Thursday, February 13, 2025
Today was supposed to be a peaceful, quiet day for me after all of the walking in Avilés yesterday.
Circumstances changed that rather quickly.
My morning walk had a purpose, head to the library to return my book on the fate of the Spanish Armada.
As I entered the building I noticed a sign publicizing an exhibit in the library's basement floor.
Gijón Under the Bombs
It was a small exhibit that addressed the bombing by air and shelling by sea that our fair city endured during the first two years of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and 1937.
A complete chronology of the events
The toll on civilians was severe
Big Bombs were dropped on
Gijón thanks to . . .
. . . Nazi Germany's Condor Legion
The Condor Legion was a group of bomber and fighter planes and crew sent by Adolf Hitler to aid Fascist leader Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War.
Life during an air raid
Wait, I think that I recognize that building on the left.
Why, yes I do . . .
. . . it is this church across the
street from the library
Information on the city's bomb shelters
What to do during an air raid
Artist depictions of the horrors
of these bombings
A book cover
Naked Nazi Bombers
A war torn family
El Bilbio, Gijón's Plaza de Toros
More photos of bomb damage
The light cruiser Almirante Cervera
shelled Gijón for Franco's Nationalist
Navy during these two years of destruction
It was worth the time to see this exhibit and I was happy to receive a map of Gijón outlining the main points of Spanish Civil War interest in our grand old city.
Back to pounding the pavement . . .
A tea shop that Laurie will like
when she finally arrives
I boarded the #1 bus for the ride to visit a museum near our Las Mestas game field.
Sidra is King in these parts
Sporting is THE Passion
for Gijón's soccer fans
This museum is dedicated to the
history of the Asturian people
As usual, there was no entry fee for this large site that is part indoors and part outdoors.
I started in the museum's main building that focused on Asturian's in the kitchen.
I would soon see some things from
my youth from my Abuela's kitchen
Spanish shawls both plain and ornate
Asturians were excellent woodworkers
A primitive sewing machine
Where's the clock?
A typical Asturian housewife
of the late 19th century
I wonder what happened to
that one's head on the right?
Spooky
My Abuela had a Singer sewing
machine exactly like this one
Antonio Arias made lots of things
Asturians produced some great
advertising art . . .
. . . like this poster
I like Spanish butter
I had sidra with lunch when
I visited Villaviciosa recently
Delicious.
Classic Asturian wooden shoes . . .
. . . traditional footwear that was
both functional and stylish once
Other forms of traditional Asturian shoes
I found all of the exhibits in the museum's main building to be worthwhile.
It was time to see what was to be
found outdoors and in the outbuildings
A small farm sled
The House of González de La Vega
It houses the Museo del Gaitero or Bagpiper Museum.
A gaita is a Spanish bagpipe.
Although my Abuela was a whiz playing the castanets she also had a gaita in the home but I never heard anyone even attempt to play it.
Bagpipers are a religious lot apparently
Isn't that one in the middle of the left column a painting of St. George slaying the Dragon?
Well done gaiteros.
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My first gaita sighting
Archive of Musical Works
My grandfather, Evaristo, was
born in Infiesto
All sorts of gaitas on display,
most simple, some ornate
I never knew that there were
so many different types of gaitas
Gaitero in action
If my grandparents had stayed in
Asturias, this might have been me
The gaita that Abuela owned
looked akin to this one
A gaita, a drum and a bottle of sidra . . .
. . . and you've got yourself a party!
Good looking gramophone
"Gaitero de Asturias"
1970 by Gijón artist
Sebastián Pascual Tejerina
A print of this exact same painting hung in my parent's home for years.
Heraldry is a part of the
Asturian experience
Peaceful setting
One of three Hórreos on site
A second Hórreo was a tad fancier
A storage shed but what is that
thing to the left?
I had to ask one of the docents for more information on its purpose.
It's a Vara de Hierba
It is a small haystack of the type used in the old days to feed the cattle on the farms.
If this one were really in use, it would be covered with a sheet of some sort to protect it from the elements to some degree.
This area of Spain is called
the Costa Verde for a reason
The third Hórreo with Gijón's
Stadio El Molinón-Enrique Castro Quini
in the background
I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to rest before our Mariners practice as I was pressed into action to help coach our Youth and Junior Flag team's practices as well tonight.
With the Youth team set to workout from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., the Juniors from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and the Mariners team from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., I was soon to be given the greatest of all gifts.
Five hours on the practice field on a BEAUTIFUL night for American football!
What more could you ask for from life?
Back to a #1 bus stop for the ride to our practice facility.
Tile work by the bus stop
The Youth team is made up of
boys and girls, ages 8-14
Two of our three 8 year olds are seen on the right.
Lots of size variances with
this Youth group
The Youth team ended the practice
with a lively scrimmage
Our Junior team is made up
mostly of athletes who also play
for our Mariners eleven
Offensive Line Coach Alvaro
had to step in at Center tonight
We had a spirited session with
the Mariners tonight
Head Coach Nacho Valdés, on the far left,
reviewing a critical blocking scheme
detail with our Offensive Line
This was the type of practice attendance and effort that we sorely needed in my opinion after our last three workouts.
All we have now is our one hour, light Friday night walk-thorough before boarding the bus for our Saturday, 6:40 a.m. departure to Madrid where our Mariners (1-2) will take on the Osos Rivas (2-1).
Stay tuned . . .
would be a day of rest . . .
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