The Barrow Boy

The Summer of Love

thebarrowboy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:57:55 +0000

In 1967 I was awarded an Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) scholarship to visit Spain for three months during the summer. I believe the amount involved was less than 200 pounds, which gives you some idea of the cost of living back then. The school was expected to fit me up with families that I could stay with. I spent the first five weeks or so with my friend Juan Jose Badiola. Though I had met him in Córdoba, one side of his family originally hailed from the mountains of León, in the north. He spent his summers there. That was where I went first, to a tiny village called Tolibia de Abajo (there is also a Tolibia de Arriba nearby).

I traveled out to Spain in the bowels of a car ferry with my friend Alan, who was off to other parts of Spain. The 36-hour trip (one day, two nights) was uneventful except for rough seas in the Bay of Biscay. The route was Southampton – Bilbao and I think the cost was eight pounds each way. It was the first time I had been away from my family for any length of time. Forty years ago, it seemed quite an adventure.

Once I reached León by train, we drove up into the mountains in an old Land Rover. It was a very narrow, windy, unpaved road. As far as I was concerned, I could have been crossing the Alps. Unfortunately, I had no camera, so I have no photos of my trip at all. I found a website for León that has quite a lot of photos of the area now. I include a few of the photos below. The website also contains a lot of historical and cultural information about the villages (in Spanish).

Eventually we reached a plateau, a sort of plain among the mountain tops. It was breathtaking and I felt as if I had arrived in Shangri-la. It was summer, of course, so the fields were lush with crops.

According to the website, the population of the village is still only 63. The accommodation was simple, Spartan by today’s standards. One of Juan José’s uncles was there for a holiday. He went fishing every day and in the evenings there was more trout than we could eat. I have never forgotten how Juan José would catch fish by hand, in the eddys along the sides of the streams and rivers.

I had never seen so many stars in the sky as I saw in Tolibia. We were nearly 1200 meters above sea level and far away from the city.

These are photos of Tolibia de Arriba.

Alan came to stay as well. As usual, his powers of recall are much greater than mine.

“I remember travelling up by train from Madrid to León, and then taking the narrow guage train up into the mountains. The final stage was by Land Rover along an unmade road up, up, up with the wheels inches from the sheer drop to the river below.

I had a room in the house of an old widow, but took my meals with another family. We ate in the kitchen, with hams and chorizos hanging from the beams. That was my introduction to fabada – lip-smacking stuff eaten with hunks of home made bread, washed down with rough wine. I certainly got my money’s worth.

There are some rich folk in the village for the summer. We go one day to one of the houses with a swimming pool; the water is icy cold. The girls are teases, I guess in those times in Spain it wasn’t possible for them to be otherwise.

One day we attempt to climb Bodón, in just our ordinary shoes. A crazy stunt, but we did get a fair way up.

The night before I’m due to set off for Gijón, up to Arriba, where two lads are celebrating their last day at home before going off to do their mili [National Service]. Sit in The night before I’m due to set off for Gijón, up to Arriba, where two lads are celebrating their last day at home before going off to do their mili [National Service]. Sit in the shack of a bar and drink red biddy. We stagger back down the hill. Somebody freewheeling down with no lights, no brake, no bell – who do you think gets sent sprawling? Cut my hand badly, and the old lady sprinkles it liberally with stuff that stains magenta, and takes weeks to fade away. As soon as I lay down the room starts spinning and I just make it to the window before losing the wine. The following day I get a lift with the rich neighbours, my journey to Gijón endured with a vile hangover.”

Ding dong merrily on high, In heav’n the bells are ringing

thebarrowboy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:28:23 +0000

It’s nearly that time of year again, so I’ve switched to the Christmas presentation.

Reconstruction of Dixs Place

thebarrowboy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:09:01 +0000

A reader, very cleverly I think, produced this short video to show how Dixs Place would have looked before it was pulled down. In my mind’s eye, I can see all the kids playing in the street and the women calling out from the windows…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esecpL0ZDwk

My hat is definitely off.

Bermondsey.net

thebarrowboy — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:57:04 +0000

I was told about this site today. It has a forum where members can chat about their memories of the neighborhood and post photos. A must for anyone interested in historical Bermondsey (and pie and mash!).

http://www.bermondseyboy.net/

Dixs Place

thebarrowboy — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:03:00 +0000

My apologies for not having posted any new material for some time. The pressure of work this year has been overwhelming.

Several people have posted comments on a previous post about life in Bermondsey in the 19th and 20th centuries. One person in particular requested pictures of Dixs Place. Another reader has now sent me the following photos. The quality is not great but we have to be grateful that photos survive at all. Dixs Place consisted of tenement buildings and it was subsequently redeveloped. I have no date for the demolition of the buildings.

This photo was apparently taken during the party held to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V, in 1935.

Greyhound buses to operate in the UK

thebarrowboy — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:18:42 +0000

A true American icon is about to hit Britain’s roads. You can read the article here.

U.S. National Debt Clock

thebarrowboy — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:26:55 +0000

One scary Web page…

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Panamanian teens grounded…permanently

thebarrowboy — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:25:00 +0000

The new government has reinstated the 9 pm nationwide curfew for all minors not accompanied by a responsible adult. Not sure what the reaction to such a law would be in Costa Rica or the UK but most people here seem to approve of the measure.

The government does not take a dim view of all young people, however. The 21-year old daughter of a minister was appointed consul in Canada. The list of appointees to diplomatic posts has raised a lot of eyebrows. Like his predecessors, the President is using his powers of patronage to hand out these plum jobs in return for political support.

Costa Rica is world’s greenest, happiest country

thebarrowboy — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:22:53 +0000

According to an article in today’s Guardian, Costa Rica “tops index ranking countries by ecological footprint and happiness of their citizens”

A rainbow over San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica

“Costa Ricans top the list because they report the highest life satisfaction in the world, they live slightly longer than Americans, yet have an ecological footprint that is less than a quarter the size. The country only narrowly fails to achieve the goal of what NEF calls “one-planet living”: consuming its fair share of the Earth’s natural resources.”

PS: the BBC now has a deeper analysis/explanation of this index. You can read it here.

Anyone for a 99?

thebarrowboy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:50:33 +0000

The new president of Panama was sworn in yesterday. He pledged to keep his three main campaign promises, the first of which was to get tough with criminals. He owns a chain of supermarkets called “Super 99″ and one of them was attacked by an armed gang last night. A shoot-out ensued. Not an auspicious start… but at least the gang was caught.

Non-British readers may like to read about “99s” in the UK here.