027 may 2016

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Nº 025 May 2015 Fiestas in Alicante area – May Fair – Music in the Theatre – Spanish Plume – Spring in Yecla – Via Augusta – Tourism up – Torrevieja nautical – Alternative Culture – Dali and Alice Cooper – Bookshelf; Embassy – British Spanish Society 100 years on – ABC cookery – funny wine tips – Local Police – Red Cross – Audiovisual recognition – Cervantes Star and planets - Just Brass, RASCALS and other concerts.

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MAY FIESTAS IN ALICANTE PROVINCE

May is a month chock full of fiestas, the first is a holiday dedicated to workers and a bank holiday. Then the first Sunday of May is also dedicated as Mother’s Day, so families tend to dine together, either at home or in restaurants. May is also associated with flowers and in the first days of the month many towns, including Torrevieja, have a celebration of the Cross decorated with flowers.

1st May 1st May 1 - 3 May

Bank Holiday in Spain. Nearest Sunday is Mother’s Day. Xàbia holds the procession of the Virgen del Loreto.

Fiestas of the Crosses of May. Crosses are adorned with flowers and displayed in the streets. Santa Cruz district in Alicante, L’Alfàs del Pi (3 days), Benidorm, Muchamiel, Xàbia and Redován - all hold special events.

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2nd May

or on the nearest Sunday, Aspe has fiesta del Cruz.

2nd May Competition of the Crosses in Xàbia.

On the 3rd the town has the fiestas de Jesús Nazareno.

3rd May Beniferri has a romería: Orihuela holds the Cruces de Mayo.

Callosa de Segura has festival.

4th - 5th May Jávea holds romería in honour of the Virgen del Rocío.

4th - 5th May Castellfort has the Romería A Sant Pere de Castelfort with origins in 1321: noted for bells.

First Weekend Novelda has fiestas in the Cruz district of the town.

First Sunday The Fiesta de la Rosa in El Poble Nou de Benitatzell.

First week from Wednesday to Sunday the Feria de Mayo in Torrevieja.

First Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of the month, fiestas in Senija.

8th May Villajoyosa holds a festival on the first weekend of the month.

√ Torremanzas holds bread fiestas of ‘Pà Beneït’ (Blessed bread). aormi@icloud.com

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9th May 9th May the Segura

Torremanzas holds bread fiestas of ‘Pà Beneït’ (Blessed bread).

European Day in many towns with civil services, flag raising to European anthem by Beethoven. Torrevieja, Guardamar del and Orihuela Costa are among the towns that hold special entertainment events. th 9 May is also the feast of the legendary St. Christopher and patron saint of travelers and each year the Taxi Drivers associations of the Vega Baja organize a three-day event that now includes the Spanish Armed Forces and British ex-servicemen.

10 - 13th May Moors & Christians in Biar.

12th May Albatera celebrates San Pancracio.

12th May San Isidro romería in Pilar de la Horadada.

13 - 15th May Patronal fiestas in San Isidro.

14th May Moors & Christians in Petrer.

European Day 9th May 15th May San Isidro in Albatera. This day is celebrated in many towns with processions and romerías either on the actual date or the following weekend. In this edition we look at how Yecla celebrates this saint of the fields.

Similarly at Benejama, Castalla, Salinas, Honón de los Frailes, Hondón de las Nieves, la Romana, Cox, Orihuela, Pilar de la Horadada and Rojales.

On the Sunday nearest to San Isidro’s fiesta a romeriá takes place in Daya Nueva.

2nd Weekend M o o r s and Christian in Banyares de Mariola for the fiesta of Ntra.

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Dénia holds the festival of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados.

Second weekend of the month Orba holds fiestas.

Second weekend of May the Moors & Christians of El Campello hold the Mig Any. Second weekend of May Ibi holds the L’Avís de Festa.

17th May San Pascual Bailón is celebrated in Elche.

17th May San Pascual Bailón fiestas in Albatera.

The famous Romería de Orito is held in Montforte del Cid. 17th May the Friday and Saturday nearest to the date a romería in Castalla.

18th May on nearest Saturday to this date a romería in Ibi. 18 - 27th May Fiestas in Novelda in la Estación area.

24th May to 9th June in the district of María Auxiliadora fiestas are also held in Novelda.

26th May Patronal fiestas in Ondara.

Last weekend of month fiestas held in Ibi and in Formentera del Segura.

Last Weekend of May, lasting for five days, Moors & Christians in Elda, dependent on the date on which Corpus Christi feastday falls.

Last weekend of May Moors & Christians in Salinas.

Last Sunday of May in Albatera the fiesta of Santiaguico is held.

Last Sunday of May a romería in honour of the Virgen de Fatima is held in Pinoso.

At the end of May, going into June, the patronal fiestas of Dénia are held.

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Torrevieja May Fair

Torrevieja has its annual May Fair based on the famous April Fair of Seville with horse and coaches parades, Andalusian style of music and dance, as well as many kiosks with a variety of food including hams, chorizos, and wine and beer of course.

Almost since it started this fair has been organized by the Friends of the Fair, but for some reason the town hall decided that another group would do the organizing and this has lead to a bit of discontent. So we have no predictions how this one will turn out or the programme, but likely will be based on local dance groups with no famous figures appearing. The dates are from 4th to 8th May. But it’s always a spectacular, very Spanish celebration and worth visiting, especially on the days when the horses are around. This year other nearby towns have their own Sevillanas.

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San Isidro at Rojales San Isidro is the patron saint of agriculture and many towns of the Vega Baja and Murcia hold fairs and celebrations with the theme of orchard and food. He is also the patron saint of Madrid, so the Madrid association based in Torrevieja (and other towns) holds their own fun events with the wearing of the traditional Madrid garb.

A little anecdote regarding Madrid’s traditional dress. In Spanish if someone is described as “chulo” it’s quite a derogatory term meaning that they’re full of themselves. Madrileños are often described as “chulo” by people from other parts of Spain. The name of the traditional Madrileño costume is a “chulapo” which comes from the word “chulo”. Citizens of most capital cities also seem to have the same characteristics. It is not actually a regional costume, but rather a representation of typical dress from days gone by. The men’s version is composed of black pants, a white shirt, a checkered vest with a red carnation, and a matching golf hat. The ladies wear a special dress that can be an assortment of colors, a Spanish-style shawl, and a white handkerchief with a large red carnation as a head covering.

Chulapos and chulapas gather round to eat traditional food such as cocido madrileño,(page 63) traditional sweets known as rosquillas. The dance is rather reminiscent of the Lambeth Walk.

Rojales tends to have a picnic style romeria celebration in the park behind C. Quesada.

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Music in the Theatre

Reducing pain and anxiety for surgery patients A large part of the May Fair is the flamboyant music.

Music is an important part of our lives. We all tend to have our own particular tastes. Some love classical music, others head banging hard rock.

Music has been used for years in the medical profession and many of us have memories of the TV series MASH with music used in the operating theatre.

Expectant mothers can now have an apparatus that fits inside the vagina that plays music for their baby. Music is often used as a therapy, especially for Alzheimers.

