Helmets and hosepipes time again … the Virgen del Carmen cometh

[Perikles]

Watching telly with my bitch yesterday evening. She was chewing her bone. There was a news item which showed a rocket being fired with a whoooosh. Bitch looks up alarmed, but relaxed after five seconds when no bang ensued.

[Nova]

This is what I have tonight.  Aren't you glad that I'm generous enough to share?   

[Nova]

I see a foam machine!   

[El Profesor]

This is what I have tonight.  Aren't you glad that I'm generous enough to share?   

Fantastic . . . eat your heart out Slough!

I happen to know that the Virgen de Carmen will herself be brought out of the church tonight at about 9.30 and she will be carried around those very streets accompanied by a pretty nifty little brass band.
One wonders if it will be one of the villages that bothers to feed the musicians afterwards.

In El Fraile a couple of weeks ago, there were several giant paellas sizzling away in the back of the church while they were tuning up the instruments - aromas most appetising wafted.
They had trudged the streets behind the Virgin, the local politicos, the beauty queen and her entourage, working up a nice appetite  .......... playing and walking at the same time isn't as easy as it looks .......... then the priest blessed the blessed virgin, said a prayer and invited  the whole village to paella.
By the time they'd put away their instruments there was nothing left - five loaves and two fishes indeed.

[Nova]

I have just updated my blog with some photos 

[Nova]

In El Fraile a couple of weeks ago, there were several giant paellas sizzling away in the back of the church while they were tuning up the instruments - aromas most appetising wafted.
They had trudged the streets behind the Virgin, the local politicos, the beauty queen and her entourage, working up a nice appetite  .......... playing and walking at the same time isn't as easy as it looks .......... then the priest blessed the blessed virgin, said a prayer and invited  the whole village to paella.
By the time they'd put away their instruments there was nothing left - five loaves and two fishes indeed.

Two years ago in LG, the paella served to all the musicians and stallholders gave them food-poisoning.  I don't think food has been provided since 

The foam party has just finished and I am blessed with a short period of silence - divine! 

[Nova]

And the music has started while they're getting the stuff out ready for the last night of the fiesta!  I'm not sure quite why we need so much volume or bass while they're just faffing about.... 

[El Profesor]

.......  I don't think food has been provided since 

They got sandwiches, fruit juice and icecream. - not enough to not want supper (at 12pm)

[Janet]

Whooshes and a few bangs followed in short order by a committee of three collecting for the Carmen fiesta in Julio ...

"y la cuota", we ask? €70 they say. Ufff we say, sounding like a rocket taking off. Es bastante, somos pensionistas ...

We gave €50 and Perikles put us on the list ... and lo and behold everyone else on there had given either €50 or €40. Fireworks will be a little muted perhaps this year, which suits me! It'll still be like the Somme ...

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

I wondered what the fireworks were for.  We were on the mountain with the dingbats and it was freaking them out.  And the boom bouncing off the side of the mountain didn't help.   

I can't believe your muggers  fiesta committee set an amount per household.  Ours are much subtler.  They do lottery tickets, posters of the virgin, dinner dances but when it comes to handing over hard cash they are happy for whatever you give them.  I can only imaging what would happen around here if they started demanding 70€ per house.  The street would be shaking with laughter.