Only Joe King

It’s happened again – Joe King has fallen “victim” to Serendipity.

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, serendipity is the fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary goes for the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.

Ronda Reading Group

The question was posed on Facebook: Does anybody know of a book group in Ronda? I replied that I didn’t think there was one, but I’d be interested in joining it if there were. I suggested to the author of the question, Krisztina, that she should start one. I offered to help her.

This got a few likes. I also had a few people in mind who I thought might be interested. Within a few hours we had 12 or so confirmations. Mainly British, but also three Poles, two Irish, two Hungarians and a South African.

Krisztina and I arranged to meet for a coffee to get to know each other and to share ideas. Remarkably our thoughts more or less coincided. We scheduled a preliminary meeting for those interested to get together, to lay down our modus operandi and to get going on our first book.

We also had acquired our first sponsor, RondaLingua, the language learning company, who had offered us a venue for our meetings. Krisztina is a teacher there.

Ronda Valley Hotel

After sorting out a few bits and pieces in Ronda, I popped into the Ronda Valley Hotel, formerly the Hotel Don Benito, on my way home. It’s actually my “local”, being just 500 metres from my house.

While I was chatting to Francesca, an Austrian ‘workaway’ at the hotel, I became aware of a lady at the bar who was talking about working in the hotel.

Shortly afterwards, when she had finished, I engaged her in conversation. Her name is Judit, she is Hungarian, and had just got a job at the hotel. But wait for it ….. she lives in Ronda with her daughter Krisztina! You couldn’t make it up, could you?

She told me her daughter had had a meeting that morning in Ronda with an English guy about setting up a book group.

That was me, I said.

We were both gobsmacked, to say the least.

Francesca took a photo of the pair of us and I WhatsApped it to Krisztina with the message: Guess what?

Judging by her reply, she was as taken aback as Judit and I.

Serendipity, you’re at it again!

Joan Manuel Serrat

That same evening I was in Ronda, returning to my car in the underground car park in Plaza del Socorro, when I could hear music coming from the Círculo de Artistas. It sounded like one of my favourite Spanish singers, Joan Manuel Serrat.

I approached the building and spoke to the security guard. It was a live concert by José María Tornay singing songs by the Catalan singer/songwriter.

The concert had only just started so I bought a ticket for 10€ and joined the audience.

José María, supported by other musicians, trawled through Serrat’s songbook and interspersed with chat and interaction with those people present, he entertained the 200 or so members of the audience right royally.

I discovered Serrat’s music when I was studying in San Sebastián, aged 21. His album Mediterráneo was published in 1971 and I was hooked. 50 years later I still listen to that LP on a fairly regular basis.

When I was teaching A-Level Spanish in the late 70s/early 80s I used some of his songs as the basis for lessons, in particular La mujer que yo quiero, Tío Alberto and Barquito de papel.

What a chance encounter! Serendipity at work once again!

Pasos Largos

The lady Judit was going to replace at the Ronda Valley Hotel, Carolina, had told me she was leaving for another job. It transpires that she is to be socia encargada of the recently opened Taberna Pasos Largos in Calle Nueva in Ronda. In other words Carolina is to be the co-owner and manager.

As my wife and I were going to a flamenco show by David Palomar in Ronda that coming Saturday night, I thought we could try out the restaurant afterwards, so asked Carolina to book a table.

The name of the restaurant is interesting. Pasos Largos was an infamous bandit (1873 – 1934), who preyed on travellers in the Serranía de Ronda in the early 20^th Century.  

We tried Taberna Pasos Largos. The food was fairly standard fare, but well prepared and presented. Over-priced for the locality, however, so we shan’t be going there again.

Not serendipity on this accasion!

Note:

For more information about Joan Manuel Serrat, click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Manuel_Serrat

For more information about the bandit Pasos Largos click https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasos_Largos

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, “Serendipity” is the fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary goes for the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. When Joe King rang his garage to book a service, little did he know that Serendipity was about to strike again.

While I was in Ronda on Friday last, I had to go to the cajero at my bank. I transacted my bank business and, since the bank is opposite Las Maravillas, one of my favourite places to eat and drink in town, I went for a coffee and to catch up on my phone calls.

Car Service

I rang my garage, Peugeot, but the number I used was declared non-existent! Humph! I tried another number – same story.

I googled the garage to find that it was permanentemente cerrado! Had they gone bankrupt? Surely not. I was there just two weeks ago.

Then I found another number. It rang. Phew! But nobody answered. I finished my coffee and tried again. This time the automatic menu answered. I pressed 1 for taller. Nobody in the workshop picked up.

Ana Belén

I happened to have the private mobile of the receptionist, Ana Belén, so I dialled that. Ana Belén answered: Hola, Joe, qué tal?

I said I needed to book a service. Oh I don’t work there any longer, she said. However, she confirmed that the garage was not bankrupt nor permanently closed.

When I said nobody was answering their phone, she said they were short-staffed (partly caused by her leaving, I guess!) Her brother, Sergio, the workshop manager, was still off sick following a hernia operation, but that I should persevere in ringing.

I asked where she worked now. I’m a waitress at the Japanese restaurant on Calle Jerez. Japanese restaurant?  In Ronda?  Blimey!  Whatever next?  An Indian?  (No chance; Indian or Bangladeshi food is too spicy for the Spanish, so, despite several attempts over the years, they’ve never taken off in Ronda).

On the spur of the moment I asked if they might have a table for that very evening. My wife and I were going to a Fashion Show, Ronda de Moda, that evening and were intending to eat dinner afterwards. We recently enjoyed a great Japanese meal in Germany, so I thought it would be a nice surprise for my other half.