According to a report in the medical magazine The Lancet, researchers of Queen Mary University of London said that listening to music before, during and after an operation could help reduce pain, according to a review.

Evidently the patients who had listened to music had been less anxious after their surgery and had needed less pain relief. Music had even been effective while patients had been under general anesthetic. Although many would disagree with

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this, normally the operating theatres in Torrevieja University Hospital have music chosen by the staff. In some places patients are asked to compile a list of their favourite music, which can be played during the operation as so many modern operations are carried out with the patient awake under an anesthetic. Music lessens the stress but not necessarily the length of time the patient is in the theatre or in the hospital.

The lead author of the report, Dr Catherine Meads, said Pink Floyd's “Dark Side of the Moon” album had helped soothe her pain three hours after hip surgery in April.

“Music was a safe, cheap and non-invasive option that should "be available to everyone having surgery", she said. "Currently music is not used routinely during surgery to help patients in their post-operative recovery”.

"The lack of uptake is often down to the skepticism of professionals as to whether it genuinely works, and of course issues of budget and the integration into daily practice."

Dr Meads added "it was quite a surprise" music had worked under general anesthetic.

Dr Meads warned care should be taken to ensure music during surgery did not interfere with the medical team's communication. Everyone involved in the operation should approve of a play list.

Music can be used as an additional modality or adjunct to improve the patient journey, of course it is important to ensure the patient and theatre team would like music to be played.

Music while you op.

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Spanish Plume

by Dave Stewart

Everyone has commented on the mildness of the weather in Torrevieja area this winter. Meanwhile back in U.K. there has been heavy rain and flooding in parts and a visit from Storm Katie to be followed by Lawrence, Mary, Nigel, Orla, Phil and Rhonda. Although nothing to do with this tragic downpour, lets have a look of a weather condition that connects both countries.

‘Spanish Plume’ is actually a very catchy name for a rather complex meteorological phenomenon, which leads to warm conditions and heavy showers or thunderstorms over parts of the UK and northwest Europe.

A Spanish Plume is a weather situation in which a large southwards dip in the high altitude jet stream develops to the west of Europe, encouraging a deep southerly wind flow. This drives hot and humid air from Iberia north and northeast into northern Europe, including the British Isles. Meanwhile from the west, over the Atlantic, a colder situation develops and rather like the gota fria collides and mixes with the hot air. This combination of

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circumstances can occur when there is a slow moving depression situated over the Atlantic to the west of the UK, with high pressure over central Europe. This tends to result in parts of U.K. getting Costa Blanca temperatures, but also can bring the equivalent of summer thunderstorms with heavy downpours and even hailstones.

With the general climate getting warmer this scenario is likely to occur more often and the heavy rain can cause flooding in some areas. During the summer months, the air over Spain can become very hot if it is able to sit over the elevated plateau in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula for several days. It will also be very dry as there isn’t a source of moisture near the surface. As this very hot dry air moves north on southerly winds it passes above the Bay of Biscay and western France where the air near the surface is still very warm but much moister; The combination of these two air masses on top of each other, with warm and moist air near the surface and hot and dry air above, can be very unstable. In order to release this instability, the whole column of air, with the warm moist air near the surface and the hot dry air aloft, to be lifted in the vertical. Once this occurs then clouds, rain and potentially thunderstorms can form very rapidly.

The origins of the term aren’t completely clear, although a 1968 paper on severe convective storms can probably claim the first usage. Regardless, by the 1980s the phrase “Spanish plume” was certainly in widespread use among UK weather forecasters. However it’s important to realise that not every UK heat wave or summer thunderstorm is down to a Spanish plume. The Spanish plume scenario caused some of the heaviest rain that has fallen in the UK such as the 279mm that fell on Martinstown, Devon in July 1955 for many years held the UK record for the most rain in one day. aormi@icloud.com

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Spring in Yecla

by Dave Stewart

Yecla is in the Murcia region and trying to attract tourism. According to locals this is based on two businesses - locally made wine and an active furniture manufacturing industry. Traditionally this town in a hilly area is agriculturally based on grain, oil, wine, fruit. But for me other things Yecla has going for it is the friendliness of the people and some rather unique fiestas.

The origin of the term Yecla comes from the Arabic Yakka, which was the name of a fortress located in the place that is now called Cerro del CastĂ­llo. This toponym, however, is not from Arabic origin and it is very likely that it derives from the preRoman terms Iko or Ika. The most important mountains of the locality are Sierra de Salinas (1,238 m), Monte ArabĂ­ (1,065 m), Sierra de la Magdalena (1,038 m), and others. The chief buildings are a half-ruined citadel, a modern parish church with a pillared Corinthian facade, aormi@icloud.com

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and a town hall standing in a fine a rc a d e d plaza mayor. Yecla has some rather unique sights, such as the Church of La PurĂ­sima or the Plaza Mayor; others of great beauty, like the Church of El S a l v a d o r, the Marketplace and the Clock Tower.

The town is almost 100 kilometres from the regional capital Murcia City and with neighboring Jumilla, (also noted for its wines) is one of the primary regions for development of the M u rc i a n a and Granadina breeds of dairy goats. aormi@icloud.com

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Yecla is in the area of transition between the coastal zone and the plains of La Mancha. Preceded by the fame of its inhabitants, it is naturally a town of enormous character which has impressed such writers as Azorín or Pío Baroja.

The Castle and the Sanctuary of La Purísima looks over the town and locals troop up to every 7th December 'the day of the Alborada' firing volleys of gunpowder with their ancient harquebuses.

This area offers a number of hiking, cycling and potholing alternatives.

Take a bike along the track that leads to Monte Arabí (a mountain propitious for fables and legends) to see the Neolithic rock paintings that decorate the caves of the Canto de la Visera and Mediodía. A longdistance hiking trail (the GR7), which comes down from the North of Spain to the Levant, passes through the region.

Yecla has a vibrant all-year round cultural cycle with workshops, courses, exhibitions and the Fine Arts Municipal School continues the tradition of painting and sculpture.

The Teatro Concha Segura offers a wide variety of events throughout the year. This is augmented by the Music School backed up by two very active groups - “El Grupo de Coros y Danzas Francisco Salzillo” y el “Grupo Folclórico Arabí”. Two film festivals are annual events dedicated to a week of Spanish cinematographer and another week of European films.

An important element in the Yecla citizens cultural life are the clubs of literature, poetry, photography, and fiestas that provide a rich and dynamic social agenda.

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"Azorin" José Martínez Ruiz and José Luis Casillo Puche, both of whom wrote about and lived in Yecla.

Yecla has several museums -

M u s e o Arqueológico “Cayetano de Mergelina” Museo de réplicas de "El Greco" Museo Mariano "Virgen del Castillo" Museo de Semana Santa Museo Taurino

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Yecla has a very intense economic activity, based mainly on the local wines, which have their own Denominaci贸n de Origen and have won numerous awards in competitions both in Spain and abroad.

FIESTAS

San Blas and blessed bread

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San Anton in January with a procession of animals and their blessing.

This is soon followed by the blessing of San Blas with blessed bread and jumping over a a hoguera FIRE. What is a Spanish town without a Carnival and Yecla’s fiestas have theatre and parade on the programme.

