Sunday in the square

 It has to be about 35°C or more so to escape the sauna in our house, we walked the short distance this lunchtime to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the shade of Bar Pepe Rayas.

 With Spain doing so well, clearly the best team in the Euro 2012 championships, a lot of bars have set up an area for an outdoor TV. We shall be booking our spot for the final on Sunday, 1st July.

 To be honest, it wasn't much cooler outside of the house.

 Inside view of the bar.

 A nice spanish chap who we didn't know came to the bar and for no reason gave us a bag of delicious Victoria plums from his campo. He wouldn't take any payment, saying it was a present, so we bought him a beer as thanks. In return, he bought me a beer and Anne a coke. You just can't win. Lovely, lovely people.

Bar Pepe Rayas

After being closed for several months, Bar Pepe Rayas in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento has re-opened today.

 Now under the stewardship of Pedro, ably assisted by Juan below, we sat for an hour or two this evening enjoying the delicious tapas on offer. 

  We had only intended stopping for a beer or two but the menu looked too delicious to ignore. 

 The bar now has a new tapas counter.

To finish, a free plate of "caracoles" (snails) was brought to our table....mmm, delicious. Bueno suerte Pedro...we wish you good luck for the future.

Kevin's 60th

We all gathered last night at Bar Pepe Rayas to celebrate our friend Kevin's 60th birthday.

The number of folks present bore testament to both Kevin and his wife Jennifer's popularity here in Olvera.

So just a few pics of the celebrations.

The warmth of the evening made the outside seating area a popular place to be.

Live music was provided by Brian and Pete, aka Mantis, on vocals and guitars and a delicious buffet was laid on by the bar.

Just for Mel...

Remember this place Mel?. I don't know why but sitting outside we often think of our good friend Mel, who emigrated to the Republic of Cornwall, UK several months ago. Your ghost is still here !!!.

We were passing by Bar Pepe Rayas yesterday and popped in for a beer and coke and were pleasantly surprised by the new decor.

The bar has been brightened up with a fresh coat of paint, new TV and bar stools.

Mel's life back in the UK is documented on his brilliant blog, "Mel's Cornish Adventure", with witty comment and great pictures of the beautiful area that is the south west of England. Click here to view.

Valentines night

We called in on Bar Pepe Rayas last night where Tetricia had decorated the bar with a Valentine theme.

Quite a few of our friends were already there enjoying themselves including Susan, pictured above, who we met for the first time last night.

So just a few pics of the evening.














Judith with husband Charlie in the background.

During the night several couples had a go at the popular quiz "Mr & Mrs", daring to go public with their knowledge of each others likes and dislikes.

I'm pleased to say that despite stiff competition, Anne and I won with seven right answers out of eight, although I'm still struggling to think which question she got wrong !!.

Mel undertaking work experience....a skill that may come in useful as he's shortly due to return to the UK for a while.

Feliz Cumpleanos Alan

We all gathered last night at Pepe Rayas to celebrate the 60th birthday of Alan, seen here looking good in the centre of picture.

Alan has been in Olvera a few years now and is one of the artists featured on the Andalucia Artists link on this blog.

Our friend Alfonso, who came in to the bar to watch his beloved Barcelona on the TV but unfortunately was disappointed due to the party.

Our vecino (neighbour) José on the left with David.












Mel sitting with Elma.













Our friends from down our street, Ray and Geraldine.












Margaret on the left and Eira. Eira's husband Eric has, subsequently to this post (as I regret I didn't obtain names at the time), informed me that Eira is a keen walker and a regular visitor to Olvera, having owned a property here for a number of years.
We look forward to hopefully meeting up again in the future.



Friend Austin......














.....and partner Shayne.












Paco on the left with José. Paco brews a very potent wine called Mosto, made from locally grown grapes.











Paco persuading Daryll that Mosto is far better for him than beer.













CB, partner of Daryll above, with David.












Our lovely neighbour Maricarmen, with Paco her son and Laura her niece engrossed in a Nintendo Super Mario game.











My apologies for any misspelling but this is Juani and Gualy, a couple of new spanish friends we met for the first time last night.

The backroom team who made the party possible, in particular Isobel who provided the lovely buffet.

From left to right Ian, Isobel, Inigo and Laurie.

Maricarmen with her lovely son Paco.

Mari, her husband Léo and daughter Laura. I have mentioned in previous posts that Léo is a guiar (shepherd), working seven days a week out in the campo tending his flock of goats. They are a smashing family and have made us feel very welcome here.
Hope he got up OK this morning as it was a bit of a late night (or I should say, early morning).

With our friend Mel.

A little bit of self indulgence but we liked this pic.

So yet again, another good night at Bar Pepe Rayas and hopefully Alan enjoyed his birthday bash.