Driving over lemons an optimist in Andalucia read by the author:
Chris Stewart
Have just borrowed this Penguin Audio-Book 3 cd set, from Nottingham City Library. Parrot in the Pepper Tree was the Radio4 Book of the Week last week, so enjoyed it, that I had researched this chaps work, a little more. So, have now discovered “Driving over Lemons ”
For your interest, you can see details of Driving Over Lemons on Amazon
The plot: When English sheep shearer Chris Stewart (once a drummer for Genesis) bought an isolated farmhouse in the mountains outside of Granada, Spain, he was fully aware that it didn’t have electricity, running water, or access to roads. But he had little idea of the headaches and hilarity that would follow (including scorpions, runaway sheep, and the former owner who won’t budge). He also had no idea that his memoir about southern Spain would set a standard for literary travel writing.
This rip-roaringly funny book about seeking a place in an earthy community of peasants and shepherds gives a realistic sense of the hassles and rewards of foreign relocation. Part of its allure stems from the absence of rose-colored glasses, mainly Stewart’s refusal to merely coo about the piece of heaven he’s found or to portray all residents as angels. Stewart’s hilarious and beautifully written passages are deep in their honest perceptions of the place and the sometimes, xenophobic natives, whose reception of the newcomers ranges from warm to gruff.
After reading about struggles with animal husbandry, droughts, flooding, and such local rituals as pig slaughters and the rebuilding of bridges, you may not wish to live Chris Stewart’s life. But you can’t help but admire him and his wife, Ana, for digging out a niche in these far-flung mountains, for successfully befriending the denizens, and for so eloquently and comically telling the truth.
BBC Radi4 have done a ‘feature’ on Chris Stewart.. Starts at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/discover/archive_interviews/44_stewart1.shtml
Also, some interviews, that you can hear, using Real Player:
I’d gone off, earlier in the blog, about Parrot in the Pepper Tree. Another work by Chris Stewart. Please check out at:
http://tash_lodge.blogspot.com/2002_08_25_tash_lodge_archive.html#80863370
It is possible, dear reader, that you wonder why I’m going of about this work. Well, I’ve visited the Area, a couple of years ago, and declare it to be ‘magical’. I have a family connection there also.
My son Sam, lives at El Morrion, near Orgiva, Granada. He’s bee there a few years now. After the passing of laws in Britain, outlawing many of the things I and my family have always enjoyed. The law applied to Gatherings, Festival and Raves / Parties, is a particularly obnoxious piece of work. I refer to the passing of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
So many of my friends [and family] fucked off abroad after its passing. The south of Spain, was one of the main locations that people went to. They could have stayed here, of course. But, if you want to life the life, well, you have to leave.
I’ve made a website, to say something of the area and the things that interest English New Age Travellers / Ravers and my son Sam, in particular. Please check out at:
http://members.fortunecity.com/alanlodge/orgiva/frameset.htm
Will be moving this site in time, so somewhere with less advertising… will post, when I do.
