Friday Smiles 2024 # Week 2

Well today's post is, of course, mainly about the Three Kings Fiesta which is a  big occasion in our village.

On the eve of three kings, Friday 5th January, we walked over to the plaza to see the arrival of the kings at the marquee where they distribute gifts to the children. These colourful characters were keeping the children entertained while they waited.

Soon the float arrived carrying the kings and there attendants who were throwing handfuls of fruit jelly sweets into the eager crowd along the way. 

Then they climbed down and walked to the thrones on a platform at the front of the marquee and started to give out the gifts (Left at the Town Hall on the previous day by their parents). But it was a chilly night so we didn't stay around for long. Soon the children would have hurried home to, where traditionally they polish their shoes and leave them out for the Kings to place a small gift from each of them, during the night.

The next morning dawned quite sunny and we walked up to the top of the village from where we could hear music from the town band. There was a quite a crowd there and they were being entertained by a juggler balancing on a large ball.

Along the road side there were tables where we could help ourselves to delicious crisp shortbreads and other traditional biscuits, and cups of wine for those who wanted it.

We stood and waited while the procession passed us, led by the women from the village choir, playing instruments and singing with great gusto. 

At last the kings also passed us on their horses, each with an attendant walking alongside and carrying the gifts on velvet cushions.

We followed them down to the plaza where there was a large crowd waiting to watch the usual re-enactment of the Kings visit to King Herod's palace to enquire the whereabouts of the new king.

As you cn see, the sky ws clear and it was lovely and sunny so the kings must have been pretty warm in all their layers of clothes.

Then we wandered round the medieval market where there were stalls like this one selling loose herbs, spices, coffees and teas, and infusions for all manner of ailments.

We decided we would get some lunch while we were over there, so we shared an open wrap with a range of fillings, and washed it down with a rather good mojito.

We went home after that but we could hear the music in the marquee from our house, going on well into the night. The Spanish folk do love to dance!

As for other news this week, I haven't done much else, though I did go to my sewing group yesterday and I managed to crochet one tiny square. It made my shoulder ache but at least I was able to do it.

We had a delivery from Amazon which pleased me. Our new sofa has higher arms than the last one, and we both struggled to reach our side tables where we put a cup of tea, our phones etc, so we ordered two higher ones and they are just right. Slightly narrower and longer than our old ones, there is plenty of room to put what we want on them, and there are two drawers that are handy for storing the remotes, our tablets, headphones, speakers etc. There are also two electric sockets and two USB sockets on the lower shelf so everything can be kept fully charged.

The temperature has dropped a lot in the passed few days, so I am very grateful for our wall fire that heats the room quickly and efficiently, and makes a nice cosy space to settle down in for the evenings.

Tom, our son out in Denmark, sent us videos of him out for a walk with his friends, through a forest white with frost, and on beaches where the rocks were covered in ice, and half the harbour was frozen over. Makes our chilly days seem quite mild!

Last night I had a long chat with son Ben, who I was happy to hear, is now free of Covid. He is bursting with ideas for what he hopes to achieve this year, so it is good to see him so happy and positive.

And on that happy note it is time to close this and get it ready to link up with Annie's Friday Smiles in the morning.