Seaside Gazette » christmas

Nordic Viewpoint January

Marianne Lindahl — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:51:11 +0000

It is freezing cold in Helsinki today when I write this (on the day of the deadline, as usual). And, believe it or not, it is snowing, so and it turned out to be a white Christmas, which is something unusual for us here in southern Finland.

The temperature is 15 degrees below, and like all the other ‘tourists ‘ coming from the Southern hemisphere, we hurry through the streets with scarves covering our nose and mouth, hunting for Christmas gifts. It’s funny how you lose touch after a longer period in the tropical climate of Almuñécar.

Our Swedish friends reported that it has been snowing in Stockholm too. Now we just have to cross our fingers and hope that it will last over the Christmas holidays.

On December 13th we saw the traditional Santa Lucia crowning ceremony in the stately neoclassical cathedral of Helsinki, and the procession starting from the steep and seemingly endless stairs leading down from the cathedral and continuing through the streets of Helsinki. We saw Santa Lucia leading the way dressed in a white gown and with a wreath of candles in her hair, followed by gnomes, star boys and Lucia maids, singing the Santa Lucia song and Christmas carols. Thousands of people had gathered in the Church Square to watch the event.

A lot of foreign languages were spoken and I heard many speaking Spanish, my ears being especially sensitive to this beautiful language. Santa Lucia is celebrated in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Estonia. Even at the time when the Scandinavian countries were catholic, the night of Lucia was celebrated as many other saints’ days, and the tradition continued after the protestant reformation in the 1530’s.

Christmas Eve will be celebrated with family and friends in the Nordic way, with early morning church, rice porridge and a filling Christmas dinner with ham, lute fish and all the trimmings.

As to the New Year’s resolutions, I think that for us senior expats, living in Spain, a good promise would be to start to realise that our so-called ‘golden years’ become even more gilt edged the more we are able to look at the past with forbearance; the stronger we live here and now and the better we are able to look at the future with a serene mind. The question is can we seniors find the right gear, after we have left the busy years behind us?

Many of us become active in all kinds of associations, where most part of the members are so called ‘grey panthers’ and in this activity it is important to show tolerance, empathy and helpfulness. To find the right gear in the administration of an association for foreign expats is not always easy after a long career in administration or business, for example.

It is important to ease down on the bureaucracy and try to handle the administration as straightforward as possible, not indulging in fights over petty details, like children fighting over a toy. Let’s also become more tolerant towards the people we meet, be it our Spanish friends, our expat compatriots or immigrants from different cultures than ours.

Brujas Christmas Menu!

David Darby — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:15:11 +0000

If you are still dithering around wondering where to go for a festive treat, well get your hungry bodies down to Brujas Bar in La Herradura! The Witches, Auxi & Ana, are putting on a special Xmas menu for just €12.50, which looks something like this:
Hot consomme & Partridge Paté
Crunchy Prawn on Special Salad
Grilled Salmon or Swordfish
Special Homemade Brujas Dessert
Great location, brilliant food, excellent value and two of the nicest people I know to look after you… what more could you want over Christmas.
Brujas, Paseo Andrés Segovia, Edif. Bahia II, La Herradura. Tel. 667 570 679.

Me and ‘Satchmo’

Marianne Lindahl — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:41:08 +0000

