Spanish Eyes, English Words

Last week, my husband Tony turned 80, and his daughter and her family flew over from the UK to help us to celebrate. Being January, we didn't know what to expect with the weather, but it was pretty good to us, until Saturday, when the sun refused to come out to play.

On Friday, we'd taken the family to Mar Menor, and enjoyed tapas at Casa Miguel while looking out to La Manga. Our son in law Mike was most intrigued by this, and as the weather wasn't up to sunbathing, the six of us headed out to drive along the 18.5 kilometres of La Manga in the motor home. It was a first for all of us, and when we came to the hump back Veneziola Bridge, I couldn't see how our motor home would make it. I took the coward's way out and parked at the bottom of the bridge, then went to have a look.

The illustration I've used really doesn't do the bridge justice, although it does give you an idea of just how much of a hump there is. Let's just say it looked pretty much vertical, and I did suggest that maybe we should walk over. Mike put on his disappointed face, and said he really wanted to drive to the very end of La Manga, so I decided to give it a go, for his sake.

I regretted the decision when we crested the bridge. How to describe the feeling? Think of the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, when they're about to jump off the cliff into the sea to escape their pursuers. Remember the line 'The fall will probably kill you?' Well, that's how I felt - and so did the rest of my passengers, apart from Mike, who was still focused on driving to the end.

Obviously, we all survived, as I'm posting this. And coming back wasn't so bad, because I knew what was coming. In fact, I was so pumped up that when I saw a family in a Ford Fiesta wondering whether to try the bridge or not, I said, 'Go for it! I did it in the motor home, you can do it in that.' They did too, although they looked a bit pale as the came back. Lightweights!

I love some of the Spanish New Year customs, but one I've never actually observed before is the wearing of red underwear. Although it's my favourite colour for outerwear, somehow it seems a bit racy to wear red undergarments, especially at the ripe old age of 61.

However, 2013 was such a lousy year for us as a family I decided that 2014 needed all the help it could get. All my Spanish friends - and many of my English ones - always wear red underwear throughout New Year's Eve. They have at least two sets, so that when they shower and change for the evening's celebrations, they can still be ladies in red.

So, off I went to buy my red knickers. Apparently, it doesn't need to be a full set. That was where I encountered a problem, because I've also been told you have to be given the underwear. Yet here I was, buying it for myself. I explained my concerns to the stallholder, and he said that was okay, because even though I was paying for the knickers, he was actually giving them to me. I bet he tells that to all the ladies!

I like to know why I'm doing particular things - even when it's something as mundane as wearing a certain colour of knickers - so I did some research. Evidently, the custom originated in the Middle Ages, when the Powers That Be in the Catholic Church decided that red was the colour of witchcraft, blood and the Devil - all nasty things that they didn't want associated with the church. So they banned ordinary people from wearing it for the benefit of their spiritual wellbeing.

Then as now, the Spanish didn't like being told what to do. As far as they were concerned, red was the colour of life and luck - especially during the harsh winter season. So they took to wearing red underwear which - being good Catholics - was never on display to anyone else. Thus they guaranteed their good luck in the New Year.

I was a bit sceptical about this, but on New Year's Eve, my boss sent through my payment for the writing work I'd done for her over the past week. And she included an unexpected 25 Euro seasonal bonus - I didn't see that coming, as I'd only worked for her for three months. Needless to say, I was wearing my red knickers when I received it. Maybe there's something in this after all. Perhaps I should buy the full set for next year!