It’s All Happening

La Virgen del Carmen is the protectress of seamen, and on July 16th the coastal towns and fishing villages celebrate with parades and festivities in her honour. Statues of La Virgen del Carmen are carried through the towns to the water and then taken aboard a gaily adorned boat.

The procession in Nerja leaves from the El Salvador church on the Balcòn de Europa and proceeds through the town and then down Avenida Castilla Perez to Torrecilla beach. The image of the Virgen Carmen is loaded onto a fishing boat at dusk and then, accompanied by a veritable flotilla of small craft, the boat makes its way up and down the Nerja coastline before coming back to shore at Calahonda beach where there is a big fireworks display.

The celebrations actually begin the night before, July 15th, with a floral tribute at the El Salvador church on the Balcón de Europa. On the evening of July 17th, recently on Burriana beach, the fires are lit and sardines are cooked over the coals and handed out free to anyone who wants them. There is usually a bar, live music and dancing until about 2am.

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Just My Take on Film and TV

The Creator (2025) is set following a war between AI and humans. Covers a multitude of topics and emotions, is well acted and has a great soundtrack. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) is part of the Fear Street franchise. Plenty of limb-severing in this teen slasher but overall a pretty mediocre offering. ⭐️⭐️

Love Rat (2024) is a four-part thriller(?) starring Neil Morrissey and Sally Lindsay available on Channel 5 and Netflix. Lacks suspense and, overall, I found it a bit disappointing considering the cast. ⭐️⭐️

Exterritorial (2025) stars Jeanne Goursaud as an ex-special forces soldier (as always) whose son disappears inside an American consulate and she sets about finding him. Unbelievable storyline but a reasonable action film. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Inside Man: Most Wanted (2025) sees a hotshot NYPD negotiator, an FBI agent and a criminal mastermind lock horns during an attempt to rob the Federal Reserve. Thoroughly enjoyable. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bullet Train Explosion (2025) is a reboot of a movie from 50 years ago and runs for 2hrs 14 mins, uses real trains to add more realism and, despite being a bit on the long side and a strange plot, is entertaining enough. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Working Man (2025), the latest Jason Statham offering, has plenty of action as one has come to expect. Good fun. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Havoc (2025) starring Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant and Forrest Whitaker, is an OTT gory action film with suitably high bodycount. Revenge, dirty cops…it has them all in abundance. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The French film Carjackers (2025) centres around Nora, a valet driver by day who, with colleagues and friends Zoé, Steve and Prestance, become thieves by night, stealing from evil rich people. Bit of a mishmash at times, but maybe just what you need at the end of a long day. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

G20 (2025) stars Viola Davis in this preposterous action film about the G20 conference coming under siege by mercenaries, a bit Die Hard meets one of the numerous Gerard Butler presidential films meets Airforce One. The US President has to try and save the day by kicking a lot of ass. Mindless action film just when you need one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mending The Line (2022) stars Brian Cox and Sinqua Walls and, despite being an (ultra) slow burn and just over two hours in length, I found it to be quite a captivating film. Moving and enlightening, too. War veterans from different eras and fishing, what more could you ask? Definitely one to watch. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Electric State (2025), a Russo Brothers film, is rumoured to be the most expensive Netflix production to date, costing over 300 million dollars. Although slated by the professional critics (who are usually best ignored), the audience reaction has been much more favourable. Pure escapism. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Calendar Killer (Der Heimweg) (2025) is a German drama/mystery/thriller starring Luise Heyer and Sabin Tambrea. Klara, a young mother, calls a telephone support line for women to get home safely, claiming that she will die that very night at the hands of a notorious killer….unless she kills her husband. Available on Amazon Prime. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Liberation Men (2024) follows Canadian soldiers in World War II Holland who are in a race against the clock to liberate a Dutch town before the Allies begin an artillery bombardment which could have a devastating effect on the local population. Stilted dialogue and wooden acting abound, meaning the film can only aspire to reach the dizzy heights of ‘B movie’, although I doubt it will get there. I kept thinking ‘it must improve’, but it didn’t. Awful movie, well worth missing. ⭐️

Great White Pelicans
Great White Pelicans
Setenil de las Bodegas
Setenil de las Bodegas