What is this man doing?

JIMENA Good question, to which we know the answer (yes, we hear you there in the back; you said 'smartypants' or something, didn't you?). This photo of  José Doncel Ríos doing whatever he's doing was published on TioJimeno last October, and stolen by us today. Do you know what he's doing and why? We've given you a very slight hint about the season it was first published. Here's another one: you love them or you hate them. There's no prize for the right answer, except the satisfaction. Depending on how many comments we get on this, we might come up with a monthly contest, with prizes yet!

Disappearing trades in the area

OneLinePULSE Publications is preparing articles and maybe even another site dealing with disappearing trades and/or crafts in the Campo de Gibraltar area. This is a photo of Prospero's friend Pedro, who is a talabartero, a  generic term for 'saddler' that can sometimes even include upholstery. Pedro, who lives and works in Jimena, makes those wonderfully colourful things worn by mules and donkeys during ferias and other special occasions - more photos, sent in by Gonzalo Pozo, below.>

Calling all traditional craftspeople

The municipal delegation at Los Ángeles (formerly Estación) is putting together a Local Crafts Fair on November 14 and 15 at the Reina Sofía Cultural Centre. The idea is to increase awareness of the work of craftspeople from the whole municipality, much of which specializes in traditions that are rapidly dying out, including root carving, marquetry, traditional shoe mending (photo), work in cork, grass plaiting, etc. The delegation is calling on all crafts men and women to participate. For more information, call 956 641 236 or 610 355 734. As a complement to the fair, Domingo Calvente will offer a workshop on his craft (root carving), in which anyone can participate. The delegation is now working on extending these workshops to other specialities.