It's Easter weekend so it must be snowing!

We were into Spring last weekend for Margaret's party but this weekend, it's Easter, therefore, it was no surprise this morning when the rain turned to sleet, (but didn't lie here). However, as you can see, there is snow on the nearby mountains - very picturesque now the sun is out.

It's Margaret's fiesta!

It was a very important birthday for Margaret so we had planned a party for Saturday, 4th April. Around 30 of our friends were able to come for a meal which we held in our bodega. We cooked 2 legs of lamb, which the butcher had boned, filled with Margaret's stuffing, a very large boneless stuffed chicken joint, a speciality of our butcher, and a whole salmon. Everyone brought a dish either to go with the main course or a desert, so there was lots of food, in addition to lovely presents for Margaret.

Click on the photo for a larger image.

Hona looked on from the terrace above. She would love to join in but she is too friendly and wants to jump up.


The meal got underway and at the same time the Grand National was taking place at Aintree so we had organised a sweepstake.


Attention focused on the TV during the race and also later for the DVD of the entertainment at the Santa Agueda celebrations. If you missed "The Doctor's" sketch on YouTube, click HERE.


After the meal it was time for the table tennis, darts and pool tournaments.


I am pleased to report that I reached the final in all 3 games and won the table tennis, just losing to Juan Miguel in a close game of pool and Jasa, who, with the scores virtually even at 56, scored a bullseye and a 6 with his next 2 darts.

The 3 champions!

Photos by Floyd and Raquel.

We're in the newspaper again!

Over these last 2 weeks Margaret, Floyd and myself have given 4 presentations at 3 local language schools to mature students learning English on our experiences with the language here since we arrived, 3½ years ago.

Click left on the picture for a full size image.

Our photo appeared in the local paper - at least this time they spelled our names correctly even though they managed to get the captions to the photos the wrong way round.

It has been great fun and in each case has been well received.

Holiday in Madeira

After the hectic week previously, (Santa Agueda and all that was involved), we were glad to get away from it all for a fortnight to Madeira, one of our favourite destinations.

Click left on any photo to see the full size view.

We had booked an apartment with a fantastic view over Funchal.


The first week we stayed in Funchal, visiting the market with it's wonderful flowers and going for walks around the harbour and sea front.


The second week, we hired a car and toured the island. Above, we visited the second highest point in the centre of the island at 1810 metres. The highest point, just a few metres higher, is shrouded in cloud in the photo.


Even in February, trees were in blossom and lots of flowers were blooming.


Nearly all of the island has dramatic cliffs as it just pushes up out of the sea. Beaches are non-existent and wherever you go, it involves hills.


Porto Moniz, at the north-west corner, has really developed since we were last there a few years ago. It is much easier to get to using the coastal route which used to take several hours but now the road tunnels it's way through the cliffs. With a few tunnels left being worked on to open in the future, it is a great way of getting from one side of the island to the other very quickly.


At Porto Moniz are these natural pools used for swimming, during warmer months, and refreshed each time the tide comes in.


After lunch one day we came across a fiesta parade involving hundreds of children from a local school.


These are "traditional" houses at Santana, casas de colmo, straw houses - there are only a few which had been renovated for the tourists. Nearly all of the houses for the population of today are built into the hillsides and are in good condition with many being fairly recent, all painted white with red tiled roofs.

Spot the lighthouse, at São Jorge, on the north coast.

Spot Margaret.

On the "main" road, there's only one similar to a motorway, the tunnels were part of the dual carriageway. Elsewhere, the tunnels were single carriageway, being up to 3 kms in length.



This photo was taken in the only bar / restaurant on the high central plateau. However, there are no tigers or giraffes roaming around.


It's only at the far eastern end of the island where the land gradually fades back into the sea.



Another place which is easy to get to by tunnel even though it is relatively close to Funchal, is the Nun's Valley, Curral das Freiras or Nun's Refuge. It is one of the few places on Madeira from which the sea cannot be seen. Very picturesque.

Santa Agueda

The day of Santa Agueda is for the ladies - (Agueda was martyred in the 3rd century). Here, all the women of the village meet for breakfast in the bar then assemble for mass in the church in the afternoon.

Click left on any photo to see it full size.

This year it was the turn of our peña to organise the event so for the church service and procession everyone wore traditional costume. Margaret wore a spare costume of Rosi's.


Everyone assembled outside the ayuntamiento for the short walk to the church. Not sure about jeans and quilted coat being traditional, but it was very cold.


In the basket above are small cakes being taken to church in order to be blessed. The cakes are small and round with a cherry on top and represent breasts - Santa Agueda had hers removed!


In the smaller baskets above is more broken up cake which is blessed with holy water during the service and then handed out to the congregation as they leave.


Part of the service involves carrying the statue of Santa Agueda around the village and then back into the church.

To see the video of the procession, click here.

After the service, all the ladies go to the bar to eat the cakes, drink cava and dance to music played by the music group who play and sing in the church. For one number, all members of the peña participated in the singing even though Margaret could only mime as she didn't know the words.


An innovative feature this year was "entertainment" and we had all been busy rehearsing at our house the previous week. In the sketch above, "At the Doctors", Margaret played the "sexy nurse", a non-speaking part. It was hilarious!

To see a slightly shorter version of the sketch, 9 minutes 47 seconds, (YouTube have a 10 minute limit), click here.

Next up was the "Scottish Dancing" piece where we both took part and choreographed it with authentic moves. It was very well received, especially the ending when we all flipped up our kilts to show what was worn underneath!


The third and final piece of entertainment was "the Lina Morgan" tribute - she's big in Spain and everyone knows her songs. Once again, a huge success.

To see Floyd's videos of the 3 entertainment sketches, click here.

And then we had a meal in the restaurant to round off a most memorable day!

We're in the newspaper!

In "La Comarca" of Tuesday 27th January, the bi-weekly newspaper of Aragón, we were there!


Margaret, the "neighbour of the locality", may have said these words; "We like a lot the fiesta and to live in Torre del Compte". However, in true newspaper reporter style the name came out wrong. Probably somewhere in the course of the evening the reporter would have asked, "what is/are your name/s?", to which the reply would have been, "Margaret y Colin". An easy mistake to make.

San Anton

A special mass is held for San Anton in the Church. It is still very windy outside so the statue has to stay inside this year - hopefully San Anton will get to see the village and we will follow him in a procession next year. The Church has it's central heating system working again - a patio heater in the central aisle - well at least it's central and it gives off heat.

Click left on any picture to see it full size.

The group of musicians play their usual selection throughout the service.

After the service, 2 "devils" go from door to door visiting every house in the village to collect a gift of food or drink.

They are accompanied by a brass band so you can hear them coming.

In the afternoon all the food is taken to the village hall where it is auctioned off to the various peña groups. Margaret's mince pie raised 27 euros! A total of 2,600 euros was raised in the auction this year. The raffle, for the butchered pork, raised a further 800 euros. All the money goes to the town hall and is spent on various works that take place for the village.

A rum concoction is carefully brewed.

When it is ready, it is handed out to everyone there, it certainly helps to encourage higher bids for the food and drink!

When each piece of food or drink has been auctioned, the brass band play a fanfare. The auction lasted for 4½ hours.

Finally it was time to eat all the food - and yes, it was our peña who won Margaret's mince pie in the auction - delicious.