Past Events 30 Solutions

THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR – PART 2

So this was Geoff Fabron’s, again eagerly awaited, continued talk on the Spanish Civil War and was to cover the actual very nasty civil war of 1936 to 1939. Again the presentation time was scheduled for 2:00 after the weekly Thursday meeting and an excellent club lunch featuring ‘bangers and mash’ prepared this time by Diane and Brenda.

Geoff gave a brief resume of the lead up to the outbreak of the war in 1936, namely:

Attempts at forming an acceptable Constitution had failed miserably due to the main factions being totally opposed to each other’s views with Authoritarian Rule v Liberal democracy, central Madrid rule v Regional rule, the wealthy Aristocratic v the Middle Class and a strict Catholic State v a Secular State, indeed a very complex state of affairs.

The Spanish national psyche was shattered and growing unrest, polarisation and violence had lead to a Right (Nationalists) versus Left (Republicans) situation. The population was totally split with total distrust on both sides, and the stage was set for civil war.

The military declared a revolt and on 18/19 July 1936 took control. The army of Africa was transported (by German and Italian aircraft) to the mainland. However in Madrid the uprising failed and effectively there were two rebellions, a military uprising and a left wing/separatist revolution.

Franco flew in from the Canary Islands. Police and soldiers sided with who was in control. Mayhem presided. Both sides were fairly well balanced but very disorganised. Terror and revenge ruled on both sides, with political opponents rounded up then imprisoned or executed.

Gradually from August 1936 to March 1937, Franco and the Nationalists advanced towards Madrid but suffered heavy losses. They joined up with the Nationalists in the north (Pamplona under General Mola). Then a change of tactic saw the north of the country fall to the Nationalists (April 1937 to October 1937).

With the Soviets/Stalin supplying arms to the Republicans, in the winter of

1937/1938 they tried to strike back at Teruel, but suffered heavily with around 80,000 casualties. The writing was on the wall for the Republicans. From March 1938 to Feb 1939, Franco made advances with Barcelona and Catalonia eventually falling to him. 27th March 1939 the Republican’s cause collapsed, and on 1st April 1939 Franco declared that the civil war was over. Severe reprisals ensued, with no mercy being shown with 10,000 being killed. Strict authoritarian rule existed with a one party state that showed no tolerance. The human cost of the war had been around 765,000. Franco remained in power until 1976. Simply a very fascinating period in not too far away history!

Submitted by Alan Lucas

QUIZ NIGHT - Friday 4 June

Thank you to all who attended this event, when we reverted back to a start time of 8.30pm to try and get us back to some sort of normality after the last very unsettling year. There were 22 players between four tables, which meant all tables took home a bottle of wine. We had four rounds namely Countries, Food and Drink, Lovers and General Knowledge, with a short break after the first two to recharge our glasses and eat a chocolate snack! The final scores were very close with Sheila Defries and colleagues winning by only half a point to bag the winning four bottles of wine. We finished with a game of Sticky Thirteens (a card game with a bingo theme) being won by Ian Horwood. We were very pleased to welcome four new prospective Club members who said they had enjoyed themselves -fingers crossed they do indeed join us. If you enjoy quizzing, come and join our next one which will be on Friday 2 July with Ron Pegrum. We can always find you someone to play with if you don’t have your own team of up to six people -only 2 euros for members and 3 euros for guests.

Submitted by Maggie Whittley

CARIBBEAN NIGHT

What would you expect from a night in the Caribbean? Balmy temperatures, reggae music, delicious spicy food served under palm trees and a velvet blue sky, delightful , exotically attired companions, and afterwards the chance to go skinny-dipping on a moon-kissed beach. That is exactly what we were treated to on June 12th, courtesy of Wilma and her team of helpers. (The skinny-dipping was optional –I didn’t see too many of you on the beach, you should have come!) About 60 ICE members and guests enjoyed 3 courses with choices, all elaborate and delicious, as we have come to expect from Wilma’s kitchen, served on the upper terrace by suitably extravagantly dressed waiters and waitresses. We were entertained by a quiz (‘How many Caribbean islands can you name?’ There are over 7,000! The winning table found 27!) and prizes for the best dressed diners, which went to the utterly resplendent Maggie and Dan. Wasn’t it great to enjoy an evening out together? Our thanks go to Wilma, and hers go to her helpers: Rachel and Alan, Renee and Dan, Di, Maureen, Ian, Fran and Nigel, and the many more who pitched in.

Submitted by Sally Holloway

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Óptica Machin has established itself over the years as a highly recommended practice where eye care and exceptional service are the priorities. We welcome all patients, whatever your visual requirements for fashion, sports, style, UV protection and budget may be. The practice is very easy to find, located on the Avenida Litoral approach road into Estepona and has ample free parking. www.opticamachin.com info@opticamachin.com Tel 952 80 68 13