Affairs who lived with Rosalind Powell Fox. They had met in Berlín during the 1936 Olympics and she went with him to Tetuán where he was High Commisioner to Morocco at that time. !

Another fascinating 20th century woman, Rosalind was born in Calcutta when it was part of the British Empire; she married when only 16 years of age. She had a boy, Johnny, but she contracted bovine tuberculosis. Her husband didn't want to know as he was committed to his business, so she went to England on a monthly pension, then decided to go to Switzerland for treatment, taking Johnny with her. After several months she asked the doctor about her chances of being cured. She was told that if she was careful and stayed in bed she would probably have six to eight years of life. She showed her mettle by deciding to enjoy what remaining years she had...and lived to 96, dying in the home she had built at Guadarranque in 1950 with Beigbeder, who was by now out of favour with Franco.!

From Switzerland she explored the warmer climes of Portugal and Spain before going to the Berlín Olympics where she met and mixed with people like General Sanjurjo and Franco's personal envoy, Ramón Serrano Suñer, who was related to Franco through marriage and who went on to found the Spanish ONCE organisation for the blind, as well as the EFE press agency. But it was the handsome Colonel Juan Luis Beigbeder who bedded her and took her back to Morocco, a country both of them understood and loved.

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Actresses ADRIANA UGARTE (Sira Quiroga) and Hannah New (Rosalind Fox) play the two main parts in the tv series .

troops that were shipped to mainland Spain when the civil war broke out. After the civil war and during the initial stages of WW2 it looked as if Free France was going to invade Spanish Morocco and Rosalinda set off on an unofficial scouting mission in her Austin 7 and reported the troop movements to the Colonel, who in turn reported to Franco and, it is surmised, led to the money from Britain and Spain's neutrality. She is supposed to have persuaded Juan Luis by saying that Britain had never lost a war in a thousand years.!

Rosalinda was considered as a British spy by Franco and as a Spanish spy by the British, who refusing to let her enter Gibraltar. Although in her book, "The Grass and the Asphalt" she denies being a spy she insinuates that she was, and Churchill is supposed to have said that her contribution changed the direction of the war, which could or could not refer to Spain remaining neutral in WW2 and the payment of suborn money. She also knew Alan Hillgarth, former commander of the "Devonshire" in Madrid and she would have met the new ambassador of the British Embassy Sir Samuel Hoare as it seems Beigbeder influenced Franco to agree to his posting. We know that the Embassy had several Intelligence staff members and Hillgarth was likely one of them; he already had been involved in the Spanish civil war and is still a bit of a hero in the Balearics. What part Rosalinda had in this Intelligence gathering remains to be told, once more classified documents are released from Kew Records Office. !

Beigbeder fell out of favour with General Franco and was put under house arrest and moved to his new home with Rosalind in AndalucĂ­a, from where he could see his beloved Morroco, but he died shortly afterwards, which may be just as well as Franco had an oil and gas refinery built there blocking their lovely view.!

Rosalinda continued to live in the house, wrote her own story "The Grass and The Asphalt" but never seems to have been interfered by the Franco government and, as I said, lived to be 96.!

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of Spanish Recipes by Pat Hynd!

The globe artichoke is a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as a food and populat in Spain, being used raw when young and tender, or cooked. The edible portion of the plant consists of the flower buds before the flowers come into bloom. There seems to be a lot of wastage as the outer leaves have to be rejected and any sharp thorn like tips of leaves cut off. The top of the artichoke is sliced off but leave about an inch of the stem. Rinse the artichokes under cold water. They are excellent steamed or cooked in a pressure cooker or simmered in boiling water with garlic, bay leaf a slice of lemon. They can be eaten hot or cold and the young ones have a nutty flavor dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. Often they are used in paella recipes. The town of Almoradi has held annual gastronomy festivals based on this almost forgotten vegetable.!

Alcachofas or artichokes are common in the Murcia Region and are often served stuffed with ham, mushrooms and bacon in an onion and oil sauce. They are also served con Arróz (with rice) in a saffron-flavoured rice: or ! con Vinagreta in a vinaigrette dressing.!

