The Carnival is over but the sardine is still intact!

Yesterday should have seen the ceremony that ends the carnival :- the burial of the sardine; but the model fish never made it to the bonfire and the fireworks will be available for another festival! Rather than eating in our strategically placed restaurant Greyrocks cooked a roast at home after a dash to the supermarket. Nor had Saturday gone according to the usual plan of dressing up and watching the big procession down the High Street. This is because the carnival was cancelled midweek, and the national "lockdown" was announced on Saturday evening.

We had been less than enthusiastic about it this time round, as the theme of "Professions" was a typical one for La Oliva:- unusual but very difficult to use as inspiration for a costume! (Discussions tended to come back to "the oldest profession"!)

We missed the opening procession and on the first Saturday had a very pleasant day out by bus in Lajares and El Cotillo. We alighted at the top of the High Street and walked down, and ahead of us we could see a huge screen filling the width of the street near the pharmacy. We then heard rock music from a band, and soon discovered that the whole of the newly pedestrianised street was filled with carnival-goers, and there were many temporary catering outlets on both sides. None of this had been possible for Daytime Carnival in other years, and it was joyous! First prize for inventive costume would probably go to the handful in yellow and blue, and "wearing" scooters to honour our postal service - the Correos. There were quite a few Super Mario plumbers, scout leaders, sailors, white coats and saucy nurses. We had a couple of drinks and left feeling much more positive, though still lacking practical ideas for the following Saturday!

Kids' day happened too!

Tuesday was Drag Queen Night and the music - audible from our bedroom to a degree dependent on the wind - did not finish until 4 am. We felt a little less positive on Wednesday, but by then the news was of national panic about the coronavirus - particularly worries about older people,so we wondered if that evening's event aimed specifically at the "Third Age" would go ahead. Publicising any update during the day would have been a problem as the whole municipality (and beyond) had eleven hours of ouatge of all telecommunications! We stepped out for an assignation at Weirdo's and en route saw no activity at the carnival site other than the wheeling off of Portaloos! It was then no surprise to be told that it was cancelled - along with all remaining events! Of course this pales into insignificance given the "lockdown" decree of this Saturday evening. Greyrocks will chronicle the effects for them in a few days' time, so watch this space!