Big group, big celebrations

Today, 24th December is when the Spanish most celebrate christmas. It is at dinner time, when family get together to celebrate. However, celebrations start quite early in the day. People of all ages go out just before lunch for caῆas and tapas until quite late.

And on christmas day people spend all day resting from a the day before. Unlike north European countries, Spaniards don’t their get presents on this day. We have another bank holiday on the 6th of January, the Magic Kings, when people – again – go out until late. Families take children to see the ‘cabalgata’ (the magic kings procession which takes place in every town in Spain) and presents are given away afterwards.

I have always liked going out for caῆas and tapas on the 24th. On that day, the town transforms itself. Bars are packed with people. On bright and sunny days – luckily it happens to be  like that quite often in Spain – people stay outside in their sunglasses to enjoy the sun.  Such a weird phenomenon. This is hardly a traditional way to celebrate christmas as we know back in the UK.

I must admit I feel sorry for the people – often mothers – who stay at home cooking dinner for the whole family. Occasionally, these ‘going outs’ can drag until quite late. By dinner time people are so sick of drinking and eating that they either stuff themselves with more food and probably get quite sick the next day or having lots of left over.

Today, I have arranged to meet with my friends I used to go out back in my twenties. We used to be around ten at the time. Over the years, the group has grown and, now, with partners and children, we can end up being over twenty. A group of friends from youth who are still quite close and get together relatively often during the year. I must say, this is another rare phenomenon, considering that some of us live very far away.

I am saying this because, inevitably, as people get older, they end up having different lives and end up losing contact. However, these guys keep their friendship alive. When I meet them – roughly once a year – I have the feeling that everything is still the same: conversations, jokes, personalities, roles of each of us within the group…This obviously cannot be true, as people are constantly changing. Are, therefore, these the dynamics of the group? Are they trying to recreate past times every time they meet? Or, is it really that there is a special bond among us? Not sure. If any of these guys read this post they may want to give their own opinion.

Gary finds this phenomenon particularly interesting.

I am not sure whether this occurs at all in the UK, certainly not within my circles where people usually meet in smaller groups or just couples with couples. It would be unusual for a large group to organise themselves to go on holiday together. I am also not sure how many people in the UK keep in contact with any of their school friends. I have only met one of mine in the last twenty years, and as I rarely return to my home town I am unlikely to bump into any. I am also interested to understand whether the group is trying to recreate the past, often they meet without the trappings of maturity; children and maybe the video expresses the exuberance of youth! GDR

In any case, I always have a good time, although two or three hours of this mayhem is enough for me. I am not used to go out like this way back in the UK.

We meet at 15.00 in the first bar. No lunch. We will probably get lots of tapas with our drinks. If not, we will just get a bit drunk and stuff ourselves with the family later one. Who cares? I love christmas

We have not seen each other since last year, so we will have lots of catch up. This time it won’t be about the usual stuff: life, work, weather… Gary and I have a lot to tell about our  travels. I cannot stop thinking how lucky we are of having this opportunity.

We have not many photos of this meeting, except for the first few of the excitement to see each other again. Then, forget about the camera and get on with drinking.

Of course, a panorama of the look of the bar. The music is so loud that people have to shout at each other to communicate. Nice. By the end of the day, my voice may turn into that of a lorry driver.

Poor Gary starts complaining of a sore throat. He is so patient considering we are not used to these meetings in the UK. He does come along purely to make me happy and I truly appreciate it.

We did not take photos but we did take this video four hours later. These old Spanish songs – certainly well beyond our time – cannot be trashier. But they are typically played when people are just too drunk to judge and they simply move with the flow. Gary, who does not recognise the ‘historic and sentimental’ value of these songs, he sits back and enjoy himself by taking a video when nobody notices. Cheeky!

