Starry, Starry Night.

Light pollution & the night sky.
Some recent experiences.

What's it like where you live?

A, lying on my back on the beach, vlog

A Spanish Holiday - Many happy returns.

One of the things that i like most about the town of Origiva, is that it still manages to retain an authentic Spanish feel. Even though there are plenty of tourists around, you don't feel overwhelmed by them. As you do in some other areas. In fact, they tend to go un-noticed in many instances.

Maybe being inland and not on the coast has a bearing on this?
I do feel that the area around Orgiva attracts a slightly different type of tourist, to that which might visit a seaside resort.
That may sound a little snobbish. But, i do think that many people come here for different reasons. It's not all about the sun, although there is still plenty of that around. It is also about the surroundings and that sense of authenticity that i mentioned earlier.

It is possible that i may view this all slightly differently to some, because i happen to live by the coast? The seaside has become such a traditional holiday destination, whether that be at home, or abroad, that many feel that that is the only place to go. I can understand that. But, i still feel that people visit this area for different reasons.

I mentioned in a previous post that the Alpujarras attract many walkers throughout the year and there are many recognised walking trails and footpaths around. There may not be so many walkers at this time of year though, for obvious heat related reasons?

The Orgiva area is also well known for it's arty and "alternative" way of life. Especially amongst the pretty large ex-pat population. That side attracts many visitors as well and i do often wonder what the locals must make of some of them. Visitors come, for example, to paint or maybe for a yoga retreat. The Orgiva area certainly accomodates those kinds of activities and many others besides.
So, as you can see, this would hardly appeal to the usual "bucket and spade brigade".

Orgiva town centre.

Yesterday, a few things happened that brought home to me that "authentic" feel that i've mentioned.

The first was as i walked back from the town, along the dusty path towards our holiday cottage. Just as i got to the house, two men approached on, what looked to me at least, huge working horses. Both of the guys had a real cowboy look to them and were obviously just going about their everyday business. We've heard horses pass the cottage before. But, i'd not seen them until now.

Later, as i was standing in the garden of the property, i heard the sound of many cowbells. Now, this in itself, is not unusual as we tend to hear them all the time. There are sheep and goats all around. We just don't often see them. But, we do hear them and i actually find it quite a nice sound, relaxing even.
This time though, the sound was a lot louder and was coming from outside the property. As i checked, i saw that a whole herd of goats was being sheperded down the road.

These are just two examples. But, today i experienced some more and in the centre of town too.
Whilst sitting outside our usual town centre cafe, having our usual mid morning coffee and just watching the world go by. A local man brought three of his horses down the main street. He was riding one of them and said a cordial "Hola" to friends of his as he rode by. This all seemed like a very normal occurence.
And to cap it all, this evening, whilst sitting in the same cafe, this time having a nice cold beer, another cowboy styled man rode his horse down main street, saying "Hola" to me as he went by.

Whilst i expect these kind of events are by no means unique to Orgiva. It does tend to show the sort of town that it is and that it does still retain an authentic feel to it. It is, after all, a working town, surrounded by working farms.

As i think i mentioned in an earlier post. When you are in the town centre cafe, you are just as likely to sit next to a local, as you are a tourist. And, as we've discovered, it's not always that easy to tell the two apart.
For me, that really sets this place apart from many others that i have visited in the past.

Maybe, i've just been going to the wrong places?
I do know though, that it is precisely that, that keeps bringing me back time, after time.

A cup with a view.

Living On An Island - Part 2.

In the first part of this blog, i talked about the Pirate Day event that had recently taken place in Hastings.
The day was a huge success and those who dressed up actually broke the Guinness World Record for the number of pirates in one place at any one time. A wonderful achievement.

When talking about why the record was broken and so easily too, i said "Hastings has a unique character and punches well above it's weight, when it comes to arranging and publicly celebrating events of this kind"

So, why is this?
Well, i think the answer to this question is tied up with something that i overheard somebody saying during the Pirate Day event.

