Domingo Pasion (Passion Sunday)

Sunday dawned warm and sunny, and I got up early…..7.00am, wakened by the hum of engines…..which turned out to be water tankers supplying teams of spray cleaners. A lorry from the Ayuntamiento turned up with more potted flowers for the northern star point flower bed at about 7.30 am…..very early for Spanish workers.

We worked for a couple of hours in the morning. At 10 am, there were a series of thunderous bangs from mortar rockets signalling the start of the “Event”. We worked on until 11.30 am , when we noticed people gathering on the roundabout, and the sounds of approaching bands.

As we got down to the roundabout, it suddenly became clear what the “Event” was……the opening of the Guarda Seville Barracks , with marching bands from the 5 main churches in the town. As we arrived, it was clear there was a problema with the fountains, and someone had to get under the manhole forming part of the northern star point flower bed to get them going.

The Mayor greeted all the top brass of the Guarda Seville (tough National Police force left over from the rule of General Franco), local VIPs and dignitaries, and the 5 bands marched down in turn and did their parades.

The Mayor and VIPs went into the new premises of the Guarda Seville for speeches and a reception….we went home for lunch !

After all the urgent tidying of the roundabout area in the last 48 hours, it seemed extraordinary that it was basically for a two hour church parade around the roundabout!!