Alcachofas con Tomate y Limón!

6 artichokes!

Juice of a lemon!

1 tsp flour!

Half a litre of cold water!

Salt!

Sauce:!

85gr butter!

1 finely chopped small onion!

1 tsp crushed garlic!

4 chopped rashers of lean bacon or smoked ham!

2 skinned, seeded and chopped large tomatoes!

2 Tbps chopped parsley!

Salt and fresh ground pepper!

Juice of 2 lemons plus!

The 6 cooked bottoms of the artichokes.!

!

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To prepare the artichokes: cut off the stalks and pull out the underneath leaves. Using a large knife, cut through the artichoke leaving only about an inch (25mm) at the bottom of the vegetable.!

While holding the artichoke upside down, peel carefully with a small knife, removing all the leaf and any green part, keeping the bottom as smooth as possible. If necessary you can always smooth with a peeling knife. Immediately rub in the lemon juice and keep it in lemon flavoured water to prevent discolouring. Use your thumb or a teaspoon to push out the furry choke in the centre. It should come out easily. If you have difficulty, don’t worry as it will come out easily after cooking. Discard it.!

Mix the flour and water together, and then add the salt and lemon juice. Pass through a strainer into a pan and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Add the artichokes and simmer gently until just tender for about 20 minutes. Strain.!

To prepare the sauce you need the artichoke bottoms to be cut into five or six triangles, by cutting each one in half and then each half into two or three. !

Melt the butter in a pan and add the onion, garlic and bacon, cooking gently for five minutes.!

Add the tomato and parsley, season and bring to the boil. Now mix in the lemon juice and add the artichoke bottom pieces. Heat gently, stirring. If the mixture is too tart add a little sugar. !

Serve with a tomato salad. !

Ali-oli is a garlic-flavoured type of mayonnaise sauce, served with bread at the beginning of a meal or is sometimes incorporated into a recipe. Most restaurants make their own, but you can find it in bottles in supermarkets.!

The early part of 2014 was disastrous for the almejas beds in the Atlantic board of Spain as flooding lead to the rivers overflowing resulting in the killing off of many traditional fishing grounds and it is reckoned it will take another year for them to recuperate. This of course means that they will be rare this year and the prices will rise. !

Almejas a la Marinera are cockles or clams cooked in a wine, garlic and breadcrumb sauce: served in rice with garlic and red peppers they become Almejas con Arróz; ! or the clams are Almejas en Salsa de Ajo come in a garlic and oil sauce. !

Almendras (almonds) and cherry trees have finished their beautiful blossoms, but the nuts are also often served up as a tapa, these are usually toasted salted almonds, and the saltier they are the more likely you are to have another drink!!

Amanida comes from Catalonia, being a chicory and celery salad with ham, onions, anchovies and sausage.!

Anchoas en Cazuela is a common Basque dish of fresh anchovies casseroled with onions and paprika.!

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Anguila is an eel that when baked with tomatoes, potatoes, garlic and almonds in the oven is known as Anguila al Horno: it is usually served garnished with lettuce.!

Angulas are fried baby eels in the Basque country and very expensive.

Ali Oli There are imitation anguilas preserved in tins you will find in supermarkets, that are processed fish squeezed through a machine with a dot put on for an eye: you will recognise these by their cheapness.!

Arenques en Adobe come from Galicia and are like soused herrings, often tinned. !

Arroz con costra/Arròs amb crosta!

Arroz con costra is a traditional recipe of the Vega Baja and every town lays claim to being the origin.

The recipe uses local ingredients and is a rice dish with a crusty egg top cooked in the oven which gives it its name Rice with a crust. Its a type of paella but with egg top.!

!

Angulas

!

Arroz con costra

Ingredients for 4-6 !

400 gr. rice!

Half a chopped up rabbit!

8 eggs!

I morcilla black pudding of rice!

1 tomato!