Ana Belén was due to start work at the restaurant within the hour so she said she would check and call me back.

As I ordered a second coffee I was greeted by one of the owners of Las Maravillas, José María, my former vet. He is no longer a vet, but a restaurateur!

I rang the garage again and got through to a rough-voiced man in taller.

I need a service for my car.

Certainly, sir.

Hang on a minute; is that Sergio? I thought you were on the sick?

Hi, Joe. I am, but we’re short-staffed, so I came in today to help out. (Auto Sanz is a family firm, so that figures!) Next Monday at 9.00 am, ok?

Fine. I’ll be there on Monday.

I hung up. My mobile rang immediately. DHL. We have a packet for you but can’t find your address.

It was my long-awaited passport. After some verbal to-ing and fro-ing we arranged that my valuable document, for which I have to sign, will be delivered to me in Montejaque on Tuesday morning.

I paid for my coffee and left. I needed to go to the Casa de la Cultura to pick up tickets for a new play about refugees that we want to see. The Japanese restaurant is just across the road from there, so I decided to pop in and take a look.

Miyagi Express Sushi Bar

Ana Belén was there along with colleague Rafael. Then she told me something that took me completely by surprise. The joint owner of the sushi restaurant is none other than Marcos Marcell, the Ronda-born professional actor and director who runs the theatre school where I was a member, Proyecto Platea.

Another person who has diversified, similar to José María at Las Maravillas.

Fashion Show

Come 8.00 pm and it was time for Ronda de Moda at the Convento de Santo Domingo.

You’ll probably be the only bloke, said Rita.

Wrong, there were lots of men, some very pretty and camp, but other blokes of my age and younger. The place was heaving: women of all ages, men and children.

We found two seats in the third row from the pasarela (runway) and sat back to enjoy the display of fashions from local boutiques, including three of my wife’s favourites: Colette, El Diván de Frida and N de Nati.

My first time ever at a fashion show, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t yawn once during the whole of the two-hour presentation.

The models were stunning, by the way - the female ones too!

Sushi

Then it was off to the Miyagi Express Sushi Bar for dinner.

Small and intimate, the restaurant is at the bottom of Calle Jerez opposite the church.

We were welcomed by Ana Belén and sat in the comfortable reception area while our table was readied. Marcos Marcell came over to welcome us and to say hello. He hadn’t met the missus before.

He told us that his production of the play El Enfermo Imaginario (The Imaginary Invalid) by Moliere would be on at the Teatro Vicente Espinel in January. Out of interest I was in the running to play the lead role of the imaginary invalid, Argan, until I became a real invalid with Covid-19 during early rehearsals and had to pull out.

My wife was excited in anticipation of our meal. Me too. We’re both very inexperienced in Japanese cuisine, so we ordered two different kombos to share, which offered us practically all the different types of sushi on the menu.

We enjoyed hosomakis, nigiris, futomakis, uramakis, gyozas and ensalada wakame (seaweed). No idea what they all mean, but who cares, they were delicious.

I had two Japanese beers (brewed under licence in Bavaria, Germany) and the missus two glasses of verdejo. Just over 50 euros altogether.

We’ll be back!

Factcheck:

Miyagi Express Sushi Bar is open from Thursday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. They also offer a takeaway and a home delivery service.

Calle Jerez, 2, 29400 Ronda, Spain.

Serendipity

Oh! And should there be any doubt, Serendipity is alive and well in Ronda!

Editor’s note: Serendipity I – straw bales, double doors and a house for sale is available to read on EyeOnSpain.

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, SERENDIPITY is the fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary goes for the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. Joe King experiences serendipitous events quite frequently. This happened a few weeks ago.

My English neighbour asked me if I could get him a dozen straw bales to rebuild a shelter for his four lambs, so off I went with my friend José to try and find some. The harvest was just in, so in theory there were plenty about.

We tried locally but the farmers had none spare – they needed them all for their own livestock.

So we tried further afield. We headed off towards Montecorto (Málaga) on the road to Sevilla. The fields were full of bales of straw, so we stopped at the gasolinera in Montecorto where there is a café that seems to be a meeting place for all and sundry.

“Anyone got any straw bales for sale?” I asked in my best andaluz accent. Immediately a huge guy who looked like the Native American mental patient in the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” piped up.

“Yep. How many do you need?”

“Just 12.”

Cristóbal was from Benaoján (also Málaga).

“Meet me tomorrow morning at Bar El Encuentro in Benaoján at 9.00 am and we can pick them up.”

The price was right, so we agreed.

As José and I drove off, we both acknowledged that that had all been rather serendipitous.

The following morning we met Cristóbal as agreed and he took us to his nave where he had stored his hay.

While José and Man Mountain were loading the van with the dozen bales, I had a nose around. There were rabbits and chickens and a pair of double doors.

They would be perfect for Casa Real, the house I’m doing up, I thought.

I asked Cristóbal if they were for sale. He said “yes, but they’re not mine. They belong to a friend. I’ll ask him.”

Over the next week or so I learned that they would cost me 450€. No way, I said, I was thinking of 150€. In the end we met somewhere near the middle and I paid 275€. I was happy and so was the vendor. Who says andaluces aren’t prepared to haggle?

The doors are fitted in my house already and look grand.

Talking to Cristóbal it emerged that he had a house for sale in Benaoján, so, in my role as corredor, unofficial estate agent, I went to see it. The house is now “on my books”.

Serendipity? I think you could say all three, the straw bales, the double doors and the house for sale fall into that category.

¡Viva la serendipitía!