El Rocio 2013: La Salida de Sevilla
Amidst all the excitement of Ferias around Andalucia every spring, another major celebration takes place near here: El Rocio. For over 200 years, every Whitsun, pilgrims have walked to this […]
Category Archives: Culture and Customs
Scenes from the Feria de Abril in Sevilla
Makes a change from sloping around the shopping centre. These young people have arranged a rendez-vous at the Feria entrance gate, the portada, a popular meeting point. They say that […]
Spain’s last untouched wilderness: a visit to Doñana National Park
Many years ago, in my first year here in Seville, my brother and his wife and family – two small boys - came to visit. They spent some time at the beach, […]
Purple passion: Las Cigarreras on Jueves Santo
This year, Semana Santa here in Seville was, yet again, adversely affected by the weather. The processions which fill the city with statues, hooded penitents, incense, and devotion during Holy […]
The Andalucia Show: from Almeria to Seville
My children with their flag, fan and pennant in the regional verde y blanco to celebrate Dia de Andalucia, 28 February. My daughter is proudly showing off her mixed heritage. […]
Grab yourself a piece of the action at Los Reyes Magos
For the past few years, we’ve been to our village’s Reyes Magos procession. For the uninitiated, this is when the Three Kings ride into town on the afternoon of 5 January […]
Ladies sing the blues
Seville has been quite the cultural hotspot over the past few weeks, with the Placido Domingo Festival, followed by the Seville Film Festival. Both have been high-profile, well-attended events which […]
A colourful romería
Last Sunday was our local romería, which I’ve blogged about before. The Romería de Torrijos takes place in Valencina de la Concepcion, near Seville, on the second Sunday of October. I […]
A to Z of Sevilla: Part One, A-F
The Alcazar, Seville’s Mudejar delight: a perfect example of the synthesis between Spanish kings and Moorish craftsmen. What defines a city? What is that essence which gives it an identity […]
Our Jubilee in (occasionally) sunny Suffolk
I might as well admit it now: I come from a family of staunch, conservative monarchists – ex-armed forces, Conservative Thatcherites. While I – and my brother – reject most […]