1 liter vegetable or chicken stock!

Olive oil!

Salt!

Pepper!

Saffron!

Parsley!

In a pan lightly fry the rabbit pieces, then put aside.!

Cut the chorizos and morcilla in small slices and fry in the oil and put aside.!

Grate the tomato and cook it gently in the pan and add in the rabbit and stock, then add the saffron. Cook for ten minutes then add the rice and cook for another fifteen minutes, finally adding the chorizo and morcilla !

Beat the eggs in a basin adding seasoning. Add the beaten eggs on top of the other ingredients, place in a preheated 180C oven for fifteen minutes, take from oven and decorate with parsley.

And serve, eat and enjoy.!

! ! !

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The Art Scene of Embroidery by Dave Stewart

Every year new additions and innovations are made to enhance the Semana Santa processions in every town in Spain. In 2011 the palio that hangs at front and back of the trono of Our Lady of Hope in Torrevieja was added, a work of embroidery that has taken two years of diligent and patient workmanship on the part of Francisco García Paredes’s workshop in Guardamar del Segura. Most of his work is related to the processions of Semana Santa with great attention to detail and hidden symbols sewn into each individual piece of workmanship.!

Francisco was inclined towards the art of embroidery since he was young and opened a workshop that continues to be successful, producing time-consuming works of art in lush cloth such as damask, velvet, and golden threads and brilliant stones. He held a remarkable exhibition of some of his work in the exhibition centre in the Paseo Vista Alegre including drawings, which he begins with when developing a new project, then the final production. Not all of the work uses expensive materials as some cofradias cannot afford gold thread all the time.!

He sits patiently at his board, his right hand out of sight underneath, as he patiently drags the needle and thread up and under, slowly the picture begins to emerge. His trade is one of several Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

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From initial drawings, patient sewing to this results that continue traditional artesan trades that are unique and rare. Another artesan is the work of the OrfebrerĂ­a, an office that relies on patience and skill using metals, especially silver and gold beating them into shape and their workmanship can be seen in some of the tronos or floats in the Holy Week processions.!

The Workshop is in calle Pintor Sorrola, Guardamar and he has a blog and webpage

www.bordadosparedes.com

where you can see other examples of the workmanship involved. !

!

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Now in its twelfth year the Bonsai seminars, held in Torrevieja around this date, is an attraction to aficionados of diminutive trees. It was held in the Virgen del Carmen Cultural Centre as the facilities have exhibition area, as well as areas for lectures and

Bonsai

demonstrations. This year the event took place over two days with various workshops, one held for children to instill in them knowledge

of this

Japanese art. Another demonstration was that o f

Raku,

making and designing cooking pots. Japanese Massage or Appaku was welcomed by many people. A conference about Japan: First Bridge between Europe and the Far East' was given by Mr. Ramon Vilaro, including a projection of a documentary about St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Spaniards to make contact with the Japanese and helped found the Christian church in the islands. Ending the first day was a concert - Quartz Bowls and a demonstration of the art of Ikebana.
 Cultivating bonsai trees is a very popular pastime and even King Juan has a collection.

The second day started off with a bonsai demonstration and an Origami workshop with further demonstrations for children and

massage

and

the

intricate

Japanese calligraphy. Bonsai fans held a market over the weekend.

Among those attending were the Consul

General

of

Japan,

Mr.

Fuchigami, welcomed by Torrevieja

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Mayor Eduardo Dolon and other members of the town council. . !

Alongside the bonsai exhibition was another one about weather in Torrevieja. Some lovely photographs dealt with cloud formations, rare snowfall, spectacular lightning, stunning sunsets - all using the town as the centre piece. This exhibition demonstrates the useful work of Torrevieja Project Mastral that have two small weather stations and give daily weather forecasts.

The members have accumulated a great photo library, some of them appearing on national television. As a side effect an annual calendar has been produced for the benefit of the local Alzheimer's Association.!

