"The town of Almuñecar, in recognition to the great writer Laurie lee, that lived in our town (1935-36) (1951 - 52) and immortalised it under the name of Castillo." Part 1 of a 2-Part Investigation in Lee and "Castillo"Was it fate that had brought me here? Was I destined to carry out the investigations I had started so long ago? There was 3 facts that persuaded me to begin this quest: 3 facts that - for me - had always raised doubts over his accounts of what happened…
I wanted to know why so many English Writers - seemingly effortlessly - to acquire a linguistic fluency (particularly in the indecipherable province of Granada) after just a few weeks strolling the back roads of Spain, and how wherever they set foot, they were warmly embraced, welcomed and then sobbed over as they strolled on, just three days after arrival. My understanding of the complexities of the subjunctive meant I would forever raise a eyebrow when writers engage in back-room shouting matches over politics and war. And my raised eyebrow was beginning to ache. So, armed with these facts, a few crazed questions in my mind and a battered copy of Lee’s work… I too walked out "One Midsummer Morning" back in 1998, and went looking for answers. |