Spain and Stella

Photo by Martin Robinson. Model: me

It's been a great end of January and beginning of February for me, with the BBC Woman's Hour interview on 2nd Feb about being an older model, together with older model Saga competition winner Dulcie Andrews - I am such a fan of Woman's Hour and being on it was a dream come true. Then I visited  Spain, where I modelled, last Friday,  for Martin Robinson's art workshop in Rojales, near Alicante - I am a regular now, have been going there since 2009! and then I had some fun being a tourist, travelling to Valencia for a day trip with overnight stay.
Valencia is delightful, truly enchanting. I will have to go back as I could not see everything I wanted to see, especially the City of Arts and Sciences.
But being in Rojales was also great fun, I witnessed on Sunday the reenactment of the historic battle between the Moors and the Christians, over ownership of the ancient  bridge of the town, and it was wonderful to be reminded of the rich history and tradition of this city and seeing it being kept alive so enthusiastically.  I even managed to fit in  a visit to the beach - but it was too cold to swim -  and on to an amazing spot, El Cau, rocks and caves brightened up by local sculptors with a range of art works.

El Cau Photo by Martin Robinson

Valencia was a real surprise, absolutely stunning. I am a great fan of Spain, I have to admit of being partial to it, I feel very much at home there. I am clearly not the only one to feel that way. There are many  expatriates over there, especially Brits, and, understandably, the Brits in Spain are very worried about the consequences of Brexit. They are seeking some reassurance and clarity on their position but have not yet been told what is to become of them. Meanwhile some of them are trying to sell up, though the value of their homes has gone down. Many wonder whether they can really return to England, what with the state of the NHS.  They do not know whether they will continue to have medical assistance while in Spain. It is all a very big mess.
Anyway, what I loved about Valencia was its rich mudéjar art.  The mudéjar  is an art style and a culture which flourished between the 11th and 16th century as a meeting point of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, with mutual influences. I had encountered it in Seville and found it in Valencia too. I walked around the historic city centre marvelling at the beauty of the buildings, from the stunning Ayuntamiento to the Lonja, a UNESCO Heritage Site, the House of Silk, with its incredible pillars, where the silk traders operated in the 15th century.

Valencia

And while I was taking in all this history, I got news of being featured in Stella , the weekly supplement of The Telegraph, as one of the eight top silver models of the moment.  It was kind of weird, but definitely very pleasant.

From Stella

Now I am back in London, feeling a bit cold.  I keep on thinking about the British expats in Spain. What does the future hold for them? What does it indeed hold for the many  EU citizens living in the UK? It is an interesting contrast. Most British expats tend to be older people, the EU citizens in Britain tend to be young people and  most of them are working and contributing to the economy. It is indeed a big question mark.
As the song goes, que sera, sera.