Gary J. Kirkpatrick Art and Travel Blog
Expressionistic art
Gary Kirkpatrick Patrick Stewart has aged, making for interesting challenges for an artist, so I took it on.
Patrick Stewart b. 1940 an English actor, director and producer. He started as a Shakespearean actor before going to television and film. He has been nominated for multiple awards. He is one of my favorite actors. I watched some episodes of Picard just to see him do the part. It was otherwise a not series I found particularly interesting. The popup control panels were astonishing.
Happier days in Spain may not be far off. Here in Valencia saw the first loosening of restrictions. Construction workers were most noticeably back to work starting yesterday, April 14. Traffic was also up, with more people were using public transport, where each passenger is provided with a mask. On buses you have to use the side entry to maintain more distance from the bus drivers.
Above our roof we have had a police helicopter looking down upon us. They said something over a loud speaker. People have been using the roof for exercise. We have heard conflicting things about roofs. There are children in our building and they play up there at times. I assume it is just one family at a time. The kids need to run around a bit. It’s awfully rough on children and their parents to be so confined. We have been doing jazzercize. Yesterday we did 40 minutes. It gets you moving.
After our plans to visit Egypt were cancelled, followed by days of efforts to arrange the refunds for air and accommodation, we booked flights to Nederlands so we can get back on the boat. Once there our rent payments in Valencia end so it is not only an enriching experience it is more economical for us. Our first three flights were cancelled. The EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) maintains a list of airports with a high risk of transmission. Valencia is not on the list. Madrid, Barcelona (Catalonia), Basque Country, Castile and Leon, Castilla-La Mancha are. The Nederlands decided to use this list to determine who to allow in. We should be able to board our next flight. I am not sure if they will check passports or other documentation. Non-EU residents are prohibited from traveling within the EU. We are EU residents.
From a scene in The Crown, Anne with her photographer boyfriend
This is the car I drove as a teenager. It’s a 1958 or 59 Morris Minor 1000 produced in the UK. Morris is famous for the MG, standing for Morris Garage.
It was manufactured fom 1948 and 1971. There were three series: the MM (1948 to 1953), the Series II (1952 to 1956), and the 1000 series (1956 to 1971). There was a two-door, convertible, a four door and a station wagon, called an ‘estate’ in the UK.
Its peppy performance and decent handling no doubt were influenced by the MG, and very good interior space. I drove a VW bug at several points in my life and by comparison the Minor was a much better car and nearly as reliable.
There are now 87,956 cases up from 80,110 yesterday, with 7,846 fatalities, up from 6,875 yesterday. The virus is yielding, albeit grudgingly, to harsh measures. People fleeing to second homes are being fined and turned back, for example. You must have a certificate to work or you can be fined. Spain is not getting help from the EU which constitutionally can not engage in deficit spending. The Central Bank has begun to buy bonds, both private and public, to try to keep the economies going as airlines and countless other businesses and their employees struggle to keep going. Our local bakery had 5-6 people running around like crazy to keep up with the morning crowds. Now there are 2, one baking bread and the other serving customers who are allowed in one at a time. Some additional businesses are allowed to operate under similar restrictions. Quel désastre!
The US looks worse. The caseload is mushrooming without the kinds of controls in place that Spain has. Spring breakers frolic on the beaches. The US has no national lock down in place, and some governors have not issued one on their own. Florida has the oldest population and no state wide order, as do 20 other states. Trump is finally taking the matter seriously, or so it seems. I hope he continues to listen to the pros.
Probably as a result of the reduction of activity the increase in the number of known cases is starting to level off in Spain, but there are still over 6000 new cases per day. I think it will take until May for the numbers to start approaching a manageable number.
But even with this bit of good news I do not have enough tears. The ill. The dead and their families. The unemployed. My own inconveniences are nothing, nothing, nothing by comparison. I spend much of each day painting anyway, so now is not much different other than seeing friends, having coffee with my fabulous wife, going to exhibits. Still, nothing compared to what health care workers are dealing with, and all we can do in return is stay healthy and clap for them each night at 8.
Things are well ordered and calm in Valencia. It does not have the the huge numbers of cases that Madrid and Barcelona have, at least so far. There are about 5000 known cases in the province, about 25000 in Madrid and 16,000 in Barcelona. The ICU’s in those two cities are at capacity. Economically Valencia is probably no better off than the rest of the country, as the cancellation of Fallas meant that $1 billion+ in revenue did not materialize, yet much of the expense had already been incurred. If it comes off in July it will be smaller, probably better than nothing.
