It’s Spring Time!
Thursday market
Granollers
Why is a Manhole Cover Round?
Walking home from the market one day I found my eyes drawn down to the pavement and I noticed how many different manhole covers there are in the street. As I prepared to write this I looked for some more information and discovered amongst other things that there is a famous question put to candidates in interviews, ‘why are most manhole covers round?’ It was meant to be a psychological assessment of reasoning but some of the answers are interesting. One is that it is not possible for a round cover to fall through the hole while a square one could go through diagonally.
Here are some examples of both shapes and also a rectangular one which I think could easily slip into the potable agua.
Here are some examples of both shapes and also a rectangular one which I think could easily slip into the potable agua.
It’s incredible how many there are in just a short stretch of road.
The ones above are in Castellano. This one below in Catalan. The difference is in the agua/aigua.
If they were newly made now I wonder if they would be done with the same variety of designs?
Here is one I saw in Buenos Aires while we are on the subject – it always made me smile
Does anyone know what the IRA stands for?
Not just pants! The Market 3
Of course there are more things to look at in the weekly market – not just pants pants pants.
Granollers market has a long and interesting history. There are records of a market being held here as long ago as the 11th century and this weekly invasion of the centre of town by stalls and sellers has continued uninterrupted until now.
Perhaps in the middle ages there were also places to buy underwear – woollen?
Granollers market has a long and interesting history. There are records of a market being held here as long ago as the 11th century and this weekly invasion of the centre of town by stalls and sellers has continued uninterrupted until now.
Perhaps in the middle ages there were also places to buy underwear – woollen?
This building – the Porxada – is the iconic symbol of Granollers. It dates from the 16th century and although partially destroyed in the bombing of the city in the civil war, has since been completely restored. It is a useful place to meet friends and on Thursdays this is where I go to buy vegetables and practise my català
Of course one of the purposes of markets in the past was to buy and sell animals. There is a square here called Plaça de Perpinyà which was locally known as Plaça dels Porcs. Pep remembers being taken to the cattle market by his grandfather when he was a young boy. At that time it was held in what is now a public park, Torres Villà. There were cows and horses and he remembers the fear of the animals as they were loaded onto lorries, urged up the ramps by the use of electric prods. Now the only part of the weekly market that reminds you of the realities of animal husbandry is in a small square near the Hotel Fonda Europa where there are cages of birds – ducks, chickens, geese.
So what else is there to see in the market now? Here are some pictures from last week
Flowers and plants
Bags with the beautiful exterior of the Hotel Fonda Europa in the background
And Calçots which we ate twice this weekend and I will write about in the next post
I am gradually finding stalls where I feel comfortable speaking in Català and taking my time to choose fruit and vegetables. Market sellers in London are much more scary than most of the people here and because Granollers still has a feeling of the pueblo there is a relaxed attitude to time and I rarely feel ignored or pressured to shop quickly.
And there is always the temptation of a cafe amb llet and a xuxu before wheeling my full trolley home.
Today in the Market
Today in the market I saw this man
What is in his hand?
They are bird cages – many people not only have caged birds here but sometimes carry them around with them. Some of the market stalls have their birds behind the table, just as you might have your dog.
Walking around the streets I have been noticing recently the increase in bird song – unfortunately much of it is coming from the balconies where the cages are hung.
They have competitions too – for the best singing bird.
There is also a plaça where they have all the chickens and ducks for sale. I always have to scurry across there to get to the fruit market. Today the quacking almost reduced me to tears but it’s one of those things I won’t allow myself to avoid although I hate it.
The dark corners of these photos are due to my camera lense not always opening fully after it’s unexpected encounter with the kitchen floor. I quite like the effect here. But will try to remember to open it by hand in future.
How to Build a Castle
Get a group of people wearing same colour tee shirts to form a huddle and hold hands tightly.
Put a few more on top of the first ones shoulders with arms linked.
Red head scarves help but are not compulsory. Sashes around the waists are vital.
Get a few more to scramble on top, using the sashes as ladders.
Wobble around a bit and go back to the beginning if it doesn’t feel totally right.
Listen to the man at the bottom who is shouting instructions.
Add another layer.
Don’t think too much about those down at the bottom who are providing the base.
It can all get quite intimate.
Add some more layers.
Once the music has started you have to continue.
Just when you think it can’t go any higher
Add another layer
Now send up some small children to climb over the summit.
Don’t look down!
Here’s another one with different coloured tee-shirts.
To read more about the Catalan tradition of making human castles click HERE
Or watch this BBC film.
I have been in Catalunya for almost a year and a half but only saw my first human castles last Sunday in the Porxada in Granollers. Is this a record?