A headline worthy of
The Onion today at Trevor
apSimon's freshly redesigned,
BCN-based
Kalebeul site. It's
Spanish woman academic dresses according to stereotype. In the post, Trevor quotes Manhattan Dreaming thus:
"Our eminent
Andalucian visitor had obviously just come straight from a “Let’s See Who Can Look Most Typically Spanish Whilst Abroad” contest. She had that frizzy tobacco-coloured long hair that shoots off at 45 degrees making a cone out of her head; a black
woolly blouse, a grey box-pleated miniskirt and black tights. I
couldn’t see her shoes, but looking under the table to see what lecturers are wearing
isn’t a course of action likely to further my academic career. The one thing she lacked was the gold-chained
Dolce and
Gabbana handbag that seems
de rigeur for Spanish girls domiciled here. Our progress through the [subject under discussion] was somewhat laboured, and as I drifted in and out I was trying to recall the formula for the volume of a conic section so that I could at least leave the lecture having practiced a bit of maths and with an estimate of the total volume of her hair."
I see what he (she?) means with the black and grey clothing, but I can't say I'm familiar with the conical hair. Down our way there seem to be three styles; loose and straight with sunglasses perched on top for sexy young things, long, greying and Alice-banded for conservative professional ladies, and the ultimate Andalusian helmet-hair for older rural matrons, this latter being a brittle carapace created with industrial quantities of lacquer and available in tints of blue, burgundy and pink. I'll try and find an example of the helmet and post it here - perhaps accompanied by the classic square-shouldered cornflake-packet blouse.
I can't say I was aware that Granada was in an earthquake zone when we decided to buy property here, but over the past year there have been at least four significant (if not particularly dramatic) tremors in the area. Another one is reported here - it occurred yesterday and was centred in Atarfe on the Vega - the other side of the province from us, on the road to Cordoba. Last Autumn we suffered a mysterious broken plumbing joint (and subsequent minor flood) which coincided with one of the little earthquakes, and while we can't know whether the events were connected, I wonder. These tremors are still sufficiently rare to make the front page in Andalucia, even without damage. In Mexico they're a daily threat and I remember seeing signs like this one in public buildings.
Last week Juviles was effectively cut off from the world by snowfall and temperatures were well below freezing. The forecast for this week is bright sunshine every day, with temperatures up to 15c (which is almost 6o Fahrenheit). It'll get gradually warmer week by week now, and by the end of February the almond trees - the most representative flora in the region- will be in blossom, and the swallows should be back from Africa a month or so later. We're still offering a 20% discount if you book before the end of March - whenever in the year you choose to visit - and Easter is still available.
I'm sitting here in Glasgow watching snow fall outside the office window (see right) and idly wondering how it is in our part of Spain. Well, a whole lot worse is the answer. I've just checked the weather forecast for Juviles, and it's thick snow every day for the next week. Already the Cadiar - Mecina Bomberon road is closed, while chains are required on the 4132 going the other way, and the 4130 to Torvizcon is badly affected. So Juviles is effectively cut off, or will be soon. Altogether there are fourteen major roads closed in Granada province, and they've had to close the ski resort in the Sierra Nevada because there's too much snow. Article in Spanish here. We have no guests in the house at the moment, which is perhaps a shame as getting snowed-in (providing there's enough firewood, food and wine in the house to keep you going) would be rather exciting.