This person had, i believe, moved to Hastings, from the London area, fairly recently and was saying that he didn't think that the type of events that took place in Hastings would ever happen in London. For example, he said that he had never seen Morris Dancing until he came here.
Now, i realise that things like Morris Dancing, Carnivals and some of the other events that happen in Hastings are not unique to the town, of course they're not. Although, some most certainly are.
But, i do believe that the sheer number of these events and the way in which they are embraced by the local community,  in many ways is unique. And this, once again, is tied to what this person said.

He went on to say that he felt that Hastings was in some ways an island and with this comment i would have to agree.
Hastings is notorious for having pretty bad transport links with the rest of the country and especially London, which is only 60+ miles away. Both the rail and road links to the town are considered antiquated and slow. This has led to the town becoming and feeling somewhat isolated.

Another aspect to all of this is that Hastings, for some unknown reason, always seems to get a rather bad press and any news coverage generally concentrates on bad news, rather than anything good. Hastings, like any other similar sized town, has it's fair share of problems. But, no worse than anywhere else, as far as i can see.

So, apart from sometimes feeling that you are living on an island. There is almost a kind of seige mentality amongst the local population. This reminds me of a chant used by supporters of Millwall football club, "No one likes us, we don't care".
Maybe, this tends to generate a special kind of community spirit and possibly even attract a certain type of person to come and live here? And maybe this is the reason that pirates feel so at home here?

I am, of course, biased about Hastings, having lived here for 22 years now. But, i do truly feel that there is something a little special about the town and i know that i am not alone in feeling this way.
Maybe, it's about time that others started to recognise that as well?

I, for one, certainly like living on this particular island and in a weird way i'd quite like it to remain cut off from "civilisation".

I'll leave you with a list of links to just some of the events and festivals that happen in Hastings every year. Some are, i believe, unique to Hastings. And some of them i am very happy to be associated with myself.
There are several more that happen in the local and surrounding area too.
I'm sure you'll agree, that for a town of approx 80,000 people, it sure has a lot of things going on and certainly punches above it's weight:

Pirate Day
Old Town Carnival Week
Hastings Half Marathon
Hastings Music Festival
Beatles Day
Hastings Rock radio
Jack in the Green
Hastings Beer and Music Festival
St Leonards Festival
Beach Concert
Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival
Hastings Week
Hastings Bonfire Night

Living On An Island - Part 1.

Today i attended Pirate Day in Hastings, my home town. This is a part of the week long Old Town Carnival Week celebrations.

The main part of this years Pirate Day, which only started in 2009, was an attempt on the official world record for the amount of pirates ever to be gathered in one place. The record had recently been broken by the good people of a town in South Carolina. Although not verified, it was thought that the new record stood at approx 2.300 pirates.

Now, that's a lot of pirates and i'll admit i wasn't sure that the record would be broken and i know that i was not alone in feeling that.
But, as i walked into town, i could see more and more people, both adults and children, dressed as pirates. By the way, there are strict criteria as to how you should be dressed to qualify as a bona fide pirate.

By the time i got into the main part of the old town of Hastings, it was apparent that pirates were descending on the town in great numbers. And some in pretty elaborate costumes too, as you can see.

Well, the people of Hastings did not disappoint and the final total, which is adjudicated by Guinness World Records, was an amazing 6,166 pirates! Beating the old world record by nearly 4,000.
Shiver me timbers and Yo Ho Ho, what a wonderful achievement.

As the lady from Guinness World Records said. Mass participation events, like this one, are notoriously hard to arrange. She also pointed out that Hastings is not that big a town for this kind of record attempt. So, to break the record in such a fashion, is a tribute to both the organisers and the people of Hastings.
I'd like to congratulate them both as well.

But, this record breaking achievement doesn't really come as a surprise to those who live here, despite what i may have said earlier.
Hastings has a unique character and punches well above it's weight, when it comes to arranging and publicly celebrating events of this kind.

And that is what i will talk about in Part 2 of this blog post.

(As you can see, even the fishing boats get into the Pirate Day spirit)