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More in Miniature

Now an annual event in its eleventh year, the Model Naval boat exhibition is a great attraction for families and it is open for a month from 15th March to 13th April in the 'Los Aljibes' Exhibition Centre in the Park of the Nations. This is a joint event organised by the Torrevieja Association of Naval Modalism and the Torrevieja Sea & Salt Museum with boats of all shapes and sizes from all over Spain from Roman galleys, Spanish galleons to modern aircraft carrier. At weekends enthusiasts can play with their boats in the lake.!

! !

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A fresh venture to raise awareness and seek fundraising for the plight of the Philippines' people is in hand. hand.!

Singer and songwriter Shani Ormiston has written a song especially about the disaster experienced by these poor people that asks for solidarity. Manuel Ortega has collaborated with Shani by producing this song.!

This project is being supported by the Costa Lions Club who have already raised 8,000 euros for the worldwide campaign of the International Lions Club who have affiliates in the islands lending aid and support.!

This new single by Shani is available on CDBaby and ITunes for only 99 cents and all the money raised will go towards the needs of the Philippines. She has produced a short video that can be seen on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5V1ZAPCRcY which shows scenes of the disaster that the media soon forgets.!

Another option is to participate by making a donation for a coded card that will let you download the song into your computer and mobile devices. This card can be obtained from any of Shani's concerts or from the Costa Lions.The Philippines disaster may be out of sight but not out of mind, and you can still help to "fill a heart with hope" from only 99 cents. !

!

This song 'Fill a Heart With Hope' is the first phase of a new solidarity project of Shani. This acclaimed singer has had four of her songs nominated in various categories in Hollywood's Music in Media awards and this year her song 'Once Upon a Time' has also received a nomination. !

More information about Shani can be found on her excellent website www.shaniormiston.com!

!

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! !

Feria del Mayo: 7th - 11th May 2014!

One of the most exotic fiestas on the Costa Blanca is the annual Torrevieja May Fair based on the famous one in Seville. This year dates are from 7th to 11th May 2014, but before this a mini-tent town is set up in the port area alongside the fairground. The tents are called casitas - little houses - and each is headquarters to an association that competes to win the prize of the best dressed casita. This fiesta brings the aroma of Andalucia with nightly shows and competitions of Sevilliana costumes, music, food and wine - especially sherry. Most casitas provide a small dance floor for impromptu dancing as typical music blares out. The horse and carriage parades and events are held on Saturday and Sunday. Next month we will give an up-to-date report.!

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Do単a Sinforosa Park

One of the few green areas alongside the sea in Torrevieja is the green emerald coloured jewel, the park of Do単a Sinforosa, which almost touches the Acequion canal. It is a green zone that citizens fought for, as it had been sold to a constructor to build luxury housing. A vociferous group of citizens rallied against this, with the result that the town hall bought it back again from the builder and turned it into a public park. Do単a Sinforosa owned a large house on this land, which during the Spanish civil war was used to accommodate refugees, mostly children, so a school was also set up.!

The park has numerous types of native Mediterranean trees and shrubs with several features.

One of these features is another piece of the town's history - the bandstand. The bandstand has always been a centrepiece of Torrevieja's culture, once in the main plaza in front of the town hall, another time in the paseo Vista Alegre, but now in this lovely peaceful park where it is still used for open-air concerts. But keep en eye open for free open-air concerts in this park in the summertime. There is a wall around the park, which is closed at night. Another feature is an aviary as well as white plumed doves softly cooing. There are also two fountains that attract children and the birds.!

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This beautiful park has plenty of benches and is only ten minutes walk from the main plaza in the town centre. It is just off Avenida Gregorio Maranon and across the road from another park at the former railway station.!

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Business !

Profile Its not every business or family that can boast a family crest but the Torregrossa family can. Thee family name origins are in Lleida, Cataluny, but there are many families in the Valencian Kingdom, especially Alicante Province whee at the time of the Reconquest the Torregrossa family were quite powerful and involved in the reclamation process in 1295, so much so, that the city carries the family escutcheon. Torregrosa means Large Tower.!