Semana Santa in Yecla Declaradas de Interés Turístico dating from the times of King Felipe II and features various processions, such as that of the Seven Last Words, the Festival of Bands, the procession of Pardon and Holy Blood, of course Palm Sunday, The parade of the Lamps and the Penitential Procession of the Rosary.

Spring brings its own celebrations and there is a romeria pilgrimage in honour of San Marcos on the Sunday nearest his feastday.

The first of May is time to poke fun at political and social events and people with satirical posters known as Judas, the name of this fiesta.

This goes back over 200 years to the French occupation.

Recently there has been an artisanal market and theatrical productions.

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May 15th: - San Isidro is patron of agriculture and is a really big event in Yecla with a couple of marvellous parades. As with most celebrations it begins with the selection of the adult and child Queens and their maids of honour.

This feast began in Yecla in the middle of the 19th century around the well of San Isidro and after the civil war an image of the saint was placed in the basilica. A couple of years later the great Cabalgata of Carriages started and is one of the main festival attractions of the town.

What makes these particular floats in the parade so outstanding is that although they make look as if they are flowers, they are actually small rolls of paper, some as small as seven centimetres square and painstakingly glued to the main structures of floats as large as six metres. There are two categories, one is for children and the other for adults which usually have some sort of agriculture theme. Throughout the year pe単as or clubs organize the floats and dress in traditional costumes as well as attend fiestas in other towns.

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San Isidro in Yecla

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Fotos: Thanks to Esther Martinez

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Yecla paper patience and artisanship

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In June there is the procession of Corpus Christi September brings more fiestas with a month that is busy with a large fair and multiple concerts of visiting artists, fun run.

There are also the patronal fiestas on 15th December dedicated to Ntra. Sra. de la Encarnación - Our Lady of the Incarnation. a memorial march of soldiers who heard the call of the King to fight in the War of Cataluña on 1642 under the leadership of Capitán Martín Soriano Zaplana.

7th December

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The town's traditional gastronomy is alive and well, offering tourists the opportunity to taste peasant food of Mother earth including Gachasmigas, gazpachos and fried cheese with tomato offering enough calories for a day tilling the soil.

Gachasmigas probably have Arabic origins using flour, garlic,oil and water and look a bit like a tortilla with a crust best accompanied by a local wine.

Another Arabic-style dish is Gazpacho, not the cold Andalusian one, but a robust dish with small bits of corral raised hens or wildfowl, Serrano snails, although it may also feature tuna, mushrooms, peppers etc. most important of most gazpachos ingredients is bread, in this case very thin slices. As always supported by local wine, but also onion slices in vinegar.

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Libricos are only a part of a wide range of pastries of Yecla.

In the past couple off decades Fried Brie became part of restaurant menus, but this type of recipe has been around for a long time in this neck of the woods using goat's cheese with a tomato frito sauce. Nice with a chilled white or rose wine.

TORTAS FRITAS This is common along the coast and basically a pastry like a puff one, but fried in deep oil. It can be accompanied by various things, sweet rolled in sugar, honey or salt or even anchovies. As always a nice glass of rose or white wine.

PELOTAS or balls to you These are tennis sized balls made with minced meat, pine seeds, parsley and spices, including breadcrumbs soaked in water and milk. These balls are cooked in a stock such as chicken known as cocido. Very popular here at Christmas with some shell shaped pasta in the stock (caldo).

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Annual Furniture Fair

At present, the municipality of Yecla is an important industrial heartland, whose main activity is focussed on wood and furniture sector. There are almost 500 companies dedicated to the manufacture of furniture and upholstery, and occasional furniture in wood and upholstery.

The entrepreneurial spirit of the people from Yecla, dates back from the XVII and XVIII centuries with the presence of a large number of professionals, such as carpenters, foremen and coopers in Yecla, attached to the activities related to artisan woodwork. In the XIX century, there was an increase in the number of mechanical sawmills and as a result the creation of chair and table workshops, whose commercialization was carried out in the adjacent provinces. These workshops were the starting point of the industrialization process in Yecla. In the 1920's, with the availability of more modern machines, cabinetmaking began in earnest.

Small family companies gave birth to the industrial base that holds the economic structure of the local economy nowadays, with very skilled furniture designers and workers. The first great crisis occurred in the XXth Century, which ruined these small workshops with a certain degree of industrialization introduced. At that time, the archpriest of Yecla, Don JosĂŠ Esteban DĂ­az, launched the workers' Cooperative "Cooperativa de Obrera de Muebles, Comed", which employed 150 workers from all the surrounding areas. aormi@icloud.com

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In 1961, it was decided to establish the Local Furniture Fair, situating it in the premises of the Piarists, the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools of Yecla. In that Furniture Fair, there were 15 furniture factories, 2 upholstery workshops and one veneered- furniture manufacturer. The Furniture Fair was a great success in terms of visitors, hence an immense satisfaction for the exhibitors.

In 1962, the Fair was renamed "Feria Provincial del Mueble e Industrias Afines", and at the same time achieved an official recognition. At that exhibition, there was a participation of 24 exhibitors and 700 square metres of space. The Exhibition in Yecla was established as the principal Furniture Fair in Spain.

In 1968 the present-day exhibition building was built, which has gone through remodeling and enlargements. At present, the exhibition building occupies 16,500 square metres of space with a total of 120 exhibitors.

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The Yecla wine region is situated in the province of Murcia and covers an area of 7,200 hectares. The Yecla wine region consists of 11 vineyards (Bodegas), which produce 6 millon litres of wine annually. There are eleven vineyards in the municipal area taking up 7,200 hectacres, producing around seven million litres of wine annually.

The wine output is mostly red and white – red being - Monastrell, Garnacha Tinta, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cencibel (Tempranillo), Merlot, Tintorera and Syrah. The white wines feature - Merseguera, Airén, Macabeo, Malvasía and Chardonnay.

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Via Augusta

by Dave Stewart

Today, shortly after Torrevieja’s recent Roman Market, we can still marvel at the wonderful heritage that the ancient Romans left in Spain with remains of the amphitheatres such as those at Cartagena, Merida or Tarragona. Torre la Mata takes its name partially from the tower there which was built on the remains of a Roman watchtower that guarded a quay the Romans used to ship salt harvested from the La Mata lake. A stone with a Roman inscription was found a few decades ago in Los Balcones neighbourhood. This article is based on the material supplied by the Valencian Generalititat.

Probably the remaining presence of the Romans was their communication network with excellent well-constructed roads that have often been built upon for modern roads. We are speaking of a system of roads more than 2000 years old, that apart from being the backbone of our territory in those times, also connected with the rest of Europe. There is a clear parallel with the objectives of the Mediterranean Corridor project and the two networks complement each other through different usages and means of transport. aormi@icloud.com

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One of the most important is the Via Augustus named after that emperor. The make up of the roads was important as the soldiers tended to wear hob nailed sandals.

As a historical work, the paved Roman roads have a unique cultural value and are an essential element of our Valencian community, but, as part of the infrastructure, they also have an environmental aspect that makes them idyllic for pedestrians (walking, riding a bicycle, or on horseback). The calming influence of touring on nonmotorised byways designates them as an alternative to other systems of transport, and, from this, we see their potential for synergetic development at the local scale.

