Soltalk February 2018 | Page 8

Comment Hello and welcome to the February edition of Soltalk, it’s Carnival time! Yes Carnival (or Carnaval in Spanish) is on the way - see our guide to the top things to do this month on page 38 for more details! Yet again the official poster is beautiful as you can see. Carnival includes two processions and a number of contests with the four days culminating in the final event which is, bizarrely, the burial of the sardine. A large decorated model of a sardine is carried through the streets usually by men dressed in widows weeds, who are often crying into black lace handkerchiefs! They often become overwhelmed and have to put down the sardine and nip into whichever bar they are passing for a medicinal shot! Finally it reaches the beach next to the Balcón de Europa, playa Calahonda, where it’s blown up as part of a fireworks display! Naturally. sipping cava? Again, see page 38 for details. And if you want to be in your other half’s good books, pop into Smiffs book and card shop and choose from their huge range of Valentine’s cards, details on page 47. Elspeth can even make personalised cards to order. For those more into scrums than cuddles, we have gone officially ‘Rugby Mad’ this month - all in aid of the Six Nations Championship. First of all we have a double page lift out on page 30 for all the important times and dates and where to go in Nerja to watch the games. This is followed by even more information in our sports section which follows. Too late to make it to our What’s on Page we have just been told about an exhibition at the Nerja Museum in Plaza de España, Nerja to be held from February 16 to March 4. It is called Reflexiones sobre cárton, by Carlos Alvarez - see poster. On top of this we have loads of great reading in our regular features - local and national news, Jottings from the UK and around the world, our Spanish lesson, health and well being, CAS news, book talk and our prize puzzle page. And of course this month all you romantic couples will surely be celebrating Valentine’s Day - and what could be more romantic than sailing off into the sunset on a beautiful catamaran, So, enjoy this issue and have a wonderful February! SARAH BROOKES 6