06 Friday Dec 2024
Accidentally stumbled into this yesterday – this year’s “mapping” at City Hall. I remember the first time they did this here back in 2012 (!) and I thought it was pretty cool. But in the following years the “show” got bigger, flashier and louder, with pop Christmas hits playing, and so I stopped going. Then I happened upon this one and it was actually quite lovely and subdued with classic Spanish Christmas tunes. Might even go back.
05 Thursday Dec 2024
Posted in health, health & happiness, hospitals, sevilla
Many years ago I was walking past a very elegant building not far from where I live now and the sign outside caught my interest. I wondered what the Defensor del Pueblo Andaluz actually did. Like, who did they defend, and from what? As luck would have it there was a man standing in the doorway and so I asked him. And he said, well, when people are having difficulties and don’t know what they can do we find ways of helping them find the help they need. I remember thinking at the time, wow, what a wonderful service.
They came back to mind earlier this week when I got in touch with my friend (and ex-GP) Agustín to ask him if there was such a thing as an official Patient Advocate that might be able to help me with this whole medical mess I’ve been going through with my knee(s). He suggested that I register a formal complaint with Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS) but the thought of going through all that without even knowing where to start… well, it made me think of the DPA.
I got onto their website and there was an easy way to send in a request so I did that. That very evening I got a call from someone from the DPA who also suggested the formal complaint route, saying I could go to any health centre or hospital and submit the form. The next day I received an email with a PDF of my official file number etc but meanwhile some questions had arisen. I’m very familiar with Spanish red tape so what I didn’t want is to show up at the hospital and have them give me the run around.
So today I took a copy of my DPA file over to that elegant building and said to the guy at the information counter that I still had a few questions. No problem. Within a few minutes I was talking to an advisor who listened to my whole story and then… actually helped me! He said I didn’t have to go to a hospital or health centre, that it was easy to do everything online, especially if I had a certificado digital (which I do) and he proceeded to take me through the steps, showing me the SAS website on his computer screen, what to click on, etc. Then he told me that after sending in the official complaint SAS had one month to respond and if they didn’t respond by then, or if I did not agree with their response, then I had a case for the DPA and they would officially step in.
OMG… I almost started crying. I mean, it’s scary to hope at this point, but suddenly I could actually DO something, there were clear steps to take and it made me feel less helpless and alone. So of course I sent in that official SAS complaint as soon as I got home today and… now we wait. Meanwhile I got an SMS from DPA reminding me of how to send in the official complaint and also what to do after I receive a response with corresponding emails and phone numbers. Fucking socialist governments, eh?
28 Thursday Nov 2024
Posted in christmas, food & drink, friends, restaurants, sevilla, spain
Deb & Grace
Deb is back! This time with her friend Nina. And so we met up at Manolo Cateca, along with Grace (who is soon to be neighbour) for a pre-lunch sherry and to also delivery their Sevilla L’Armanaques. Peter also joined us as I wasn’t actually able to carry the two almanacs on my own (they’re quite heavy this year!). He then took home all the lovely loot Deb brought for me from London: mince pies, the latest Decanter mag (with my article in it!), a lovely card to add to my collection and a mystery gift which I am trying not to open until Christmas Day. Afterwards Deb, Nina and I went on to have lunch at the fabulous Lalola Restaurante. And oh my, what a lunch it was.
This is becoming a lovely tradition that I hope continues, with Deb returning to Sevilla every year to revisit the places she and her late husband Dan (aka Dan Jamón) used to go to in their favourite city. Today, as in the past three December visits, we met for what inevitably ends up being a very long, very boozy and very emotional lunch, and this was no exception. The restaurant choice was perfect because Dan loved his jamón, really anything Ibérico, and so going to Lalola, and having chef Javi Abascal, El Rey de la Casquería (the Offal King, sounds better in Spanish) prepare a special Ibérico tasting menu just for us was… well, Dantastic.
🐷 starters: buñuelo de bacalao, jamón croqueta, chicharrón de cádiz topped with scallop tartare
🐷 sautéed boletus topped with seared foie
🐷 arroz Ibérico with jamón, presa, asparagus, topped with papada
🐷 grilled abanico Ibérico with potatoes
🐷 jamón baklava with pistachio ice cream and white chocolate crumble
🥂🍷 Sumarroca, Ossian Wines, Cortijo Los Aguilares, Bodegas Baron
chef Javi Abascal
27 Wednesday Nov 2024
Posted in architecture, art, sevilla, tapas bars
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Before lockdown 2020 my neighbour Alfredo Rodríguez was working at Barra Baja, one of my favourite restaurants in the city. Then of course everything stopped. But not Alfredo. He started creating a series of Sevilla tapas bar façades that he would sketch while out on the few walks we were allowed and then finish at home. This led to a whole other line of business for him that eventually became his new full time job. I have two of his limited prints at home, of Casa Eme and Casa Morales. Then Alfonso had the idea to make an annual Sevilla almanac with a selection his ever expanding collection of façades on each page.
This is the 2025 L’Armanaque de Sevilla, hot off the presses, and once again I have also picked one up for Deb and Paul like I did last year.
22 Friday Nov 2024
Posted in azahars kitchen, bluesky, casa azahar, homecooking
Have I mentioned how much I love Bluesky? Just like how I used to love Twitter? Anyhow, hot on the heels of asking for advice about purchasing a new printer I went on to ask about pepper grinders. Why? Because I’d just been making dinner and got so frustrated with my old bunged-up one, like I basically do every day. I had pretty much given up on finding one that works properly, even buying a small mortar & pestle to do the job instead. Problem is that it’s a bit faffy, so it’s become a daily choice between either faff or frustration. Because I use A LOT of black pepper. All the time.
Anyhoo… got some very interesting suggestions, ranging from practical to preposterous, but the one name that kept coming up was Peugeot. Honestly, I had no idea they even made pepper grinders and it’s still puzzling to me why they do. So I had a look around. It was very tempting to go for the Paris Chef stainless steel carbon-finished one that had originally been recommended, but there was no way I could justify paying more for a pepper grinder than I just had for a printer (especially as I shouldn’t be making frivolous purchases at the moment anyhow!). So I opted for a more modest wooden model – another Black Friday Week special offer – that seems to have the same grinding mechanism, which is the important part. I mean, just look at that! It’s arriving today and I’m way more excited about this than a grown-ass woman should be. Sure hope it works.
casa azahar 