The VĂ­a Augusta was the most emblematic of the paved Roman road system in Hispania, and was the strategic backbone between the peninsular territories and Rome. In the beginning, most Roman roads were built on top

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of old Iberian roads already existing in the peninsula. Of them, the most important was the original Via Iberica (Via HerĂĄclea), which, crossing the peninsula, linked the Pyrenees with the Pillars of Hercules (Cadiz).

The importance of this road network is such that even at the dawn of the 20th century it constituted our country’s main axis of communication with the rest of Europe. Motorways, roads and railways basically follow its route and provide a strong element of economic and internal cohesion.

Through the creation of a road system of more than 140,000 kilometres Rome was connected to almost all provinces of the ever growing empire as the epicentre and the cultural, political and commercial meeting point. This instrument of Romanisation/communication would, moreover, lead to military control, commercial and industrial development, the progress of its cities and, what perhaps is more important, the existence itself of Rome as a state. It also was to prove an important asset in the spread of Christianity.

A lot of the riches of the empire were sent back to Rome including salt and products such as garum and silver and other minerals dug out of the mines at La Union. Salt was taken from the La Mata lake and shipped off as was the salt from Santa Pola which was an important Roman settlement serving Elche.

Roman mine

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The VĂ­a Augusta, most probably takes its name because of the extensive repairs and straightening work that the Emperor Augustus carried out on it.

It is approximately 1,500 kilometres long, crossing the peninsula from the Pyrenees to Cadiz following the Mediterranean coastline

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This led to the founding of cities that are still important towns - as Valentia (Valencia), Saguntum (Sagunto), Lucentum (Alicante), Saetabis (XĂ tiva), Ilici (Elche), as well as settlements for leisure (Fortuna) or connected to mining and other industries. Today archaeologists are still digging in the buildings of these places and recovering some of this precious lost heritage, essential for understanding the history of Spain and Europe. Much more than just an enormous human feat of engineering or a two thousand-year-old historical-cultural asset, the VĂ­a Augusta constitutes a legacy in which different cultures, religions, civilizations, trade, history, landscapes, know-how, and age-old vestiges come together

First there were the surveyors marking out the best routes and examining the levels of hills etc.

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The building work would then take place, sometimes employing Roman Legionaries. A trench was dug that varied according to the width that it was to have (between 1.10 m and 7.30 m). The ditch was then filled with what would constitute the foundations, i.e. rough stones and rubble held together by earth and fine gravel. On this foundation was laid another layer of finer stone and finally another one of gravel that served as the final support for the thick slabs that formed the paving.

Salt = salary

Some of the main characteristics of these roadways are as follows: - They were mainly designed for animal-drawn wheeled traffic and so they always sought the gentler slopes, never exceeding 10%.

- Sections can be found with long and straight alignments, when the orography permitted.

- For greater durability of the roadways, areas were sought that were less subject to erosion.

- In areas of little slope (<1%), earthworks were raised to facilitate drainage and to protect the foundation work (0.6 to 1.5 m).

-The width of the transversal section allowed two carriages to pass each other.

The importance the Romans placed on these roadways was so great that many of them were built aormi@icloud.com

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and repaired on private initiative. The last will and testament of one citizen written in 30 AD states: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I leave this sum to the common fund for repairing the Via Aurelia which passes through our colonyâ&#x20AC;?.

To mark the distances of the road, the Romans placed milestones at the sides of the roadway, showing the distance from one to another, the milia passuum , i.e. a Roman mile which is equivalent to an approximate distance of 1,481 m. This characteristic stone sign also carried the name of the roadway, the distance from the beginning of the roadway and the name of the emperor on it.

Apart from milestones, what most interested travellers were places to stay and clean up after long days of dusty travel from one place to another. The types of inn or shelter that the traveller could find were varied, Mansions being official establishments, which required evidence of official safe-conduct in order to enter.

Other establishments were the Mutations (staging posts), Tabernae or Cauponae, the latter of dubious reputation

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The Vía Augusta crosses the provinces of Castellón and Valencia for 280 kilometres from the river Sénia (border with Tarragona) to Font de la Figuera (continuing on to Albacete).

From Font de Figuera a branch of 170 Kms has been identified in the province of Alicante which, descending through the valley of the River Vinalopó, continues on to the city of Cartagena (Karthagine Spartaria), passing through Elda (Ad Elo), Castillo del río/Aspe (Aspis) and Elche (Ilici). This vertebral axis crossing the Community from North to South over 450 Kms is complemented by the Vía Dianium, of 180 Kms. in length, that connects the coastal towns from Albalat de la Ribera to Alicante. In all, Roman civilization left its mark along 630 Kms. On its way it passes through 107 municipal districts joining up a total of 65 towns: 47 on the Vía Augusta in its passage through Castellón, Valencia and Alicante and 18 on the Vía Dianium in the provinces of Valencia and Alicante-.

Some Roman remains in the Province of Alicante: Roman port of Lucentum; salting works of El Verger, Calp, Xàbia; Ilici- L’Alcudia-Elx; Roman villa of L’Albir in L’Alfàs del Pí; Alonae. La Vila Joiosa and archaeological sites in Dénia.

Remains of paving: In Castellón, the exact route of the Roman roadway between Sant Joan del Pas and Pobla Tornesa is still intact. In the province of Valencia the urban roadway has also been identified in the la Plaza Morería de Sagunt and, in the province of Alicante, the Roman bridge in Gata de Gorgos is particularly worthy of mention.

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By means of the VĂ­a Augusta Recuperation Project, the Regional Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport of the Public Works Department, is seeking to recuperate, revalue and make this road suitable for the use and enjoyment of the public, who will be able to go along it on foot (a gentle stroll, jogging, rambling route, etc), by bicycle or on horseback.

The VĂ­a Augusta project in the Valencia Community seeks to do much more than merely recuperate a Roman roadway; it seeks to provide a setting off point for enjoying each and every one of its treasures (environmental, archaeological, historical, cultural, gastronomic...) which, today can be found along its route..although no Roman tavernas are around, there are still plenty of eating places.

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Spanish Tourism on the Up

by Dave Stewart

Spain relies heavily on tourism, which has increased by over 7%.

It is worth mentioning that Spain’s tourism industry has benefited from the difficult war situation in some North African and Middle Eastern countries, which are Spain’s direct rivals in the sun and beach tourism segment, especially Turkey.

Although there is a large national market that affects the Mediterranean coastline, foreign visitors are a huge source of income.

Foreign visitors spent 37.128 Bn€ in Spain in the seven months to July last year, a rise of 7.7% from a year ago and it looks as though this will increase further this year. The average tourist will spend 6.884 euros, an increase of almost 3%.

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According to a report by the World Economic Forum, Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tourism sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s positive performance is due, above all, to its high level of competitiveness. Spain ranks first amongst 141 countries in tourism and travel competitiveness.

The tourism industry generated 10.9 p% of Spanish GDP in 2012, and 11.9 percent of Jobs as there were 60.7 million overseas visitors in 2013, expected to be around 63 million last year. This makes Spain the third most-visited tourism destination in the world after France and the United States.

