2015 January | The Daily Norm

Jan 6

Cabalgata de los Reyes

Christmas in Spain is altogether a different experience from the UK. Yes, you have the Christmas lights hanging in their abundance throughout the streets of Spanish cities, but the warmer air around them feels less Dickens, and more Diego Rivera. And where many would place a large twinkling tree in their house in the UK, here in Spain, they might instead place a wonderfully detailed nativity. But of all the differences of the season, the one which surely brings the most cheer is the celebrations of the Three Kings festival on the night of 5th and the day of the 6th January. For while in England the 12th night is possibly the most depressing night of the year, when decorations come down to reveal a bleak and empty January, here in Spain it is one of the most joyful celebrations of the year.

At the heart of those celebrations is the Cabalgata de los Reyes, literally the ride of the Kings, when Spaniards in their hundreds of thousands line the streets of their respective cities to watch huge carnival-style parades. At the heart of the parade are the three Kings themselves, each enthroned with their various gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, while both before and after the Kings, a number of other widely varying floats of every kind of fantastical theme, colour and performance entertain the crowds. Most importantly of all, sweets and other gifts will be thrown in their hundreds from the floats to the eagerly awaiting audience.

Here in Palma, the Mallorcan brand of Three Kings parade did not disappoint – I’ve never seen one on such a brilliantly spectacular scale with unicorns and fairies, devils and acrobats, live musicians and dancers all brought into the mix. With sweets showering the air, and the streets packed with people, it made for an unbelievable atmosphere which enabled the festive season to end with a magnificent bang. Now, filled with such positivity, I feel not sadness at taking down my decorations, but excitement and anticipation about welcoming in the onset of Spring!

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Jan 5

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London Calling

2014 was full of novel, exciting and previously unexplored experiences, the likes of which I was able to reflect on when recently looking through my photos of the year. And while the most significant of my year’s experiences is undoubtedly the total change which came about when I left London and moved to Mallorca, I was also given the opportunity to live out yet another novel change as the year drew to a close. I became a tourist in London.

After 12 years living in the city, I never thought it would be possible to see London as a tourist destination, and to discover it afresh in the way I would a new holiday location. Yet when I headed to London for two nights this Christmas, I suddenly felt like a stranger in my previous home city. The change was almost undoubtedly brought about by the accomodation: being able to stay in a hotel in the centre made all the difference, not least because it cut out the ghastly return tube journey which was an inevitable accompaniment of every trip to the centre when I lived in the suburbs. The hotel (we stayed at the new “Me” hotel on the Aldwych) also enabled us to see London from a new literal perspective too – our room was on the 9th floor and provided us with the most stunning of bird’s eye views. Suddenly I realised that atop buildings I thought I knew inside-out was a secret roof terrace full of plants; and from this viewpoint, the cluster of shiny new skyscrapers in the City finally made sense.

London viewed from the “Me”

We also felt like tourists because suddenly we had time on our side. With no work to get to or no reason to rush home, we could indulge in many of the treats the city has to offer: We went to see the stunning musical Miss Saigon, we visited the British Museum (with what appeared to be thousands of other tourists) we drank mulled wine in Covent Garden, and we even went ice skating at the Natural History Museum – a first for my leg post-2008 accident.

A tourist in London – ice skating, Covent Garden and the British Museum

But of course being a tourist also brought with it the inescapable frustrations of London: the eye-watering expense, the unfriendly customer service, the rushed restaurant sittings, the 12.5% “discretionary” service charge, the packed tube, and the horrible, horrible cold. So for all of the excitement of being a tourist in London, I suddenly found myself relieved to be leaving again, and full of joy to return to my new home in Mallorca. I needed nothing further to confirm that in swapping London for Palma, we have truly made a change for the better.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Jan 1

New Year 2015: Starting as I mean to carry on

I am a great believer in starting something as I mean to carry on, and if New Year’s Day 2015 is any indication of how the 364 days to come, then I cannot wait to enjoy each and every one of them. For waking up on 1st January of any year is always an experience of great hope for me – it may just be the difference of a day or the turn of a calendar, but with each new year there is a fresh benchmark by which a new list of ambitions and objectives can be measured, and other unfinished and unfulfilled projects relegated to the past. However this year’s 1st January was even more drizzled with the sweet nectar of hope – for how else can a person feel, when waking to bright blue skies, dazzling Mediterranean sunshine, and knowing that this place is not just a holiday destination, but a home.

The day that followed this happy awakening has been one of colours to cradle, flavours to savour, and sounds to nurture. For the sounds, the Vienna New Year’s Concert provided the perfect melodious backdrop to my morning’s cooking, a few hours hard labour which produced a mouthwateringly tender roast chicken with a rich cava-infused gravy and sweetly caramelised apples. So that was the flavour, and as for the colour – a sun-drenched barely-Wintery Palma de Mallorca was waiting just outside the window, and with lunch barely digested, Dominik and I rushed out into the streets to savour all of the splendid vistas which this city so unceasingly affords.

And of course the record of all these New Year’s treats is in the photos I’m posting, or at least the sights of our day are recorded this way. For the flavour of the food, I’m afraid you’ll need to get yourself an invite… And if you weren’t listening to the New Year’s concert in Vienna, I suggest you find yourself a clip on TV catch-up while you still can. But for the sights of my day at least, I come with gifts aplenty – a post full of photos freshly uploaded from a New Year’s day full of hope for the 12 months ahead.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.