The Torregrosa family of Torrevieja is now in its fifth generation, a family that over the centuries built up various family concerns. In the early 19th century Francisco Torregrosa Sanchez appears in the municipal records selling oil and soap in calle San Policarpo then his son Francisco Torregrosa Ortega sold textile material in nearby calle San Pablo. !

At the turn of the 20th century the family also sold basic commodities of oil and flour. Antonio Torregrosa Tevar opened a very successful Bazaar bringing together articles of food and hardware. Petrol was sold in large cans to the fishing fleet and he also supplied them with fishing nets. Matches were in demand as cigarette lighters were still a luxury: I am sure many readers

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Javier Torregrosa upholding traditions

April, 2014

will remember smuggling lighters and watches though the Customs returning from holidays.

Bulk sugar was sold to local bakers, pastry cooks ice cream manufacturers (the Torres family still has an ice cream factory in town) and in 1956 an ironmonger and gift shop were opened. !

The fifth generation of the Torregrosa family had six sons who undertook various businesses as times changed in the 1970’s - proceeding into trades that attracted them such as pharmacy, furniture, and electrical equipment. In 2006 the family was awarded the annual Commercial Award for their endeavors in the local

commercial scene over these five generations.!

One of these is Francisco Javier Torrregrosa with an Electric-domestic shop situated under the family home which is still in an original building. He took charge of the business side of the ‘white goods’ in the 1970’s. The shop is part of the Euroexpert line, which means that special offers nationally can be offered in his shop. The range of goods encompasses every type of electrical goods, electronics, audio, computer based and photography even. Javier is a buff of photography and internet communications and has a huge library of photographs relating to various aspects of Torrevieja stretching over the years, including informative black and white scenes taken before colour became popular. !

Javier himself is a very pleasant family man who speaks different languages which is an advantage in a town that has so many foreigners residing. The staff also speak several languages between them and are always willing to help and assist in choosing whatever equipment is required. Hire purchases facilities are also offered using credit cards of Euroexpert that means goods can be paid in installments. The company also offer another credit card known as Fidelizacion or a fidelity card that offers bonuses to buy other goods from the company network.

Like all businesses in this financial crunch the Javier has had setbacks, but continues to offer the best expert service in its field.!

Javier is noted for his capacity to enter into the general social and cultural life of the town in various fiestas such as at Semana Santa, when one year he was distinguished by the title of the 'Capirote de Oro' given annually to someone who has been involved in promoting these particular fiestas.!

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Members of the float 'Jesus Praying in the Garden of Olives' maneuver round a corner, the band playing a tune written especially for them.!

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Photo by Javier Torregrosa!

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British residents of Pilar de la Horadada participate in Semana Santa processions and other local fiestas. Men or women of any nationality interested can contact !

Jim Herbert 659 883 516.

Foreigners Participate in Fiestas - so could you!

There are many aspects to living abroad and Spain has an advantage in that there is so much to do, especially where fiestas are concerned. In recent years the unique Holy Week processions that are traditional in most Spanish towns have become even more unique.!

Torrevieja led the way in 2004 when a group of over 100 foreign residents, mostly British, were invited to carry the 1,500 kilo “trono� or float of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. Along with several wives who dressed in the gold and green costumes, the men had their own uniform of green top and black trousers with a golden sash, matched by a pair of white gloves. The warm reception by the Spaniards lining the streets of the processions who applauded furiously, because they were delighted that so many foreigners were taking part in what are peculiarly Spanish fiestas. The men carry the trono, which was previously on wheels and trundled down the streets, on Monday and Friday of Holy Week and in the past years as some men drop out others have replaced them Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

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including many men of other nationalities, so if you are up to it then you would be made welcome as there are activities all year round. if interested contact David McLachlan 966 700 056.

A couple of years ago smaller groups of men, mostly British, also took part in similar processions in Hondon de Frailes, Sucina, wearing long black robes with a gold sash, and in 2009 another group in Pilar de la Horadada with the men in simple white shirts, black trousers and ties. Again in each of these small towns the local people took the men to their hearts pleased that these men were willing to carry the burden of a float and integrate into the local community. Women also participate as capirotes walking along with thee float of the guild.. !

