Joel took some good photos on the Orwell part of our trip through northeastern Spain, including these:
-- Placa George Orwell in Barcelona, CCTV monitoring notice. The medieval city neighborhood east of the Ramblas is now mainly "cleaned up" but the Placa Orwell crowd is distinctly scruffy. Hence, probably, the cameras.
-- A better view of Placa G.O.
-- Sierra de Alcubierre, trenchlike thingy (??), taken from the western (Zaragoza) side, hence possibly not dug or occupied by Orwell's side in the war, but definitely close to Orwell's first posting in 1937. There is still wild rosemary on the hills although they seem as dry as places in California where rosemary won't grow by itself. And you do notice a chill up there. Easy to see how firewood must have been important.
-- And, speaking of noncombatants who have no business discussing war, this is me having a cup of coffee for George in Huesca. With many warm thoughts for fellow Orwell fans here.
If I look especially solemn in the photo it's because we were just emerged from two days sick (UK sense) in a hotel room. J. drove more than 300km that day though he couldn't eat much beyond yogurt and Weetabix. Please, I never want to be in a war; spoiled sandwiches in peacetime are entirely bad enough.
More Sierra de Alcubierre photos available if wanted tho I may not be able to display all at once.
Posted by Martha Bridegam at October 24, 2004 06:39 PMOK, gotta admit, the George Orwell Memorial CCTV Camera is pretty amusing. Thanks for the postcard, BTW.
Posted by: Alan Allport at October 24, 2004 10:51 PMYeah, and welcome back and stuff.
Personally, I find the hideous modern sculpture somehow more apropriate.
Posted by: Alan Hogue at October 25, 2004 11:13 AMHadn't thought about it, but I guess the sculpture could represent the severed head of a wasp still sucking jam. Or something.
Posted by: Martha Bridegam at October 25, 2004 11:49 AMI dunno, TV cameras? Sure, Orwell knew that was coming. But that sculpture? Who could have foretold that?
Posted by: Alan Hogue at October 25, 2004 11:57 AMMore about that place in the Sierra de Alcubierre: it's on the map as the Mirador de las Tres Huegas, up a short unpaved track from the main paved road that runs from Alcubierre over the sierra to Zaragoza. On the very top of the ridge in the photo I've already posted, there was a paved platform and a large cross presumably intended as a memorial. On and around this, a lot of angry antifascist/anticlerical graffiti had been painted out. We didn't find any official words posted at this rather official-looking site, but on a lower path not far from where J. stood to photograph the ridge, we saw this stone tablet by itself under an overhanging bank as though someone had just set it down there. I'd guess this was a memorial prepared with the nationalist side in mind, if only because of the cross, but the language is ambiguous and I don't recognize the emblems on the right. Can anyone else here help interpret this thing?
Posted by: Martha Bridegam at October 25, 2004 12:11 PM
