'The Submarine is yellow'. I repeat 'The Submarine is yellow'

 We only have a short journey today - about the distance to the village hall - but not back.  There is a reason and the reason is the Estadio de la Ceramica.


Everything has a History and that History tells us something about what is important to a people at the time and when the History was written.  We are in Villarreal.  It is next to Castellon.  Imagine these two places were Washington [Tyne & Wear] and Sunderland.  Sunderland. A fair sized city with a big football team that has had an indifferent time in recent decades - yes I know they got promoted this year, stick with me.  Washington is a much smaller town. It has a team in the 10th tier of English football.   Well Castellon has a team that has not been in the top flight since 1991 and barely there before.  Meanwhile , since the year 2000 Villareal have emerged to be in the top tier of Spanish football and play in Europe a lot.


Since the 1940s the Club has played in a yellow strip.  I remember once, talking to a landlord I had, about hearing the Beatles for the first time and how it changed music for him. The Beatles had that sort of impact of Spain even down to football nicknames.  In 1966 ‘Yellow Submarine’ was released.  In 1967 a group of fans started to play the son on a battery powered record player and developed the following lyrics ‘“Amarillo el Submarino es / amarillo es / amarillo es” (“The Submarine is yellow / it is yellow / it is yellow”).’

The current stadium, the Estadio de la Ceramica can squeeze up to 25000 people - or about half the population of the town.  It got its current name in 2017, before that it was El Madrigal. It is owned by the city council. An extensive renovation in 2022 a facade of yellow ceramic panels was added.  For your information Castellon managed to stay up in the 2nd tier and Villareal were 5th and so qualify for the Champions League.  https://villarrealcf.es/

It has a review.  Of course it does.  Over 7000 of them.  Viviana said ‘A great place to enjoy your passion. Modern, spacious, and comfortable. It's full of history. I took a tour of the museum, which is pure excitement. I highly recommend visiting. I also recommend going to the games. The atmosphere is very family-friendly and festive. You can go with children. It's safe, and the atmosphere is very calm. I'll be back many more times!’

I visited the store.  Villarreal flip-flops with set you back 14 euros., and umbrella 8.50, a submarine keyring 4.95 and a YellowLegends never die tee-shirt 30 euros.  It may be to your personal disappoint, unlike Real Oviedo once did, they do not sell thongs.

Tomorrow we head out of town.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Much a do about something

Image
  In North Lincolnshire there is an OS square which is all but empty,  In a single corner stretches a few metres of power cables to spoil the virgin whiteness.  Today’s walk is not so blessed with flat calm.  We will see trees.  We will see ups.  Views are compulsory.  Houses aren’t.  Let's talk about Asturias in the years from 718 to 757. In 711 the full force of the Islamic tide swept from North Africa into Visigothic Spain. At the Battle of Guadalete King Roderic and much of the nobility were killed and the Iberian Peninsula collapsed before the all conquering crescent.  The thing is, Asturias is a long way from the main body of Spain. It is a bit wet and more to the point lacking the plunder which was the way of paying the Army of the Conquest.  The Caliphate’s hold on Asturias was tenuous to say the least.  Enter  Pelagius. Pelagius has many myths swirling around him and a very butch Victorian statue in Gijon.  Accord...
Read more

In which a Roman Bridge and a Funeral Parlour are reviewed.

Image
  We are rising again. We are rising 20 of your earth metres today. We will be 818m above the level sea. We are about at the highest point in the Cheviot Hills. We cross the Rio Porma and into Villarente and Puente Villarente. Both these twin settlements, lurking along the roadside, have generally grown in size since 2000.   https://www.turismocastillayleon.com/en/art-culture-heritage/great-routes/way-saint-james/puente-villarente First we must cross the Roman Bridge. Coyotuco is back with a five star review: A beautiful BRIDGE with a lot of history but it is not PEDESTRIAN. For pedestrians they have made a PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY right next to it. We are passing by the Artesanias Luyma so let us gaze at their ceramic goodness. Let us wonder  https://www.artesaniasluyma.com/categorias/pereruela/ While we are here and we are passing the Tanatorio Camino de Santiago let us visit this 39 reviewed funeral home. It gets an average of 4.9 stars.  https://www.antamontalvo.es/esq...
Read more

Mini Pieces of Supposed tuna

Image
  Pina de Ebro has something for everyone who enjoys the architecture of Spanish pueblos.  It has the tiny lanes, on which houses have been rebuilt for generations without a care for the needs of the modern motorist.  We have the pathways which have been tiled over but once were dirt tracks.  We have the modern suburban developments of low rise houses and 80s hopefully aspiring shacks.  First all, however, we have a park. One thing we noticed, especially with a small boy in tow, was the number of parks with interesting play equipment.  This is because, in Spain, people seem to like children.  This does make them a semi-public property and people feel free to indulge them with sweetmeats and pass comments. ‘I think sucking thumbs makes children look ugly’ said one elderly woman.’ My Spanish for ‘well desiccated prune face, no one asked you’ deserted me.  The play equipment is in the Plaza Pilarin Artigas.  Honestly I’ve looked and was giving u...
Read more