On Monday, as I may have mentioned already, we moved house, from a rather elegant flat in the Triana district of Las Palmas to a less elegant place in a district whose name I never learnt, a district of high-rise flats, altogether less tourist-orientated, more everyday life-orientated. Trying hard not to get lost we followed Google maps on the phone to find the local Spar so that we did at least have the makings of breakfast on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday lunchtime, still trying not to get lost following Google maps (which never make it clear which way is north so that it is easy to head in the wrong direction) we went in search of a restaurant, a specific restaurant, hence Google maps. We paused briefly outside a place that roasted chickens to take away and found the restaurant we were after just a little further along the road. The men sitting at the tables outside started to tell us, “martes, está cerrada”. At first we took this to mean that the restaurant itself was closed on Tuesdays. Such a disappointment! We would have to start afresh.
But no, the helpful men had jumped to conclusions and assumed we wanted a roast chicken. Confusion sorted, we discovered that yes, of course, we could lunch at this little local restaurant. After further confusion when they began to tell they only served “platos combinados”, making me wonder if we were only going to get egg and chips, we had very good grilled fish - yes, with chips - and a nice ensalada mixta. It quite made up for the rather basic accommodation we had moved into and for the Google maps confusion. A good end to our stay!
And yesterday we flew home, leaving sunshine behind in Las Palmas and returning to sunshine in Greater Manchester.
Okay, by this morning the blue sky and sunshine had disappeared here and later in the day it rained quite heavily. By early evening, though, the sky was blue again, just in time for the sun to go over the hill. So it goes!
While we were away wildfires spread over the peat moors around here. Highly inflammable stuff is peat. Saddleworth moor, Marsden moor, Derbyshire all had outbreaks. Some roads were closed, people were advised to stay away from local beauty stops, and in some places people were advised to keep their windows closed. What caused the fires? It could be foolish / careless folk with portable barbecues. It could be kids messing about … they are still on holiday from school. One scientific explanation is that the hot and sunny weather of the last few days dried out the top layer of peat and it just self-combusted!
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Whatever the cause, it’s a mess and the season of fires has started early this year! Maybe today’s rain will have helped.
On the positive side, we have returned to bluebells and forget-me-nots flowering in the garden.
While I have been watching Easter processions in Gran Canaria, Morris dancers have been out and about here in the Northwest of England, as I have already said. In nearby Bacup they have a group of something like Morris dancers who are known as the Britannia Coconut Dancers and perform a tightly structured percussive dance in which wooden "nuts" attached to the body are struck in rhythmic patterns, creating accompaniment through movement itself.
They dance in “black face”, which I am not sure is strictly politically correct these days. However it has been documented from 1857, when they were known as Tunstead Mill Nutters. It is said to be the last continuous example of a once wider Rossendale practice. Although its earlier origins remain uncertain, the form is understood most securely as a tradition rooted in Lancashire's industrial culture and sustained through local continuity.
The troupe processes through the town from morning to night in a ritual boundary dance across the town, accompanied by a brass band and stopping at key points along the route. Their striking costume includes striped skirts, clogs, turbans and blackened faces. Their movement is both percussive and processional, built around the rhythmic striking of wooden “nuts” strapped to their knees, wrists, and waists.
As regards the blackened faces, some say it has connections to Cornish mining communities, or even Mediterranean and Moorish influences - think of the “ y Cristianos” festivities in some parts of Spain. Some say it could originally have been a way of warding off evil spirits. Others put it down to the original “Nutters” being coalminers whose faces were blackened with coal dust at the end of their working shift. I suppose we’ll never know for sure but I remain surprised that nobody has complained!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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