Castelling is an ancient Catalan tradition, first documented in the early 1800’s, it began in Tarragona, but has since spread throughout Catalonia. I first saw it courtesy of the pink trousered one, Michael Portillo, in one of his tv programmes, to which I am addicted. As I was in Barcelona for ‘The Dia’ last September, I knew there was a fair chance of seeing it.
The Centre for Cultura i Memoria in El Born was one of the places it could be seen, the one that was easy to find, and close to a favourite little café!
After a croissant filled with coffee flavoured mascarpone, it was time to go out into the Placa Comercial,
Where preparations were underway.
And then it began.
In the background, you can see the first layer climb on the shoulders of the base level, or Pinya as it’s known. The Pinya is wide and formed by the strongest of the group, to make a base that can support the weight of the rest and be a safety net should anyone fall.
Several more layers are added, the Tronc, and finally, the littlest one scrambles atop, zoom in to see her nearly there, but I didn’t capture her with the camera, I was too entranced!
Once there, she gives a very quick wave, the crowd cheer and she’s back down the six layers beneath her, in just a few moments. Three troups performed that day, in competition, and each time I saw the wave, but my camera didn’t.
With lots of lovely local produce.
You’re probably wondering if I was tempted.
Well, as I’m over the baking phase I had in the autumn, because if you make cake you have to eat it don’t you? That’s bad news for a chubba-bubba, so it had to stop. The only thing to do is buy the odd treat or ten, so I chose a brownie which I’ve left in my desk drawer until Friday afternoon, when I’ll need – uh – deserve a treat for surviving the week.
This lovely lady runs the mobile shop. She was a delight to chat to and said Love Local Food is based at West Town Farm, where they have open days for families and schools. Their mission is to produce and promote sustainable food, reduce food miles and to engage with people in the community.
I read somewhere that olives are cured for eating, I’ve no idea what with of how, but I expect they need a whole lot more heat and sun to be enjoyable. Some of you are in olive producing countries, perhaps you could tell me more?
It’s a shame that the Royal Mail doesn’t give it a nice new coat of paint, but if they painted all the boxes in the country they’d probably raise the cost of a stamp! Jude has a
I’d seen an 
The clouds performed rather well for a monochrome image, so I hope 
I was at Rosemoor for the sculpture in the garden, my first visit for several years. Each winter they have the sculpture exhibition, it blends beautifully with naked trees, the curves of the valley, hard landscaping and excellent design like the fedge.
And of course there is the 
Lucid Gypsy 