We are due to go and see some live music, organised by Cesar. His brother is playing at a nearby bar. It is quite difficult to herd THE GROUP however. They are like an oversized oil tanker, and it takes a long time to change course. By the time some are corralled out of the current bar, we are already over two hours late. I feel quite sorry for Cesar, he has obviously thought carefully in organising the afternoons entertainment, which is falling on deaf ears. The energy required trying to persuade everyone to leave is enormous. It is only 100m away, just cross a road. Eventually, in dribs and drabs a few leave, maybe two thirds and re-congregate in the new bar. We watch for several minutes the band packing up their instruments. We are too late. What a shame. We drift back towards the original bar to re-join those so lethargic  they couldn’t be bothered to move. The logistics and the dynamics of the group. GDR

It is 19.30, time to go. Gary is tired and so am I. Let’s walk gradually back to my parents’ place, they are waiting for us. We can get there at around 20.00 and spend nice quality time with them over a glass of wine – another one! – before dinner.

We say good-bye to each other but not for long. We have invited them to Guisando for lunch in two days’ time. Nice. We have suggested meeting them many times in Guisando. This has not always been very convenient for all of them. Guisando is a bit far from Talavera and their are too many people to agree day and time with. Finally, this year, 26 of them are coming – including children –.

With so many people coming, Marta, one of my closest friends, suggested we order a ‘paella’ from the nearest bar so Gary and I don’t have to get into the hassle of cooking for a multitude. No problem at all. Gary and I are used to it. And this is precisely the point, spending time at home, with friends.  We enjoy hosting them and we have waited for so long… So, we have decided to cook for them.

It will be a traditional ‘tapas’ lunch but, nonetheless, quite substantial: artisan crisps from the local bar, Spanish omelette, chorizo, ‘lomo’ (smoked cooked meat) and smoked salmon canapes among others. I have also made my grandmother’s ‘empanadillas’, which we learnt from my cousin Cristina during our staying in Zaragoza. I tried them last week for the first time and my parents really liked them. See if we are this time equally successful.

We have also tried to be more adventurous and including non-traditional ‘tapas’ such as French cheese. Not sure if this is going to go down well. Generally, Spanish people are quite protective with their food (I would say conservative-anything foreign has to be bad news…GDR). I am sure that some of these guys will try different cheeses. But others may reject them simply for not being Spanish.

Gary is making British scones to have ‘cream tea’ for dessert. They will not be very traditional though. Obviously, clotted cream is not available in Spain. However, Gary has found something that, at the time, we thought that could do: ‘nata para montar’ (cream to cook that you must whisk). He has been whisking for twenty minutes and the cream remains liquid. I think we should simply serve the scones with raspberry jam.

One hour before they turn up and we have finish the preparations. Gary, bored, is waiting. (Not bored, exhausted, I need a holiday!)

They turn up at the agreed time, 14.00, but only 15 turn up. There is going to be a lot of food left over. At least we hadn’t ordered the paella, we would have been drowning in it! We hug each other again, show them the house and have sit down to eat. They are impressed with the house and lunch. “You must have got up really early to prepare all of this” they exclaim. They like everything. My omelette and the ‘empanadillas’ have been very successful. I am glad to hear that.

Eva has made cheesecake for the occasion. The look of it makes everybody salivate. Such a nice, consistent, perfectly round cake. She has also covered with a generous layer of blueberry jam at the last minute. It is absolutely delicious. Not sure if we are going to fit in Gary’s scones! We will go for a walk to digest the heaving lunch and try them afterwards.

In the meantime the children are having a good time in the courtyard. Eva has brought some toys for them, she has lots of them at home. This is because she is currently dedicating her time to make them and sell them through her website: www.elmercaderdejuegos.es.

The children have found a rope stuck in the ‘leῆera’. It is nice to see that the most traditional games still prevail.

Martina, Marta’s younger daughter, has made a drawing for Gary and I. So sweet. We will hang it on the wall.

With so many people and children around, the house is full of life. The neighbours must be freaking out. This does not happening every day in Guisando.

It is 19.30 and time for everybody to go back to Talavera. Another lovely and memorable day in our second home. This year off is allowing us to have so many of them!. We will remember this trip forever.

SM.