A few festivals

I've been so busy working that I haven't had a chance to update the blog. (If you're interested in how the UK's fastest growing, biggest and most impressive social enterprises are doing, check out www.socialenterpriselive.com/se100 next Monday night for the release of a big report that I've been editing. What's quite satisfying is that on most days my computer, printer and scanner have been powered only by the sun and the wind - more about our alternative power system later.)

Of course, as we're in Spain, a few more feasts, festivals and celebrations have whizzed by in the meantime. On Sunday 26 June, the villagers celebrated Corpus Christi by getting up at the crack of dawn to cover the streets in decorative carpets made out of different coloured stones and dyed rice husks. On their hands and knees kids and adults worked from the cool of 7 in the morning until the solid heat of lunchtime. In the past, they used flowers, but the wind blew them away. Designs ranged from the conservative floral stuff to Dora the Explorer. Here's some of what they made...

Later there was a procession and a church service, but we missed out on those as we were invited to a barbecue instead. The next day it was all swept away, like it had never happened.

There was also a Catalunyan holiday to celebrate St Joan (or St John). We completely missed out on this one except we could hear the music from one of the night clubs on the seafront thumping up through the hills at 5 in the morning.

One of the local villages was celebrating a saint of fishing too.

I think there are some fun beach party festivals coming up later in the summer.

Oh, and the weather has been great - lots of warm sunshine plus a few very loud thunderstorms at night.