Boom bang a bang

The fiesta for the patron saint of Yecla, a town about 25kms from us, just over the border into Murcia, is a little odd in that one of the main events consists of a bunch of blokes, dressed up in tailcoats and Captain Hornblower hats wandering around the streets firing of arquebuses.

This is because in 1642 the French invaded Catalunya and the Catalans recruited 61 militiamen from Yecla to give them a hand. All the Yeclanos came home in one piece and, as a bit of a celebration, they paraded through the streets with the statue of the town's patron on their shoulders firing off their guns. Their ancestors, and a few friends, still do. Over 500 guns out last night.

A nice man from the Civil Protection Team gave us some cotton wool to stop up our ears.