In the middle evening yesterday as I waited for Phil to finish his chess game I felt rather than heard rhythmic drumming. So I went out to take a look. Another Holy Week procession was underway. i should have realised this was about to happen as I had seen some barriers on side streets. I have not been able to ascertain which bit of the Holy Week story was connected to Tuesday but a procession was taking place.
Sombre looking dignitaries walked along, some in traditional anonymity.
The statue of Jesus almost as a king on his throne was carried along.
And Mary was there as well, of course.
As well as the drumming, there was the inevitable rather mournful marching band.
My Spanish sister assures me that where she loves there is a procession every day but when we spent Easter in Salamanca we did not see daily processions.
After the chess games were over we went out looking for beer and a snack. When we arrived here, almost a week ago now, it seemed that we found restaurants and bars to our liking all over the place. Starting from Monday of this week we have found more and more of these places closed. Maybe it’s a consequence of it being Holy Week. So last night we ended up at what seemed to be a vegan place where one harassed young lady appeared to be the only waitress. Eventually we got beer but the service was so slow that we gave up on selecting a snack from the limited range available. So it goes.
Out in the wider world I read that there are plans to move Picasso’s Guernica from Madrid to Bilbao.
“The Basque regional government has formally asked Spain’s Ministry of Culture to authorize a temporary loan of Pablo Picasso‘s "Guernica" to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, according to Ara, a Catalan-language newspaper. If the move is approved, it would mark the first time the painting has traveled since it was installed at Madrid’s Museo Reina Sofía in 1992.
The proposed transfer would take place between October 2026 and June 2027, coinciding with the 90th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica, the Basque city whose destruction by Nazi and Italian Fascist air forces on April 26, 1937, inspired Picasso to paint the antiwar canvas.”
So it’s 90 years since the town of Guernica was destroyed in what some have described as an experiment in carpet bombing civilian areas. Guernica, Dresden, Coventry - and still places are being flattened.
Here’s a cartoon illustration of the history of Gaza.
And here is something from Tuesday’s social media:
Zarah Sultana MP
“Queeser Zuhrah was held in detention for 15 months without trial, during which she wwent on hunger strike. I was proud, alongside others, to get the ambulance she urgently needed deep into that strike when her life was on the line.
Last week she broke her silence and spoke publicly about the violence she endured at HMP Bronzefield.
Today, just one month after being released on bail, she has been rearrested under the terrorism act - reportedly in connection with a social media post.
She was arrested in an early hours raid by police officers wearing face coverings. The same tactic used by ICE officers in the US.
This is state intimidation, designed to silence dissent. As a movement we must fight back.”
On the good news front, Joni Mitchell was presented with the the #JUNOs Lifetime Achievement Award!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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