One of the things that I have always thought was unique to Spain is their celebration of fiestas. We have friends that live in the Basque country in a small town or maybe village called Gorliz, and every year they have a week long carnival at the end of July that includes concerts, dances and processions as well as all sorts of competitions. After their fiesta is over there is another one in the next village and so on and so on.
These are some shots from last year's Gorliz fiesta. The Basque country gets its fair share of rain, but no-one is deterred from having a good time, and they are very proud of their traditions.
We have stayed with our friends a number of times and have always felt privileged to take part in their celebrations. Then when we return to England we start to think - well why can't we do that sort of thing in this country? And the answer is of course that we are doing that sort of thing. As I drive round the South of England I notice AA signs for all sorts of festivals that are taking place - not just the huge ones like Reading - but lovely local ones like the New Forest Folk Festival. Then I start to ask myself - well why can't Southampton do this sort of thing? And the answer is of course that Southampton is doing this sort of thing.
Over the past few weeks I have noticed a structure being built in the Guildhall Square.
Over the past few weeks I have noticed a structure being built in the Guildhall Square.
It has been described as a pop up structure, but it popped up fairly slowly. However I watched its construction with interest and eventually found out that we were going to have a city celebration of theatre, film and music. Yes our very own Art at the Heart at the Nuffield Playing Field in the Guildhall Square. The events organised by the Nuffield theatre and Turner Sims had something to suit most people's tastes and the concert that caught our eye was the Fapy Lafertin Quartet featuring Tcha Limberger. They play jazzy swing, gypsy sort of stuff and so off we went on Sunday 10th August to enjoy the concert.
The first difference between England and Spain is the price of alcohol - two glasses of wine £9.50! The barman noticed our looks of horror, and was quick to offer us the bottle for £10.50 - much better. We then found some seats and settled down to wait for the start. The other difference between England and Spain is the weather - we have had such good weather this summer that it came as a bit of a surprise when we had rain most of the day - the aftermath of hurricane Bertha. Still nothing daunted a fairly numerous audience turned up and were treated to a wonderful performance of guitar and violin playing. If this is the taste of things to come in Southampton's cultural quarter then I can't wait for more.