December
December started with a pretty frosty blast, mornings were misty and cold with skies that delicate shade of blue and pink that herald wintry days. I love this time of day before the world is really awake, the street lights still glow as the sun gives a promise of warmth to come. Having hastily rallied the Pop-Up troops and enough contributors to make it worthwhile and offer an interesting and varied selection I had, some might say foolishly, booked a place for us at the Castello d’Empuries Fires de Nadal. 
Everyone had been like busy little elves preparing their wares and dropping them off with those of us manning the fort over the three days.We knew that the majority of exhibitors were going to be local businesses and traditional Catalan, with that in mind I thought viva la difference and we would go with a Vintage vibe. Using one of mhy recycled picture frames I made a blackboard and then handwrote (with a lot of help from online free fonts which I copied) to create a noticeboard of participants and a guide to who we were. It made a good talking point and I had distributed business cards around the stall with all the social media info on so they could follow up on us after. With one fluent Spanish/Catalan speaker and my Spanglish we did ok and people were genuinely interested in our set up. Visitors were a mix of locals, expats of different nationalities but particularly French as we are only twenty minutes from the border here, followers of our Facebook page and a variety of people from other events we had taken part in. 
We should have been outdoors in a central square in the old town but with a tramuntana (very strong winds) forecast on the second day the fall back position was in the Sala (sports hall). To be honest although it would have been pretty and mask free outdoors it would have been a darn sight colder. The downside was the whole event had been promoted in one location and after changing it they only put one teeny sign up in the square and a notice on the events page. This led to no end of confusion and to be honest lost visitors. As we have quite a big following on our personal and Pop-Up page we put a notice out on there with the vain hope that at least some people would find us!
These two certainly found their way! Admiring Sabine’s artwork. There were a steady stream of visitors over the first two days and after no events for two years it was good to be out talking to people again. However, not nearly enough to have made it worth our while and by day two we were beginning to wonder if it was not a waste of time but a long few days. Fortunately there were various activities that drew in the locals and we made progress slowly but surely. We certainly had a good range of products
From decorations to artwork, handbags and book covers to handpainted greetings cards. Handpainted silk scarves, wraps and kimonos, beautifully finished handpainted furniture and lovely vintage.
Then came day 3 and for some reason the place filled up with visitors from all over the region. Fortunately support had arrived from the other members so with everyone mucking in all of us made at least a decent amount of sales for it to have been worth our while in the end. We also were able to pack up as a team in record time. It was a good experience and we will definitely look at joining in other events now we have this one under our belt. I have to confess it did spark off my crooked back which does not happen often so I spent a couple of days resting up before starting on my own Christmas prep.
Once I’d taken a bit of time for rest and relaxation I organised the tree, the decorations, the gifts and the food. Made my grandad’s Whisky Laird trifle, all sharp forest fruits, madelleines, custard, cream and raspberries with sprinkles of non pareils. Then my Christmas cake which this year I decided to go rustic with homemade glace orange and lemon and sugared lavender, rosemary and olive leaves.
On the subject of food it is compulsory between Christmas and New Year to eat only “Food You Bought For Christmas” that everyone has been banned from eating until Christmas Eve at the earliest. Why I (and other Holders of the Kitchen Cupboards, Fridges and Hidden Places keys) think that opening one tin of honey roasted peanuts, a fancy cheese or a pate one minute earlier than the Designated Official Starting Time will cause mass shortages during the festive period when the shops are shut for just a couple of days is really quite ludicrous. The myth persists. I wonder if it’s because in times gone by we didn’t have luxuries at any other time and so there was actually a genuine worry that the Special Food would actually run out. I come from a big family of gannets and although we weren’t poor and we never went without we ate economically, Sunday tea (I’m Northern) was a slice of boiled ham, a lettuce leaf, slice of tomato and cucumber and a lot of bread and salad cream, afters was jelly with a tin of fruit in it and evaporated milk.
Now our fridges are stuffed with deli meats and cheeses from all corners of the globe and the baking I have done could feed an army. So brunch today is toasted rustic wholemeal with pate and cranberry on half and crumbly white Stilton with mango on the other and my usual Earl grey in my porcelain Robin mug. This afternoon I’ll be slicing up the remaining meats from Christmas Day and freezing some in gravy, some in curry and some are going into pies. Same goes for Christmas cake and trifle. I might be frivolous when buying but those days when we had nothing make me a waste not want not kinda gal. While I’m in the freezer I think I’ll pull out a frozen soup I bulk made last month. In fact I have a feeling January is going to be a pick and mix freezer lucky dip
Before you go thinking I’m all about the fancy stuff can I recommend a favourite of mine when I feel overloaded by all the rich food, my go to boiled egg and soldiers.
What I do love about Christmas here is the stark difference between frosty and sun, driving back from a trip to the coast we travelled along the country back routes in the warm sun with the roof on the car down, you could smell the turned earth as a tractor ploughed up and down and in the distance the mountains dusted with snow.
This has not been the easiest of years (again!) but I, like all of you I suspect, make the best of it, what else can we do? I am glad to see the back of it to be honest and I hope that 2022 brings us respite from this virus and we are in the end days of its effects. I’d like to wish you all a happy, healthy, prosperous and back to normal New Year!