I do not pretend to be a Jazz ‘connoisseur’ in the very meaning of the word. I know next to nothing about the technicalities of this fascinating kind of music and I had a blank in singing at school.
This was at a time when you had to stand up before the class and sing, and my shy effort always was hopelessly out of key. After this humiliating experience I never tried to sing any ‘pretty songs,’ not even when alone. Music tuition at school has changed tremendously since then. My grandchildren have told me that nowadays even ‘hopeless’ cases like grandmas are encouraged to sing and play instruments, and told that they can learn.
The improvisation, dynamism and rhythm of jazz appealed to me from the very beginning and I realised that even I could ‘crone along’ in an acceptable way. When I was in high school, a man named Louis Daniel Armstrong came into my life and he has stayed there ever since.
At school dances I first became acquainted with St. Louis Blues, Weather Bird, Jeepers Creepers, All of Me etc. His innovative trumpet and cornet solos, shifting the focus from collective improvisation to solo performers made a huge impression on me. He was also an influential singer, with his distinctive gravelly voice, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes.
A school drop out at eleven and juvenile delinquent, he started his musical career by joining a quartet of boys that sang in the streets for money. He developed his cornet playing in the band of the New Orleans Home for Coloured Waifs where he had been sent many times for general delinquency. He got his first dance hall job as a teenager, hauling coal by day and playing his cornet at night. Such was the humble beginning of an artist who has later been described as “perhaps the most important American musician of the 20th century”.
‘Satchmo’ or ‘Pops’ as he liked to call himself, more than any other jazz artist has followed me through life. When feeling a bit down, you get the maximum out of it by playing some of his blues solos or vocals like St. Louis Blues or Saint James Infirmary. If you want to get out of the ‘blueness’ you just have to listen to What a Wonderful World or When the Saints Go Marching In. When having a severe headache, I use to listen to Mack the knife, and to get inspiration for my painting I always listen to his trumpet solos or scat singing, where he uses syllables instead of lyrics. Painting, like all kinds of creative work is very much about improvisation, it´s not just inspection and cold reproduction of what you see, and Pops provides me with a lot of inspiration.
When having to clean the house and not feeling like it, I use to play Hello Dolly, and then it is much easier to get started. Have I become a ‘Satchmo addict?’ Well, it is not the worst kind of addictions.
Now Christmas time is ahead of us, and a part of my Christmas is listening to some of Louis Armstrong’s wonderful Negro spirituals.
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Comes…

Nicola Westby — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:18:58 +0000

…but once a year
It’s that time of year again when the lovely little children of the world get excited at the prospect of receiving all the contents of a Christmas list as long as your arm. Not only that, they are full of expensive laptops, x boxes, Kristian Kiel watches and i-phones. Everyone else seems to be spending a fortune and really looking forward to the holidays. So why do I have clients who are already getting stressed about Christmas? Not so much as a mother-in-law in sight but the blood pressure is on the rise. What’s going on?
Is this just a recession punch to the stomach or, not so much swine flu but a severe bout of affluenza? (The very contagious disease of consumerism ). Maybe it’s a combination of both. Many people move from their home countries to escape this type of pressure and now find themselves getting sucked back into this vicious circle. A client of mine, who is a father of three, stated he feels out of control and inadequate, if he fails to deliver. He makes comparisons to other people’s children who appear to never do without. They seem to go on all the school trips, have the latest electronic games and gadgets and all the must have fashion accessories. He has asked me for help as his health is suffering as well as is his relationship with his wife and kids. In the words of the Michael Jackson hit, I told him to “Start with the man in the mirror… take a look at yourself and make a change.”
We can’t force other people to change but we can change ourselves. By changing our belief system (ie, my kids have to keep up with the neighbours), we change the way we feel about something and then ultimately change our behaviour. You will be amazed that by using this technique, you may begin to see a change in the people around you.
By taking time to reflect on yourself, you will also see the riches that you already have. The recent Children-in-Need campaign really rammed it home that there is always somebody far worse off than yourself and they don’t need to be in Africa. It might be the man in front of you in the Mercadona queue or the woman who didn’t say gracias on the pedestrian crossing.
So realizing this, my client recognized he had everything he needed right in front of him. And that a smaller gift doesn’t mean smaller love and fewer trips doesn’t mean he’s a loser. Once he vocalized this to his family, he immediately felt physically better, his kids understood their family’s financial limitations and he began to feel support from his wife. All that had changed was his belief. However in doing that, lots of things had changed around him.
For fear of breaking into a moonwalk and squealing ‘Aeow’ that reminds me of the other lyrics: “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.” At my suggestion, my husband has spent the last five years waving and grinning at pedestrians and other road users. This was the cure for his anger and road rage that he experienced in his first six months of living here. He was infuriated at everyone else’s lack of road manners! Now he is taking the credit for making Almuñécar a more ‘smiley’ friendly environment than it was five years ago. I say, “Yes dear!” However he may have a point. Try it for yourself.

