Potato Head

Remember Mr. Potato Head? I do. He's still with us, but now he comes with his own head. He became self-sufficient, courtesy of a prosthetic potato, putting an end to the weekly shop being deprived of a King Edward or two, as was once the case. One suspects, though, there is less pleasure to be had than when the eyes or glasses were pressed into a real spud and out squirted some juice. Mr. Potato Head was one of the great toys. Hours of endless amusement. How simple and how much fun.

This all goes by the way of an introduction to yet another of the island's fairs. From yesterday and running until next weeked, it is the Fira de Tardor in Sa Pobla (that's autumn fair for those of you not up to speed with the seasons in Catalan). And what better idea is there in a town known for its potatoes than to make the potato the theme of the fair. Yep, it's potato time in Sa Pobla, coming hard on the heels of the pumpkin revelries in neighbouring Muro. Another fair, another vegetable.

Sa Pobla also has a certain celebrity for toys. They're missing a trick with the autumn fair. Mr. Potato Head should be the mascot, at a stroke combining the Sa Pobla traditions of potato and toy - "Senyor Cap de Patata". But you know, I was writing this piece and thinking about a mascot and then went and actually looked at the events taking place at the fair, and there it was ... a mascot will be presented at the official opening. Could it be that Mr. Potato Head will indeed be in Sa Pobla? Given that they go in for those giants or big head masks at the fairs or fiestas, it would be about right.

Anyway, if you go along to the fair you won't be able to avoid sampling dishes made from potatoes, which kind of seems a bit, well, naff. It's not as though the potato is rarely to be found on one's plate in the normal course of nose-bagging events, but I guess they do rather more than just hand out dollops of mash or something. In fact I know what sort of thing they have on offer because there is a list of restaurants and their "specialities" for the duration of the fair. You can find it on the Sa Pobla town hall's website (in Catalan), if you can be bothered. A couple of them have "bacallà amb patata". Cod 'n' chips, but no mushy peas. Of course it could all be very much worse. Sa Pobla is also known for ... eels. I think I'll stick to the potatoes, if that's ok.

There is, incidentally, a much wider aspect to the potato theme. It may have escaped your attention but 2008 is the United Nations International Year of the Potato, and it is in recognition of this, in addition to the importance of the potato to the Sa Pobla economy, that the fair has adopted the potato.

For information on the Sa Pobla fair, see the WHAT'S ON BLOG - http://wotzupnorth.blogspot.com.


If you've never experienced the delight of stepping under the shower only for the water to stop as you're in mid-hair wash, then you really should come and stay here for a while, because sooner or later there will be a cut to the water supply. It happens not infrequently; in Playa de Muro at any rate. Like yesterday.

On one occasion when the water went off, I called the company - FUSOSA. It was rather alarming as they were unaware of the cut. So I thought I would do the same yesterday, just in case. No, they were fully aware; it was a problem with the supply. Yes, I think we got that much. The point is that the water was off for getting on for four hours. As a result of last week's power cut - all seven hours of it - GESA-Endesa is to give discounts on all electricity bills by way of compensation. Now, I wonder if FUSOSA will be doing the same. I doubt it somewhat.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Billy Idol (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grBLbiyJTDk). Today's title - ok, literary quiz time for a change. "Potato head" was an insult directed at a character from one of the outstanding British novels of the last 30 years. It was set in the Fens, and eels (to give a further Sa Pobla link) featured. What was the novel and who was the author?

(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)