It is about three weeks since
the state of emergency ended here in Spain, and most of the lockdown
restrictions were removed.
Since then we have visited
bars in Calpe, Benissa and Jalon. We
were a little nervous at first, but soon got used to it.
Last week we met another group
from the U3A who were meeting for a coffee morning. This seemed like a really good idea, and we
decided to ask whether our two walking groups would be interested. We sent an email to everyone, whether in
Spain or outside.
There are currently 42
members, and exactly half live outside Spain.
Of those living locally 13 replied that they would support a weekly
coffee morning.
We arranged with a bar in
Jalon to use their balcony area, which is an outside space and very little
used. The owner was quite happy
providing we collected our drinks from the bar and returned them when we left.
The one restriction that
remained after lockdown, is the legal requirement to wear a face mask, or risk
a fine of 100 euro. Until this week it
was not necessary if you could maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from other
people. But last Friday it was changed
and everyone now has to wear a facemask whenever they are outside the house,
whatever the social distance. Even in a
bar, or on a terrace, it is required when not actually eating or drinking.
Most people, including us, are
still quite nervous about mixing in public.
This is the first time that we had met anyone outside the house, and we
were a little concerned. When the new
facemask requirement was announced we did consider cancelling the coffee
morning. But we really wanted to meet up
with our walking friends, whom we had not seen since March.
We had a great morning. Everyone exchanged “lockdown stories” and we
had a really nice get together. It was
particularly nice to see Barry and Linda, who live in UK but were out for a
short visit.
We plan to meet again next
Thursday, and hopefully make it a weekly meeting through July and August.
