Mixed Blessings

I have to start this particular ramble with an apology, specifically to the people of ‘Athens’. Why ? You may well ask 🤔 Well you may recall that in my last ramble I suggested, that due to the rain, but more particularly, the thick dusty orange sand that we had been experiencing here in Spain for several days (The ‘Clima’), that the presenter’s of a certain UK TV Holiday Property Programme (That I just happen to keep mentioning), should perhaps seek out a different Country to focus their attentions upon, either Italy, Greece or Turkey, all of which were, at that time, experiencing a much more ‘Healthier Mediterranean Lifestyle’ than we were here in Spain.

So how was I to know that my particular nemesis, which as you well know by now, are those pesky ‘Dark Forces’, had surreptitiously signed up and ‘Subscribed’ to my Blog posts, then used my words as ammunition for them to then target other’s. Why do I suspect this, well less than a week after publishing that last ramble, I was conducting my usual morning review of the media headlines and I came across this………………… 😲🫣

Now I know that my ‘Rambles’ may not be one of the most popular Blogs on the global social media circuit (Understatement), but that does not mean that I welcome all, or even any, ‘Undesirables’ to ‘Follow’ my literary masterpieces just to make up the numbers. So, I checked my list of ‘Subscribers’ on my Admin Pages, a task that didn’t actually take very long 😂 but there was no evidence of any ‘Subscriber’ going by the name or title of ‘darkforces@******.com’, or any other similar prefix, although, funny old thing, I discovered that I do actually have one follower, subscribed as ‘Anonymous’ 🤔 So, as a consequence, Shazza and I may just have to take that trip to Rome, which is on our ‘Bucket List’, sooner rather than later, calling in to ‘Vatican City’, where I will request an audience with the Pope and ask him to conduct an ‘Exorcism’ on my Blog Account 😲

I do have some good news though 🤗 We have enjoyed a change of fortune, for it has rained continuously for several days now and as a consequence it has cleared away all remnants of the ‘Clima’, well we know where that went don’t we 🫣 and so the air is once again clear, people can now get out again from behind their locked doors and windows and enjoy the much healthier fresh air, although if they do they may very well catch ‘Pneumonia’ as a result of doing so, as they are likely to get soaked to the skin, as it is still raining rather heavily and this is expected to continue over the Easter weekend. But that in itself is good news, no, I do not mean about people contracting ‘Pneumonia’, but because all of our ‘Embalces’ are now beginning to fill up, more importantly for us, the one that directly supplies our area, ‘Embalce La Concepcion’, has increased its water level, from what was a dangerously low 25% just a couple of weeks ago, to now being very nearly 48% and, with these heavy downpours, over the next few days, and weeks, the ‘Run Off’s’ from the Mountain rivers, streams and storm drains our fingers are crossed that this figure will increase to, hopefully, somewhere nearer the 60% level 🤞 So even though the sky has been unusually sunless for this time of year the black and stormy clouds may themselves possess a Silver lining, as this should result in our current domestic water usage restrictions being eased, albeit they may not be totally lifted, as we do not anticipate our communal swimming pool ban being lifted just yet.

Before we came to live permanently in Spain, during the previous eight year’s that we have been coming here on our frequent ‘Schengen Shuffle’ trips, which sometimes happened to coincide with the Easter period, Shazza and I had joined outdoor religious Easter Mass services amongst the crowds in the square outside our local town church, although I didn’t go forward to participate in ‘Holy Communion’, and then afterwards, we joined the entourage of people following the ‘Holy Statuette’ and musical band that then paraded through the streets of the town, we had also participated in other similar processions and events during these Easter periods in some of our other local municipalities. These religious gatherings are an important part of the Spanish cultural heritage and lifestyle, as they are of course in many other countries too, and the planning and preparation for each event takes place months in advance. However, and almost as if by some divine intervention, generally the weather during this Holy Week had always remained dry and sunny. Unfortunately though it was not to be on this occasion, it was as if the numerous prayer’s for essential rainfall were actually stronger and far outweighed those who were praying for the better weather over this particular period. Due to the atrocious weather, and yes it was probably very close to being of biblical proportions, numerous events right around the country were either cancelled, or were held indoors in a much more confined space, where the numbers of those able to attend were severely limited. So I suppose we could say that this Easter period has brought us some ‘Mixed Blessings’.

Now, I am sure that a lot of people, like myself, have heard of the Actor, Antonio Banderas, but it is only over the last couple of years that I became aware that he actually originates from Malaga. Following the local Spanish Media, I have also discovered that he is quite heavily involved in lots of local issues and events, from the obvious areas of, Film, Theatre, Music, Arts, but also many other cultural and social events and he is truly loved here by the normal everyday people, not just the more privileged members of Spanish Society, not just within the province of Malaga, but also within the whole of the Andalusian Region. So it came as no surprise to me to see him appear in the local media during this ‘Semana Santa’ (Saint’s Week) period.

As you do know, I often criticise the media, in all of its forms, and usually for very good reason, not least for its habitual doom and gloom contents, but I do also have to confess that, at times, mind you it is only ‘At Times’, it can also reveal some quite interesting facts, although perhaps to some it may be considered as ‘Trivia’, as opposed to earth shattering revelations. By way of an example, whilst I did of course know that Antonio Banderas was Spanish, I did not know that he originated from just up the road from where we live in Spain, neither did I know that Michael Portillo (Journalist, Broadcaster and former UK Conservative Politician), or Anthony Paul Beke, better known as ‘Anton Du Beke’ (British Ballroom dancer, author and television presenter, probably best known for being a professional dancer and a judge on the British celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing), both originate from Spain and have family still living here. Okay, I did say that these were not earth shattering revelations 🤷‍♂️ However, it raised my curiosity and so I decided to research on which other famous British people originated from Spain. However, did you know that ‘Mr. Google’ has a sense of humour, because when I typed into the ‘search’ bar, “Were any famous British Men or Women born in Spain ?”, the answer came back, “No, only babies” 😂 Okay, that it is an old joke I know, but I hope it raised a smile on your face. However, I did do a check and there was a very long list of people, dating way back in the annals of History to more modern times, the majority of names which meant nothing to me personally, which will not come as any surprise to you, me being a self-confessed History heathen, but, in addition to the two names that I have already mentioned (Portillo and Du Beke), there were four other names that stood out to me, Helena Bonham Carter  (English actress), Paloma Faith (English singer and songwriter), Gerry Halliwell (English singer, member of the pop group the Spice Girls) and Michelle Keegan (English actress). Sometimes, only sometimes mind you, just like the media, sometimes even my rambles can contain less than earth shattering pieces of trivia 🤭 Seeing that I am on the subject of historical events, or should that be ‘hysterical’ 🤔 Shazza and I have been together now for a little over 19 year’s, but today, Easter Sunday 2024, we celebrate our 17th Wedding Anniversary and quite honestly, and we do both agree on this, but it really doesn’t feel that long, the years have just sped by, which I suppose is good in one way, but in another, well it is quite scary at how fast time is ticking away 😲

So all that is left to say on this latest ramble is that both Shazza and I wish all our reader’s a very, Happy Easter, wherever you may be in the world.

Until the next ramble………………

Hasta Luego mi Amigos, “La Vida Es Buena”