ON SUNDAY in a rural Andalusian village, all the shops should be shut. Except there is one stall, set outside a busy local bar, breaking the normally strictly observed trading principles. A woman, probably in her mid-thirties, is selling produce from her garden: boxes of sweet-flavoured grapes, figs, eggs, jams and honey.The bar clientele, passing the stall, do not seem to mind her being there at all. In fact most seem to know her and stop to greet her. When they buy from her, she seems desperately grateful. The impression being that the few euros for a few kilos of grapes were critical. This is a village, far off the tourist trail, mired in Spain’s recession. Somehow the crystal light of Spain is dimmer, the air dirtier and the proud people humbled by their need to keep a roof over
28 August 2014, The Tablet
Simple solutions for lean times
Get Instant Access
Continue Reading
Register for free to read this article in full
Subscribe for unlimited access
From just £30 quarterly
Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
The full weekly edition in print and digital including our 179 years archive.
PDF version to view on iPad, iPhone or computer.
Already a subscriber? Login