Spain has the most competitive tourism industry in the world, a global study by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has found.

For the first time the country has come out on top of a list of 141 nations analyzed in The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, issued every two years by the same organization behind the Davos Forum.

The report takes into account 90 individual indicators measuring elements such as a destinationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural and cultural resources, its health and hygiene conditions, its travel infrastructure, its security levels, its price competitiveness and its adaptation to new technologies.

In this report, after Spain, the best-performing nations are France, Germany, United States, Britain, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Japan and Canada. aormi@icloud.com

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“With beautiful heritage sites throughout the country, it boasts top marks for its cultural resources, and also scores highly for business travelers with a significant number of i n t e r n a t i o n a l conferences,” reads the report. “It has a high ranking (fourth) on online searches for entertainment – restaurants, nightlife and attractions – as well as prioritization of the travel and tourism industry (sixth) and tourism service aormi@icloud.com

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infrastructure (fourth).”

After seven years of crisis, Spain’s economic model is tending towards what it was in the past. The country‘s tourism industry is a leader in terms of competitiveness. The present political uncertainty is not stopping tourists from coming to Spain. Obviously there are some destinations that are a World wide attraction.

Barcelona’s popularity with international visitors made it the fifth top European destination in 2014, according to a market report by the hotel sector consultancy group BRIC Consulting.

In the number of overnight stays, Barcelona ranked only behind London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, and ahead of Madrid and Istanbul, according to the study.

A c h i e f characteristic of B a rc e l o n a tourism is that 80 percent of visitors are foreign, whereas in Madrid it’s the other way a ro u n d : 60 percent of tourists come from other parts of Spain. aormi@icloud.com

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Alternative Culture

by Pat Hynd

Matías Antón, has a Master of the Rey Juan Carlos Univesity in Madrid for scenic arts and Pedro Antonio Albaladejo also with an EDAD qualification in scenic arts, have joined forces to offer Torrevieja an alternative style of culture. They opened a cultural association with a small theatre, able to seat around 50 in calle Gregorio Marañon, just opposite the lovely Doña Sinforosa Park alongside the Acequion canal.

They have named the theatre “La Cueva de Melpémone” as a homage to the Greek goddess who was the muse of singing, then became acknowledged as the muse of tragedy and often represented with a tragic mask.

I went along to meet the two partners in this cultural enterprise that has opened at a time when the town seems to be at an all time low as far as cultural events are concerned. Both are amiable characters with a sense of drama and anxious to help others enjoy the arts that appear on stage. They have organized a complete range of events of theatre, music, magic and children’s events such as puppets and clowns.

They largely depend on local business sponsors to support them - well known names such as Salvador Artesano, Nautilus Restaurate, Las Cañas, Bricocar, El Saramiento, Lavadero Casagrande, Autolavados Hipopotamos, Miguel Hernandez Panaderia, Deti bouncy castles, Manar, Aldin, Hotel Torrejoven, Go-Karts Orihuela Costa, Esencias de la Tierra herbalist, and Rubio electric bikes.

Throughout this year they are holding workshops of Theatre in the Shadows for children using silhouettes and shadows to narrate stories, something that appeals to children and adults. Kamishibai is a new word aormi@icloud.com

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to me but not the idea. It is Japanese style theatre using paper cut outs to assist a narrator to tell a story using techniques dating back to the 12th century. It is a fascinating art form that attracts adults and children in alternative workshops held in La Cueva de MelpĂŠmone.

There is a small stage with some lighting and sound, with the audience sitting on chairs dotted with small round tables for drinks, as there is a small bar with some snacks.

The night that I was there was an acoustic concert by Shani Ormiston and guitarist Miguel Araez Suarez. The small place was full.

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Shani is well known as a singer and composer and this type of atmosphere suited her acoustic programme, specially made up of some of her own songs from her albums “Once Upon a Time” and “Asi Soy Yo - This is Me” plus well known covers from Duffy and Radiohead. The place reminded me of small jazz clubs that have a great ambience, lacking the smoke of course. Right from the start Shani and Miguel had a great rapport between them, with flashes of humour, as well as involving the audience and capturing their hearts. One of the small innovations was a gift from Shani to each of the audience which at first sight was not much, but once she had explained it obviously meant a great deal.

It was a heart shaped lollipop with a label permitting the person to download free a copy of Shani’s latest composition “I am a Fighter” which she sang with Pedro Aniorte introducing the evening tremendous feeling.

It may seem an aggressive sort of title, but it is related to bullying and the need to teach ourselves and our children to stand on our own feet against the odds of the world around us, which seems to get more complex each year.

The audience were captivated- a very mixed crowd from elderly ladies to youngsters. As the evening developed there was great interchange between stage and audience, something that is difficult to do on a larger scenario.

For me it is interesting how a Spanish aormi@icloud.com

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audience relates to so many English language songs, being able to appreciate the music for itself. One person said that although the words might be important often the music passed on the message being sent by the singer and if there is a repetition of words, such as in a chorus, this can be easily picked up.

During a few of the songs Miguel changed his guitar for a weird looking s q u a r e instrument which he described as a Havana cigar box with strings.

The cigar box guitar is a primitive chordophone that uses an empty cigar box as a resonator.

The earliest had one or two strings; modern m o d e l s typically have three or more.

Generally, the strings are connected to aormi@icloud.com

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Playing a cigar box guitar

the end of a broomstick or a 1 x 3 inch wood slat and to the cigar box resonator. This type of guitar has been popularly used by people of the calibre of Bo Diddley and Luther Dickinson; Paul McCartney played a Baratto cigar box guitar on "Cut Me Some Slackâ&#x20AC;?.

Miguel didn't let these masters down as his instrument has a very distinct deep blues sound that added a special touch to a few of the songs so well sung with great emotion by Shani.

The audience were on their feet at the end demanding aormi@icloud.com

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more so the duo duly performed “Creep” with Shani on her knees as she delivered it with obvious heart felt emotion. Several people lined up to buy signed copies of her latest album “Once Upon a Time” and say how much they had enjoyed the show..as I did too.

La Cueva de Melpémone programme includes a lot of comedy such as The colloquium of the Dogs, Agent Singente, or Strange Announcement as well as Beatriz Mateo a clown who also performs in hospitals to cheer up children being treated for cancer.

On the 4th June Impostores will appear in the nearby Doña Sinforosa Park which is a puppet show for adults and children enabling the audience to make up the story by manipulating the puppets. On the 25th June the park will be the setting for another spectacular show with modern magic by Ximo.

I wish this association a great future as they are adding a much needed “extra dimension” to Torrevieja cultural scene with the variety of theatrical events that they will be presenting over the next couple of months. avd/ Gregorio Marañón 42 Torrevieja 628 406 943 - 605 689 845 - 676 811 888 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php

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Dali and Alice Cooper videoclip

by Dave Stewart

Salvador Dalí’s v i v i d imagination has drawn people to his paintings for years – but a new virtual r e a l i t y experience from The Dalí Museum in Florida literally puts the user in the picture.