There is no doubt that the solemnity and poise of the men has endeared them to the local Spaniards in each of the towns and the men themselves say what a wonderfully emotional experience carrying a float in these processions is individually and collectively as a true brotherhood. It is hoped that these ways of integrating in the Spanish way of life will continue to develop and encourage more people to participate in the many celebrations of the Spanish people.!

But foreign residents also contribute to the culture of the local community by bringing a taste of their own culture enriching the Spanish way of life. We have seen this with the Irish St. Patrick's Day parades, Norwegians with Independence Day, Russians and Ukrainians and their costumes and celebrations, South Americans via their local organization ASILA, Africans and North Africans. Nearly every nationality has an association that was founded to help their fellow nationals integrate more easily into the Spanish way of life.!

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There's lots of nice folks around

Torrevieja Rotary Club, in collaboration with Abaco, has raised funds to buy and provide breakfast for 150 schoolchildren who would otherwise go without breakfast. It is a sad reflection of our times that we have so much poverty and allied hunger around us, and not just here but throughout the world, including UK where there are now several agencies providing free breakfast and meals for schoolchildren. The photo shows the 4,000 rolls and 4,000 milk shakes that will help the kids.!

The Rotarians also provided funds and arranged the attractions for the opening of a children's play park in the Park of the Nations. The setup includes attention to those children with limited mobility, so that most of the equipment will be accessible to them as well. It was officially opened on 15th March.!

Last year The Stagestruck Drama Group ended a three night run on Saturday, at the Beluga Theatre in San Fulgencio and donated the proceedings to AFA Torrevieja.!

The photo shows Stella ( the author, director, producer and general factotem of the company,) handing Matilde Sanchez, President of AFA Torrevieja, the cheque for 1200 Euros, proceeds from the ticket sales and an additional bonus of 212 Euros being the proceeds from the nights' raffle. !

This year the group have another production in San Fulgencio, "Ancient Grease" , with a matinee on 29th May at 4.30 and two other presentations on 30th and 31st at 20.00 only 6 euros a ticket.!

!

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The

Costa

Lions

help

local, national and international causes!

Lions Clubs throughout the world work continually in support of those most in need Nationally, Internationally and most importantly The Torrevieja Costa Lions Club help those in the local community of Torrevieja and surrounding towns on the Costa Blanca. The Lions pledged to donate 500.00 euros to help feed the homeless and most needy in Rojales. Following a meeting with Julio Dominguez at the town hall, it was decided that the most needed item required was milk, so the Lions agreed to purchase 500.00 euros worth of milk. In total the Lions donated 828 litres of milk, divided equally to provide full cream milk and semi skimmed milk. milk.!

Alpe Centre centre for disabled has always been an inspiration to many British associations who have supported the centre financially and in other ways for nearly 25 years. The Costa Lions have donated a whacking cheque of 5,000 euros to the centre to provide a multi-sensory area that stimulates the students and helps them with therapy, relaxation, education and recreation by assisting them to appreciate their surroundings and relate to others. The Torrevieja Mayor, Eduardo Dolon and councillor for Social Services Thomas Ballester, plus Rosario Martinez Chazarra Councillor for Foreigners, assisted at the presentation of the cheque to ALPE President Fina Fructuosa

by Lions President Jannete Bennett. The Lions in Torrevieja have also raised an astounding 8,000 euros for the Philippines Disaster Fund of the international organisation. The Costa Lions have donated over 3,000 euros of food and equipment in the past month to food banks in Torrevieja, Rojales and San Miguel as well as a much needed chest freezer for Reach Out. Another successful venture is the 1,500 used spectacles collected and donated to the recycling centre in Raspeig. !

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Alicante Santa Faz Pilgrimage by Dave Stewart

!

Personally I love legends and Spain is rife with them and this Alicante one combines pilgrims and the Spring festivals.

