La Vida Alcalaína

Two weeks ago I was moaning that it had been raining for weeks.  But I didn't know then that the worst was still to come. Hot on the heels of Joseph and Kristin, Storm Leonardo hit the Iberian peninsular and northern Morocco last week with devastating effects across Andalucía, especially the province of Cadiz. It was soon followed by the equally vindictive Marta, and yesterday we were warned that Nils was on the way, but heading for northern Spain. Apparently this extreme weather is due mainly to an area of high pressure which has been parked over Scandinavia for several weeks.  This has been blocking areas of low pressure with its mild wet weather from pushing across from the Atlantic, deflecting the jet stream further south and bringing unusually high levels of rainfall to the UK, western Europe and the Mediterranean. Winds of over 100 kpm lashed the Costa de la Luz last week, blocking roads with sand and destroying beach infrastructure. The beautiful mountain village of Gra...

The title of this post is a catchphrase in our household for whenever we get a spell of bad weather (said in jest, I should add - we're not total wimps). It was a regular complaint of an English friend who lived here for a few years before returning "home". Like so many others, she planned her migration south during a chilly wet English winter (in the comfort of her centrally heated house) after being convinced by TV shows such as  A Place in the Sun  that Andalucía was exactly that.   In the winter of 2010/11 it started raining on Christmas Eve and went on more or less continuously until the end of March.  Rivers burst their banks, low-lying towns and villages were under water, roads were washed away, and crops could not be sown.  But on the whole the locals were happy, because after several years of drought the reservoirs were once again full. The same phenomenon is occurring this year, except it started in mid-December.  I'm writing this at the...

Last night we had the first proper rain since May, clearing the dust from the air and sparking off the growth of lush winter grass which our livestock farmers depend on.  We don't get polite little showers here, it comes down by the bucketful ( llueve a cántaros ) and soaks you to the skin in  seconds. Back in May the forecasters were predicting the coldest summer in Spain for 200 years .  Well, if that was a cold summer, bring on some more please.  Daytime temperatures peaked in the low 30s Celsius (90s Fahrenheit) and we didn't get that extended sweaty humid period that usually keeps us awake on August nights. As always, Alcalainos took full advantage of the summer months to celebrate their fairs and festivals.  Here are some pictures recording the summer of 2013 by a young local photographer, Pedro Martín Sánchez, more of whose excellent work can be seen on his blog Alcalá a través de mi objetivo . 9th International Music Festival Candlelit concert ...

5comentario, now open all year round Beach parties in Alcalá?  But it's 50 km from the coast! "Paseo de la Playa" is a street-name more usually found in seaside resorts, as it means a promenade along the beach.  But we have our very own Playa.  Its origin isn't clear: some say it is named after a bar that's not there any more, others will tell you it's because there used to be a large sandy area where the municipal park is now.  But it remains an enduring source of confusion for visitors. The Playa has long been an area for social activities, and being one of the few flat places in Alcalá, it's the ideal place to parade your new baby up and down or take your aged grandparents for a constitutional stroll before dinner.  Until the 1930s it was home to the bull-ring (now converted to flats, thankfully) and the August fair used to be held there until it moved to the purpose-built Recinto de Feria on the outskirts of the town. Twenty years ago, before t...

Viper's bugloss This very English proverb has certainly held good in our part of the world this year.  In fact our April showers continued well into May, breaking yet another climatic record as we reach the end of the wettest and coolest May since whenever. By now, we are normally enjoying daytime temperatures in the mid to high twenties (high 70s in Fahrenheit), but it remains pleasantly cool at around 22ºC (71ºF), with the odd shower of rain. Our spring flowers are always a delight, daubing the winter-green meadows with vivid blotches of colour before they turn summer-brown.  With all the extra spring rain, however, they have put on a spectacular show this year that is set to last for a good few weeks yet.  Here are some examples, all taken this week, to tempt you to come over and see for yourself! For detailed information on the local flora, check out Brenda Jones' excellent blog Flowers of Andalucia .

It's April, and it's raining. The phrase En abril aguas mil, which is the Spanish equivalent of "April showers bring May flowers", comes from a poem by Antonio Machado: Son de abril las aguas mil.fe Semana Santa, and in Spain it always rains at Easter .  The Almighty must have a strange sense of humour, waiting till the faithful have gathered en masse (pardon the pun) to carry out their strange rituals in the streets, then pulling the plug and allowing the heavens to open. Scenes in Sevilla yesterday, where four of the processions for Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) had to be cancelled : I don't know whether Alcalá's Palm Sunday procession was rained off because I don't intend to leave the house till the skies are clear again, but there are four more processions due this week and the forecast isn't good ... Tuesday 3 April, 8 pm, starting at the church of San Jorge on the Plaza Alta: Procession of the V enerable y Ducal Hermandad d...