Youtube now has a virtual tour around one of Dali’s paintings bringing the viewer inside this 360 landscape that is almost science fiction Martian in its aspects.

The artistic designers of this video have introduced images from other works by Salvador Dali, such as the Dali telephone or the hologram of Alice Cooper’s brain. Cooper had many unlikely non-musician that included Groucho Marx and Mae West, who both reportedly saw the early shows as a form of vaudeville revue, and artist Salvador Dalí, who on attending a show in aormi@icloud.com

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1973 described it as being surreal, and made a hologram, First Cylindric Chromo-Hologram Portrait of Alice Cooper's Brain.

Dali looked beyond painting for inspiration in the early 1970’s. He was one of the first artists to explore holography, a photographic medium using lasers to record an object so that it can reappear as a three-dimensional image. He was captivated by the idea as it permitted him to create an image in three dimensions in which he could be in front of yet behind his subject.

One of Dali’s most successful experiments was this Alice Cooper hologram. Dali worked with artist holographer Selwyn Lissack, creating a rotating three-dimensional image of the rock star. Here Cooper either sings into or bites off the head of a “shish kebabbed” Venus de Milo statue. Cooper wears a real diamond tiara, and there is a plaster brain stuffed with a chocolate éclair and real ants suspended behind his head.

Cooper’s concerts featured guillotines, electric chairs, and plenty of fake blood. His performances appealed to Dali who said that Cooper was “the best exponent of total confusion I know.”

The video features Dali’s elephants on long spindly legs that appear rather like Walkers in films such as Star Wars or Avatar.

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Daliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hologram of First Cylindric Chromo-Hologram Portrait of Alice Cooper's Brain (below) and the image in the videoclip (above).

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Visitors to the Florida museum can explore the video using goggles that permits them to roam around the surrealistic landscape, stopping at anytime.

In the video clip Dan Damon took a tour around the experience with the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curator of education, Peter Tush. Credit: The DalĂ­ Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c0kiPsFIaHY

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The Videoclip elephants and Daliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s telephone

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My Bookshelf Papa Spy/embassy

by Pat Hynd

I’m always surprised how often people cross one’s life. Several years ago a lady approached Graham Knight in the new office of OARI in Torrevieja as he represented the English speaking community. Her name was Patricia Martínez de Vicente, (above) well-known author of several books.

She had written about her father a doctor, Eduardo Martínez Alonso, and his efforts to help evacuate refugees of the Nazi regime escape to Portugal or Britain. He was supporting the British Embassy efforts by providing false medical reports for those, especially from the concentration camp of Ebro and Vigo. He even used his own house in Galicia as a step off point for fugitives heading for Portugal. aormi@icloud.com

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Doctor Martinez Alonso was connected to the British Embassy in Madrid, but the name of his daughter’s book “Embassy” is about a popular cafe of that name in Madrid used by the British Embassy as part of a network to channel refugees and escaped POWs or downed aircrew members and repatriate them eventually to Britain. I must admit I have been unable to procure a copy of this book as it is in Spanish and out of print.

But the Embassy cafe also features in another book “Papa Spy” by Jimmy Burns.

It is a hefty book about the life, loves and failures of his father who was a press attache at the British Embassy in Madrid during the Second World War.

His father was Tom Burns who had made himself a good reputation in the publishing world in UK. In the 1930s Tom Burns was a rising star of British publishing, whose friends and authors included G. K. Chesterton, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, the artist Eric Gill and the poet David Jones. And among his glittering social circle he had set his heart on the beautiful Ann Bowes-Lyon, cousin of the Queen. All of these feature throughout this book. Although he dearly loved the Queen’s cousin she married someone else for her own aormi@icloud.com

Dr. Martinez and wife and below with their daughter

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Leslie Howard with fans in Spain.

motives.

However, he eventually met the woman who dominated his heart, Mabel daughter of the famous surgeon Dr. Gregorio MaraĂąon. When war was declared in 1939, Burns joined the Ministry of Information, effectively the propaganda wing of the secret services. Sent to Madrid as press attachĂŠ at the British Embassy, where the Ambassador was the formidable and very Protestant Sir Samuel Hoare, Burns used his faith and his deep love of Spain in the propaganda war against the Nazis, who at the time had pretty much unrestricted access to the Spanish media. Burns' brief was to do all in his power to keep Franco neutral and so protect Gibraltar and access to the western Mediterranean. He was a Catholic and had shown tendencies to admire the Nationalistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s movement during the Spanish Civil War. As a Catholic, and viewed as a Franco supporter, he was a suspect and became a target for Kim Philly and his communist friends who had ensconced themselves in the centre of British espionage.

The strategy was simple, but the tactics were more complicated, especially when Burns found he had begun to make enemies at home, not least among them Kim Philby and Anthony Blunt, head of the MI6's Iberian section. By 1941 he felt far from the real fighting, Ann Bowes-Lyon had pledged herself to another man, and Burns was spending as much time protecting his back as fighting the Nazis. How he overcame these odds, was involved in the Man Who Never Was decoy plot, arranged Leslie Howard's fatal

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Clifton Webb in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Man Who Never Wasâ&#x20AC;? propaganda trip to Portugal and Spain, and finally found true love while loyally serving his country is the story told in this extraordinary book by his son.

It is not easy reading as the author goes into so many details, all very interesting as he brings out little cameos about people and events. Leslie Howard was a famous film star and womanizer and it took a lot of persuasion to get him to go to Portugal and Spain in a series of talks that boosted the propaganda war effort for Britain.

The Man Who Never Was was a true story and a film based on another book about a scheme to fool the Germans. Operation Mincemeat was a 1943 British Intelligence plan to deceive the Axis powers into thinking Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, would take place elsewhere. It entails releasing a dead body just off the coast of Spain, where strong currents will almost certainly cause it to drift ashore in an area where a skilled German secret agent was known to operate. The corpse appeared to be the victim of an airplane crash, the non-existent Royal Marine Major William Martin, who is carrying letters that describe a forthcoming Allied invasion of Greece, rather than the obvious target of Sicily. The body was that of a pneumonia victim, a down and out Welshman, Glyndwr Michael,dressed as an officer. A false life story was built around Martin,, even including a girlfriend who happened to be a real person in the know, which was just as well as the Germans aormi@icloud.com

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investigated the whole story. Finally believing the body was genuine, they accepted the papers as genuine as well and duly made plans for the expected invasion in the wrong place, sending more troops to Greece, which probably saved thousands of Allied lives. The body is buried in Spain with a suitable headstone.

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Dr Gregorian Marañon with daughter Mabel in Buenos Aires.

Jimmy Burns takes his surname from his father, whereas his brother, Tom, took on the grandfather’ s name Marañon and he lives and works in Spain.

Tom Burns had been born in Chile, to a Scottish father and a Chilean mother, but was brought up in England and educated at Jesuit schools, first at Wimbledon College and then at Stonyhurst College. This proved crucial to his wartime work as he was able to use an old-boy network contacts.

Testament to Stonyhurst’s dedication to service, seven former students have over the last century received the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest military decoration awarded for valour. Dozens of others have received other war medals.

