We moved into this house almost five and a half years ago. And I’ve finally got all the banisters varnished. To be fair to myself, I got the ones at ground level done years ago, but since then there’s always been something more urgent to do first. And of course banisters are almost entirely awkward little corners, so it wasn’t a small job. In fact I started ten days ago,…
A weapon of Mass Irrigation
Today was the annual water fight at my son’s school. In previous years he forgot to tell me in advance, and I’d get a sad phone call at 11 am. “Mum! PLEASE bring my water gun and swimming trunks!” This year he remembered about it the day before. Which was a very good thing, because his big water pistol was broken. He’s had this water pistol for years, and it’s…
Flags Galore
You see a lot of flags on La Palma. Most English visitors will recognise the flags of Spain and the European Union. But the Canary Islands are an autonomous region within Spain, and they have their own flag too. You see it a lot, especially around May 30th, which is Canary Day. And then each island has its own flag. Here’s the flag of La Palma: And as if that…
A Fat Point
On Saturday we went to see my friend in Puntagorda, which means “Fat Bridge”. My husband did a bit of maintenance on her car, and we chatted, and then while they were out checking the car actually worked, I took this photo of some bricks piled up in the garden,and one of old roof tiles, ditto. They came back and we had a nice lunch on the patio and chatted….
Puntagorda Market
Puntagorda is a village and municipality in the north west of the island. Every Saturday and Sunday, they have a farmers’ market and craft fair in the Mercadillo, which is at the north of the village, near the Fayal picnic area. Like most farmers’ markets, the vegetables are fresher and cheaper than most supermarkets. There are also stalls selling organic wholemeal bread, sugar cane juice (with or without rum) cakes…
Unlucky for Some
It’s Friday 13th. Did you know that in Spain, nobody worries about Friday 13th, just Tuesday 13th? Anyway, my son is very lucky today. It’s St. Anthony’s Day, and so the village of San Antonio has it’s local fiesta. And that’s where my son’s school is, so they wanted to shut for the day. Initially, they were told that no, they couldn’t, because they’d already used up their elective days….