A Clutch Of Festivities

We spent Christmas in England for the first time in about four years ago. Much as we enjoy what Christmas has to offer here in the village, it was a delight to be with the family for a change. By great good fortune, we found a self-catering apartment a mere three or four minutes’ walk from our daughter’s house, allowing us to have the best of both worlds; to be with the children as they unwrapped their mountain of presents, but able to retreat to our own quiet space whenever the impatience of age began to kick in. We arrived back here on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year and so were able then to look forward to joining friends for a New Year’s Eve meal at one of our favourite restaurants. Sadly, the years are really starting to have their impact and so we didn’t head off up to the church square to see in the actual New Year, although we heard the fireworks at midnight. Of course, in Spain enough is never enough and so now we await the arrival of the Three Kings on Monday evening and the opening of the gifts by the children the following morning. On Monday there will be bouncy castles with cartoon characters in attendance and on Tuesday there will be ice skating in the main square, La Plaza De Las Tres Culturas for both children and adults, experienced skaters and novices, with marshals available to gather up the casualties. After that there is absolutely nothing to celebrate until 20th January, the feast of San Sebastián, one of the village patrons. By then we are well into 2015. It will be interesting to see what it brings.