After we canceled our trip to Egypt we changed a flight from there to Berlin for one from here to Amsterdam. Then the Netherlands closed flights from Spain until April 6 then extended that to April 12. Our flight was for April 21. Then the airline announced it was canceling all flights in Europe.
Some areas of the Netherlands extended winter lock and bridge hours past the usual start time of April 1, mostly to April 12 but one area until June 1. April is early for boating and it can be rather cold and gray so we are probably not missing much in that regard. Living aboard our boat saves us money so we’d like to get there for that reason as well as to pursue our journeys. This is comparatively minor issue of course, as long as our resources hold out, anyway.
“Unorthodox” (on Netflix) is an excellent 4 part series looking at life in Williamsburg, a section of Brooklyn. The series is based on the autobiography of Deborah Feldman, b. 1986. Her mother left the faith and her father was mentally ill so her grandmother raised her. In the series Esty (Deborah) struggles to have intercourse, finding it extremely painful. After a year with no pregnancy her husband asks for a divorce. Etsy flees to Berlin with documents showing her right to German citizenship. The story evolves into the effort to find and get her to return. She struggles to find her way with little education and even less money. The trailer includes an interview with Deborah and those they employed to assure they realistically depicted the Hasidic world. I would be interested to hear how her husband and former community reacted. Garybob says check it out!
“O sole mio” which is the basis for my pun is a famous Neapolitan song written in 1898. Lyrics by Giovanni Capurro, music by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi. It is usually sung in the Neopolitan dialect. ‘O sole mio in Italian is ‘Il mio sole,’ “my sun” or “my sunshine.” O Solo Mia means ‘O just Mia’ or ‘Mia alone.’ She resides with friends in El Carmen, taking one or the other for several walks a day.
Turron de Jijona is Spanish soft nougat, with a wonderful almond and honey flavor. Jijona is the small town near Valencia where it is made. This turron is protected by European Union, through the IGP (Indicación Geográfica Protegida). It is made in December of each year and is a common end of the year treat. Almonds are extensively cultivated in Valencia province, dating from the Moorish era.
At first I thought it was a kind of halva. It has almost that consistency but it has more oil. I think it is sweeter too You can cut it easily with a knife, which is desirable as it comes in a block. You can see liquid inside the package. I was surprised to find it was almond oil.
It is made from almonds, honey and powdered sugar. You roast the almonds and them blend into a paste while adding the honey and sugar. It is then allowed to rest for several days so that it becomes more firm. It is quite flexible when you open it but it easily breaks off too. Quite the treat!
An ode to Manet
This scene is based upon our local bakery, and inspired by Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Petxina (pronounced ‘Pechina’) is a neighborhood of Valencia. The bakery is around the corner from us.
Stats for Spain: 18890 with 1083 deaths. This is up from 8000 a week ago when there were 200 deaths. I am using the Washington Post site every day to maintain consistency, other sites may vary. For example, the national paper El Pais for example shows that there are “21.570 infectados y 1.094 muertos.” Another concerning development – Madrid’s hospitals are at double capacity https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-03-20/las-uci-de-varios-hospitales-de-madrid-ya-estan-al-doble-de-su-capacidad-con-pacientes-de-coronavirus.html
Here is what the lock down orders here say:
During the state of alarm, citizens and vehicles will only be allowed to travel on public roads and streets for the following activities:
The purchase of foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and essential items.
To attend health centers.
To go to work or to provide employment services.
To return to your usual residence.
To assist and care for seniors, minors, dependants, the disabled, or people who are particularly vulnerable.
In cases of force majeure or of necessity. Posted at https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-03-15/spains-state-of-alarm-the-key-measures-that-are-now-in-place.html
Trash service continues as does bus transport. You can only enter the bus by the side door to reduce contact with the driver. When we have been out to get supplies the buses we have seen have been empty or carrying only one or two people. The street traffic is a fraction of its former self.
At 8 p.m. the clapping starts every night. Cars passing by honk happily also for our health care workers. We can see a couple we know on the same flight as ours a few buildings down. On the 19th, what would have been the last day of Fallas, we had a fireworks on our street. It was short but sweet.
The Spanish are treating this matter very seriously but not without a sense of humor. Check out the videos below! (posted on my Youtube channel)
Italy now has 38,500 active cases. Our friends there said that the streets of Rome are finally empty, blaming the crisis there on the unwillingness of people to follow the order to stay at home. The number of cases in Germany has mushroomed. Everywhere in Europe is up. The US has surpassed Spain in total numbers, with comparatively few deaths reported so far.
I am so glad they included the score!
The daily mascleta (enormous firework displays) takes off in this courtyard