Pilgrimages are a popular way for the people to combine religious observance while at the same time having good fun, often dressing up in traditional costumes. There are many pilgrimages held which are unique to various parts of Spain. One of the most important in Alicante province is that of Santa Faz when over two hundred thousand people walk on the second Thursday after Easter from Alicante to San Juan and is a day when the city practically shuts down. !

The week prior to this day thousands of pilgrims visit the 15th century monastery where the holy relic is kept. The Santa Faz is a relic that is a linen sheet on which Christ’s face is seen, with a Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

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single tear falling from the right eye. On 17th March, 1489, the reliquary was being carried by a Franciscan priest, padre Vi l l a f r a n c a ,

in

the

direction of Los Angeles hermitage, when he felt it becoming

heavier

and

heavier, so much so, that he was borne to the ground. attracted who

His

cries

other

people

witnessed

the

teardrop. According to tradition this tear appeared a week later at a pilgrimage held on 25th March 1489, during a solemn rogatory for rain when there was a long drought. The crowd was so large that the Mass had to be celebrated outside the hermitage. Legend says that a caballero couldn’t believe his eyes and touched the teardrop that burst out anew; after this unexpected apparition the caballero wore a silver thimble over his finger until his dying day. The drought disappeared and the rains came down: this pilgrimage has been held ever since.!

Pilgrims briskly set out from Alicante for Santa Faz monastery with supplies and staffs that have bunches of romero tied to them, which gives pilgrimages the name of romerias, the original idea being that the herb overcame sweaty smells. Emergency services are on hand if necessary Tel: 112.

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Jerusalem legend link The Holy Visage (Santa Faz) is one of three linen sheets used to enfold Veronica’s veil, which she used to wipe the face of Jesus on the way to his death at Calvary. Veronica’s veil was left with the bloodied imprint of the face of Jesus. The legend is that the three images were sent to different places. The Alicante cloth was carried from Jerusalem to Cyprus, it was in the Saint Sofia bassilica of Constantinople for some time before finding its way to Rome where it was kept in a private chapel of the Popes. The linen image of Alicante arrived in Spain when it was given by a Roman cardinal to Father Pedro Mena while he was in Venice: he brought it to his native San Juan, under the impression that it was a painting. It was only when he unfolded it that he realized its significance and, at the behest of some parishioners, brought it out to be used in a procession. It is kept in the Monastery of Santa Faz in a beautiful alcove decorated with fine paintings by Juan Conchillos Falcó. !

The faithful gather from seven in the morning at the St. Nicholas co-cathedral where thousands of bamboo staffs decorated with a sprig of Romeria (romero) are handed out to help pilgrims on their way. As they walk the pilgrims talk among themselves discussing the world situation, politics, or football. It is not just a religious occasion, but also a social one. Police divert traffic from the Avenida de Denia, cutting the N332 road. The traditional food taken by the pilgrims is Torrevieja Outlook April 2004

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roscons de anis, la mistela and the famous cantahueso. Each year the organizing group, Mestres de Pa i Dolcos, have handed out some 1,500 kilos of rollitos and 1,500 litres of mistela as well as 15,000 ca単as of romero from the town hall. Apparently one year when there was a rainstorm, pilgrims took shelter in a building where they were assisted by the distriibution of mistela and rollitos of anis, hence the origin of this custom. On arrival at the monastery there is an open-air market and funfair and lots of food and drink.!

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April, 2014

Bread and water plus an orange is the annual menu at the start of Lent for 300 supporters of the charity Manos Unidas. This fund raising event is usually held in the Torrevieja Real Club Nautica acts as a reminder of what constitutes a meal for so many people on our planet as well as putting many people into the mood of fasting and abstinence that many keep in the Lent period.