Hotel Arrayanes Playa

David Darby — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:39:03 +0000

The lovely people at Hotel Arrayanes Playa Restaurant in Cotobro are preparing a really wonderful menu for New Year’s Eve, and here’s a sneak preview.
New Year’s Eve dinner on San Silvestre 31st December 2009 at 20.30h.
Welcoming cocktail.
Lettuce hearts filled with fresh cheese and salmon.
Free range Iberian ham.
House truffled Duck paté.
A skewer of king prawns wrapped in bacon.
Grilled scallops Galician style.
Carrot, orange and pumpkin red soup, with croutons.
Half Lobster Thermidor.
Admiral Sorbet.
Beef tenderloin with foie in black truffle sauce and Málaga raisins in Pedro Ximénez (Sherry).
Fig Biscuit with hot chocolate sauce and almond mousse.
White, red & rosé wines and cava.
Party bag and traditional 12 grapes.
Live music from Los Cubanisimos.
Price €70 per person.
Special hotel accommodation offer, so you can fully enjoy your evening, just €20 per person for a double room.
Make your reservation before 20th December with a 50% deposit.
Hotel Arrayanes Playa. Tel. 958 63 20 74, Fax 958 630 382. info@arrayanesplaya.com

Festivities at Tartana

David Darby — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:33:56 +0000

As the holidays come upon us, remember to make your reservations with Hotel La Tartana. In a wonderful, cozy ambiance with good food and good wines, celebrate those special times with good friends or with loved ones. Mouth-watering menus have been made for their traditional Christmas and New Year’s dinners. Don’t forget about our New Year’s party that goes on until well into the night. So whatever the occasion, Hotel La Tartana is there to make your memories special. From all of at the Hotel La Tartana, they wish you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Sounding in Christmas 2009

David Darby — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:31:47 +0000

Well it wouldn’t officially be Christmas in this area, without the unique tones of the Chamber Choir of the Juventudes Musicales de Almuñécar. Anyone who has enjoyed their concerts in previous years, will know that it’s an hour well-spent, with hymns, carols and songs from all over the world. Two concerts will be performed. The first at the main Church in Almuñécar on Saturday 12th December and the second in La Herradura’s San José Church on Sunday the 20th December. Both venues normally fill up very quickly, so make sure you’re there well on time (8.30pm start for both), to capture the spirit of the Festive Season!

El Chaleco Festivities

David Darby — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:26:36 +0000

I popped in and had a chat with Renaud in El Chaleco and he asked me to give everyone a quick reminder that you really must book now if you don’t want to be disappointed over Christmas.
So, if you want something just that little bit special over Christmas, book your table now for lunch on 25th December, dinner on 31st December and lunch on 1st January.
El Chaleco, Avenida Costa de Sol 37, Almuñécar. Tel. 958 63 24 02.

Indigo Gifts!

David Darby — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:13:58 +0000

If you are still wondering where you can get those extra gifts, or something special for Christmas, then you should be thinking about Indigo in La Herradura.
Jane has loads of brilliant gift ideas, and a quick stroll around this lovely shop will be sure to uncover that gift with a difference.
There’s loads of other Christmas paraphernalia, from cards to decorative objects to tempt you.
Of course if your husband is sitting at home looking like he needs something to get him off the sofa, then get him a Christmas tub of Sandtex to cheer him up!
Indigo Interiors, C/Gonzalo Barbero 12, La Herradura. Tel. 958 640 632

Avenida de Salobreña

Héloïse Nolan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:39:19 +0000

Let’s start the betting! Motril Council has said it is going to try and get the Avenida de Salobreña opened in time for business by Christmas. Now let’s see. From the time of writing this on 23 November, that will give approximately 20 working days for the works to be completed!
Shops are now on their knees from the works that started in May 2009 and were scheduled to finish in March 2010. How is the work to be finished in the next 20 odd days or so? Yes, a few palm trees have now been planted but when I last walked past the end of the Avenida de Salobreña yesterday it looked like an archaeological dig was in progress. Good luck Motril Council … may the force be with you!