In 1944 Tom Burns married a Spanish bride, Marañón, daughter of Gregorio Marañón.

The couple had three sons and a daughter. When I married at another Jesuit church in central London, Mabél was one of the guests at the wedding as she lived at Westminster at that time. From 1935 to 1985 Burns was a director of the Tablet Publishing Company, and editor of The Tablet from 1967 to 1982. The furore over Humanae Vitae was his first challenge as editor, and Burns, quoting John Henry Newman, decided to take the line "to conscience first and to the Pope afterwards”. It was about this time that I met Tom Burns when he was at The Tablet, which I still read every week.

Tom Burns used the Embassy Cafe as a focal point for hiding fugitives from the Nazis as they had many agents in Madrid and were entitled to arrest suspects in conjunction with Franco’s security forces. I would recommend Papa Spy to those who like reading about wartime Spain. Jimmy Burns has put a lot of work in gathering all the anecdotes that make this book interesting history reading. aormi@icloud.com

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This year, 2016, is the 100th anniversary of the British Spanish Society. This marks a milestone in the history of this charity and a time to reflect on and celebrate its achievements, and also to look forward to the future. It was founded in 1916, the 300th anniversary of the deaths of Cervantes and Shakespeare.

The founders were a group of British academics, businessmen and students with an interest in Spanish culture. These people saw it as a way of extending a hand of friendship, not only to Spain, but the Spanish speaking cultures of the world. This was at the time of the First World War when there was a proliferation of extremist political ideas.

The Society’s aim is to promote friendship and understanding between the British and Spanish through knowledge of each other’s customs, language, institutions and history, as well as their unique ways of life. The two languages, Spanish and English, are now the most spoken languages in the World. It is a non-political organisation with membership open to anyone interested in Spain and the UK and their cultural interaction.

The British Spanish Society is a registered charity whose object is to promote friendship and understanding between the people of Britain and Spain through knowledge of each other’s customs, institutions, history aormi@icloud.com

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and way of life. Membership is open to anyone who has an interest in Spain and its culture See more at: https:// www.britishspanishsociety.org/#sthash.HM7biEbv.dpuf

Jimmy Burns

Author Jimmy Burns replaced Denise Holt as Chairman of the Anglo-Spanish Society; his appointment broke with the tradition in electing an ex-diplomat or businessman to hold the Chair, His tenure began with the publication of a document with the title: The Vision for the British-Spanish Society 2013–2016.

Firstly, this text announced that members had decided to rebrand the institution to the British-Spanish Society.

Secondly, it recognised the efforts that the previous Executive Committee had made “to bring hope” during the crisis time.

Jimmy Burns Marañon was born in Madrid in 1953 to a Spanish mother and British father, Jimmy Burns Marañon has been the Chairman of the BritishSpanish Society since March 2013. As a journalist Jimmy worked for the Financial Times for over three decades (1979 – 2009), during which he was posted as a foreign correspondent in Lisbon, Madrid and Buenos Aires before working for the newspaper as a senior reporter in a number of fields including industrial relations, special investigations, politics, crime and security. He has also contributed to various other UK, Spanish and US print and media over the years and maintains an active blog.

Jimmy is the author of several books (see Bookshelf page 55) and is an independent consultant on Spain and Latin America. He has been a member of the BritishSpanish Society since his university days in the 1970s and was appointed as Trustee and Vice-Chairman in 2009. Jimmy was also the Editor of the Society’s magazine La Revista from 2010 to 2013, now serving as Executive Editor alongside his responsibilities as Chairman.

Aside from the BritishSpanish Society Jimmy is also the Co-Founder and Trustee of Friends of Battersea Park; a member of the Management Council of Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies Blanch Centre (London School of Economics), and a member of the Executive Committee of Penya Blaugrana.

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Events cover the broad spectrum of British and Spanish culture, including concerts, food and wine tastings, film screenings and visits to exhibitions and places of interest. In addition to this, members are invited to attend three annual gatherings: the Gala dinner, summer party and Christmas party.

Since its inception in 2008, the BritishSpanish Society has had the pleasure of awarding Scholarships and Bursaries to over 40 post-graduate students conducting research in fields as diverse as medicine, urban planning, e n g i n e e r i n g , linguistics, literature, physics, architecture, marine archaeology and music.

An important feature is the quarterly bilingual articles in the very popular magazine La Revista now in issue 242 and available online at ISSUU.

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Of Spanish Cooking

by Pat Hynd

This month is the feast of San Isidro and a holiday of importance in Madrid, so here is a great recipe that can be divided into two giving you a first plate and a main one. For pudding I suggest going further north to the rival Catalan postre.

COCIDO MADRILEÑO or chickpeas stew (Serves 6) Ingredients: Chickpeas 300 gr (dried chickpeas soaked overnight or canned), 1 kg french cabbage chopped into eights, 1⁄2 kg carrots cut into medium-­‐‑size pieces, 1 onion chopped in quarters, 1 small turnip halved, 6 medium potatoes, Shin 500 gr, 4 marrow bone, 2 chicken breast, 1 chorizo, 2 morcillas or black pudding, 150 gr piece of salted back fat or panceOa, 1 piece of serrano ham , 1 garlic bulb, Fine noodles or vermicelli-­‐‑font (40 gr per person aprox.)

Soak the chickpeas the previous evening in a large pot of hot water adding a handful of sea salt for at least 12 hours. Bear in mind that garbanzo beans are aormi@icloud.com

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much harder than other types of beans. Be sure that the water covers the chickpeas entirely.

In the pressure cooker with 1 litre and 1/2 of water put the beef, marrow-­‐‑ bone, tocino and ham. Bring water to boil and skim any fat from the top. Add the chicken, garbanzo beans previously drained, turnip, carrots and onion. Turn off the fire. Let it rest for a few minutes until it stops boiling. Add 1⁄2 litre of water and position the lid and lock in place. Cook for about 25 to 30 minutes. Open the pressure cooker and add the potatoes, chorizo, morcilla, and cabbage. You may cook the cabbage on the side if you don’t have enough space. Close the pressure cooker again and let it cook for about 10 minutes. If you use canned chickpeas add them after you have used the pressure cooker the first time.

This delicious cocido madrileño is served in two dishes: the broth with the fine noodles as a first course soup. As a second course, drain the garbanzo beans and serve it on one side of a big plate and on the other side place the beef, cabbage, potatoes and sausages cut in half. I tend to put them all on the one plate and let people help themselves.

There are many kinds of cocidos depending on the region: cocido maragato, cocido montañés, cocido andaluz and so on. Each one has a special characteristic and is different from the rest. According to historical records Although it may appear to be a very mundane and poor man’s type of dish the aristocracy loved it. Charles I and his son Felipe II were very fond of cocido.

Under Felipe III it was a common dish in court. Ana de Austria, married to Louis

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main refectory. The Bourbons where also great cocido lovers. Ferdinand VI had it every day except during summer time. The wife of Conde-­‐‑Duque de Olivares offered a banquet to Cardinal Barbieri, which consisted of only one dish: cocido.

Isabel II used to go to Restaurant Lhardy to have cocido and Infanta Isabel, la Chata, Alphonse XII’s sister, used to go La Bola Restaurant also to have cocido.