Retiring President Maruja L贸pez Ramos

Marisol Cos becomes new president of Manos Unidas

The occasion was marked by the presentation of the new president of Manos Unidos local branch, Marisol Cos, who some may know as being in charge of Torrevieja Graficas, and the retiring of president Maruja L贸pez Ramos. Maruja (with mic) has headed the Torrevieja Manos Unidas for the past 20 years, a former handicrafts and religious studies teacher who has now retired from teaching as well. The annual meal is bread with oil, water and an orange. It is remarkable that so many of those who do volunteer social work are also busy people in other spheres of life. !

Manos Unidas or Hands United was formed in 1960 to support the founding of hospitals, colleges, clinics, orphanages, water wells, agricultural machinery, in fact anything that may help relieve the hunger in third world countries. For example the organization funds a night school in Potosi in Peru for children who work in the streets, and the local branch are raising 18,000 euros towards this project through bingo, street markets and collections in local churches. Each year a new project is undertaken with a fund raising target.!

Manos Unidas (Campa帽a Contra el Hambre).!

Address: Parroquia Inmaculada Torrevieja or Sagrada Coroazon, plaza Oriente. !

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aormi@icloud

April, 2014

History in Black and White !

Torrevieja going to the movies. !

By Andy Ormiston!

For Torrevejenses, going to the movies became a popular way to spend an evening since it's inception a hundred years ago. There is a new group just beginning of cinema fans just starting up so here is some background information about going to the movies in Torrevieja. In December 1907 the first film was shown in Torrevieja as part of the patronal fiestas. The round TeatroCirco Guerrero Mendoza became the centre of attraction, showing the silent films backed by music, sometimes supplied by a small orchestra and at other times pianist Manuel Capellín played. It was also served as a theatre and for concerts.

Once the Nuevo Cinema was built this circular building gradually fell into disuse, although it became known as the Teatro Viejo. The Nuevo Cinema was constructed in 1925 and inaugurated on the 6th December of that year projecting the film “Violetas Imperiales”. It could seat an audience of 1,176 and included the mandatory (1921) red lights to inhibit couples from holding hands in the dark. It was used by generations of Torrevejenses, not only for cinema productions, but also as a theatre that was home to many famous entertainers. Just after the end of the civil war fire broke out in the projection room during the showing of “La Espia de Castilla” and the people were bereft of this refuge from real life for three to four months. By law the majority of films had to be Spanish productions. !

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www.torreviejaoutlook.com

aormi@icloud

April, 2014

At the end of the civil war on the 8th May 1939 the Nationalist military officer in charge ordered that all relationship with the previous Republican “red” government should be deleted from the town – street signs, posters, street names etc. The main square was originally plaza Mayor then became plaza de la Republica and after the civil war renamed as the plaza of the Generalisimo, later changed to the plaza de la Constitución with the arrival of the democratic monarchy state. The plaza in front of the cinema was renamed the plaza de los Caidos, the plaza of the Fallen (Heroes) with a large Cross Monument set up later. This monument disappeared when the plaza was revamped and the plaza renamed Miguel Hernandez, after Orihuela's famous poet who was a late victim of the civil war. Originally this was the plaza de la Torre because the original tower was metres from here; then it became the plaza de Maria Cristina, changed to plaza de Victoria, then renamed plaza de Capdepon, next Los Caidos and now the poet Miguel Hernandez. The Nuevo Cinema finally ceased operations on 2nd June 1997 after an vital 61 years in the life of the Torrevejenses, to be replaced by the present Municipal Theatre. !

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”Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall” or “Welcome, Mr. Marshall” is a classic 1952/53 Spanish comedy film directed by Luis Garcia Berlanga in the time of Franco, which is a tongue in the cheek story of a small town putting on an impression of what the villagers of a small town thought would be attractive to the Americans, who were offering aid under the Marshall Plan. One of the stars of this satirical classic film was the singer/dancer/actress Lolita Sevilla who bought a villa, La Giralda, on the outskirts of Torrevieja near the Masa Hotel. She was a well known visitor who was awarded the title of "Adopted Daughter of Torrevieja" in 1987, then the hostelry association gave her the "Golden Fork Award" in 1996: she died on 16th December, 2013.!

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