Sequence
I have finished the last of the Poems in Holy Week, written an introduction and published a single
copy as a chapbook! It now exists
electronically and in a single unique printed copy. I used a rather abstract photograph I took
from a hotel window of a wall, railings and frames which was the rather
unlovely, but satisfyingly abstract view that I had. Toni hated the picture and so I have replaced
it with something which I think is more acceptably picturesque.
If anyone
would like an electronic copy of the poem sequence you only have to let me have
your email address and I will send a copy to you.
The poems,
or versions of them are also available at http://smrnewpoems.blogspot.com.es
and, as I always say, I welcome comments either on the site or to me via email.
I am still
not quite sure what to make of what I have written, and I think that the poems
will be further revised in the next few months.
I have
found writing them challenging and stimulating – and they have kept me away
from my essay on body art which has to be completed in the next couple of
weeks!
Easter Day
Apart from writing the final poem, there has been nothing
about this day which makes it more distinctive than any other. I think that tomorrow stands more chance of
being festive, as we are going to Terrassa for a family meal in which we will
consume the traditional cake or mona de Pascua which I hope has been made by
Toni’s sister.
If you are
foolish enough to buy one of these constructions in the shops it can cost you
ridiculous sums of money. One edifice,
cake hardly described the fantasy in chocolate and frippery, cost over
€80! And that was in a local shop just
waiting for a buyer, as if people just popped in off the street and handed over
the money. Which they did!
Our version
will be home made and almost certainly having a theme of Barça. I will attempt to remember to take a
photograph before the kids get stuck into it and then try the even greater task
of getting the damn thing on the site and the almost impossible effort of
getting it to stay there.
Still,
Toni’s mum is an ex-cook and her meals are always worth eating. It is just unfortunate that the whole of
Spain seems to be going somewhere on Easter Monday so the roads are likely to
be nightmares.
One
particular nightmare concerns our local motorway. During periods of high volume, the police in
this area have been known to cone off one lane on one side of the motorway and
have traffic going against the flow of the other two lanes.
And yes, it is quite as horrific as it sounds!
And the
police will have been prised out of the bars that they frequent and will
descend on roads main, side and motor to collect untold wealth in fines. So one small glass of Cava is going to be my
limit – with plenty of Earl Grey.
Exercise
I am not a great believer in exercise for the sake of
exercise. I quite enjoyed playing squash
and badminton – but those were sports and competitive and therefore there was a
point to them. Swimming is OK because it
uses a different medium and that makes the ‘exercise’ element a necessary part
of an otherworldly experiment. No, it’s
the treadmill and gym stuff that I can’t stand.
And cycling.
And therein
lies the rub. I have been cycling for the
past few weeks because the car part in the leisure centre is being redone and
is therefore closed.
As it has
gone from being a piece of tree shaded, gravel covered dirt to polished,
drained concrete, you will appreciate that this is no afternoon with the
lorries type of transformation. The car
park is out of commission for a month and since parking in the area is a
nightmare the bike will have to do.
But I have
quite taken to it. I have bought (always
a good sign) a rather swish new helmet which is more comfortable, more
adjustable and more stylish than the old one.
And, and this is the killer, it has a little red LED flashing light on
the back as added protection against blind drivers in killer cars. The dynamo on my bike has never really
worked, as so I have bought a two-intensity front light and a cute red,
programmable flashing LED light for the rear wheel. I do not of course go out on the bike when it
is dark or when it is raining, I am after all, no fanatic, but as the sun
shines, so I ride.
It seems
more and more likely that, even when the car park reopens, I might continue to
ride the bike. As long as the sun
shines. And I feel so
self-congratulatory as I lock the thing up after having navigated quite a nasty
mountainous bridge over the motorway!
Exodus
Monday is a holiday and Tuesday should find most of the
population of this country going back to work.
The Easter Holiday in Spain barely deserves the word as it is so
short. But on the positive side all of
our visitors from Barcelona (which seems to come here en mass during any
holiday) will go home and gather strength for the long haul of the summer. And we have to prepare as well.