CREMA CATALANA

6 Eggs ; 1 Litre milk; 250 grms caster sugar; peel of one lemon; 1 cinnamon stick; 2 tablespoons of cornflour.

Put milk in saucepan with four tablespoons of sugar, the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick. Bring to the boil. Beat the eggs yolk with two tablespoons of sugar and the two tablespoons of cornflour.

Make sure mixture is smooth and lump free. Take half the pan of boiling milk and add gradually to the beaten egg mixture. Stir until eggs dissolves.

Pour the milk and egg mixture in to the pan with the rest of the milk stirring constantly and heat for five minutes till thickened. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove lemon peel and cinnamon stick and pour into one serving dish or six individual ones. Allow to cool.

Before serving sprinkle with sugar and use a blow torch or very hot grill to make a caramelized crust.

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17th May Local Police Fiesta

by Andy Ormiston

The Local Police of Torrevieja will celebrate their annual feast date, which the present council has changed from the normal October one. The claim is that this was the traditional date but for decades it has always been held on the feast of their patron saint, Michael the Archangel.

The mayor has claimed that they are only going back to celebrate this date of 17th May which is the founding of the Policia Local. There will be no religious event included. As usual there will be the awarding of medals for policemen, some for long standing service.

I have no doubt that there will be a religious event at some time, as many of the police are Catholics This is another instance of the present mood in Spanish politics to look back to the Second Republic in the hope that there will be a Third Republic. Historically the last two Republics were failures, the second one ending in a civil war after thousand of people were killed because they were opposed to the republic.

St. Michael Archangel is patron saint of Local Police

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Today the Local Police have a number of duties confined to the municipal limits.

They are divided into functional groups - UDA deals with accidents and crimes of driving. Traffic deals directly with traffic. These include traffic control including attending accidents and taking statements, not forgetting the many processions in the town. They also control the traffic and children at schools and often hold classes for good traffic rules with an extension at the main station where kids can use their bicycles and learn about pedestrian-ship. GRO is a specialized group dealing with the paseos and special events. Members of the UDIP are a rapid response group.

Then there are the office staff with specialists in administration and equipment of traffic control etc. Those you meet at the station are the ones in the Sala. There are others that are barrio police, that is patrol urbanizations.

It is the Local Police who will turn up if a noisy neighbor is reported or if there is a disturbance in a neighborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house that may be a robbery or a domestic violence suspected. Their work includes attending to local ordinances and any infractions of them. Some police work undercover in plain clothes, especially on the Friday market day. It is the Local Police that will check out opening licenses. For summer months the Local Police also man a boat to help the summer visitors on the beaches, as well as check boat licenses, and help monitor boat races. They patrol the promenade in conjunction with the Guardia Civil.

It may seem rather mundane police work, but there are Local Police who have died in carrying out their duties.

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Once again the local branch of the Red Cross have been contracted by the town hall to man the beaches of Torrevieja. They began their work just before Easter to cope with the influx of visitors that come for the Holy Week processions.

Nearly every beach has a First Aid post and a watchtower for a lifeguard to scan the beach for anyone in difficulties. There are bracelets available for children and adults who may have memory problems, so that they can be traced and also parents can be identified. The posts are fully equipped for first aid from small cuts, jellyfish bites to heart failure.

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A couple of beaches have equipment for the use of disabled that helps them into the sea. The lifeguards also use quads at sea that can quickly get to someone in difficulties in the water. I asked the president of the Red Cross, Bibiano, about using drones and he said they had looked into it, but they were limited as they cannot be used in windy circumstances and those can drop a lifebelt are not precise. There is no good dropping a lifebelt near the person; it has to be within their reach because they may not have the strength to get to it. Every mobile

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equipment - cars, ambulances, launches, have a GPS system so that in the central office controllers know where everyone is and were the nearest vehicle is in any emergency.

The Red Cross have a social services department that assists elderly people and operate a telephone assisted programme, take them out for trips, or assist them with hospital appointments. They also have a Food Bank that helps out the poorer members of the community. One member has for many years offered early morning exercises on the Playa del Cura.

The Red Cross provide a great sense of security on our beaches. So as you can see the Red Cross is an important association in the town and need as much support as is possible from the rest of us.

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Torrevieja Audiovisual Competition receives recognition.

For several years Torrevieja has hosted a national contest of short films “Torrevieja Audiovisual” which is one of many organised by Tourmaline Films: this one in conjunction with Torrevieja Town Hall.

This contest is now one of only 37 national contest of its category among 73 that has been granted a Quality certificate granted by the Association of the Shorts Industry in Spain. This AIC recognition has been awarded “for the good work and respect of the industry in only five editions can be compared to the Alicante Cine Festival with its thirteen editions, or the 31 events of the Valencia “Cinemajove”, explained Lidiana Rodríguez who went on, “or the 54 editions of the International Gijon Festiival.”

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The quality certificate is an annual distinction to differentiate and to reward festivals that realize an exemplary function for the diffusion, protection and professionalization of the cinema and the industry, and especially of the short films.

Lidiana Rodríguez indicated that it is " great news " that Torrevieja's festival has achieved the distinction " in such a short space of time ".

Last June the Virgen del Carmen was packed for this event when the traditional salt boats were awarded to “Gea” the work of Jaime Maestro in the Animation category and “No digas Nada”, by Silvia Abascal the Fiction category.

An advantage of Short Films is that many can be covered and viewed in a short space of time and made it a bit easier for the judges Judith Colell, Elisabet Cabeza y Esteban Crespo. But not all that easy as there have been so many excellent short movies presented. Now we will wait and see what the 6th Edition of Torrevieja Audiovisual brings as the fifth contest drew 568 short films in the two categories of Animation and Fiction.

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Clips from past entries

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This is my Quest to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far, To fight for the right Without question or pause, To be willing to march into hell For a heavenly cause!

And I know, if I'll only be true To this glorious Quest, That my heart will lie peaceful and calm When I'm laid to my rest.

And the world will be better for this, That one man, scorned and covered with scars, Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, To reach the unreachable stars!

Continuing with out series about Shakespeare and Cervantes in this their 400th anniversary a quick look at The Quest. The words are from the musical “The Man from La Mancha”, namely Don Quixote, which I first saw in a small theatre off Piccadilly Circus so many years ago in 1968. The Quest is the Impossible Dream of Don Quixote, a Knight seeking to bring tyrants down to Earth and save fair damsels.

Last year there was a quest by the Spanish Astronomical Society in conjunction with the Pamplona Planetarium to name a star after Cervantes, an initiative as part of the NameExoWorlds. This was part of an international drive to rename 14 stars and 31 exoplanets orbiting around them. Last December 15th the Spanish proposal “Estrella Cervantes” had more than 38,000 votes that were accepted. This has led to the Cervantes star, which also has Quixote, Rocinante, Sancho and Dulcinea - the names of the four planets which orbit this star and constitute a planetary system known as # Arae. So finally Cervantes really is a star. aormi@icloud.com

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Festival Internacional De Acci贸n Art铆stica Murcia 6, 7 & 8 Mayo

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