Nevada

Bank holiday Monday and once again it was overcast and chilly. We couldn't face staying at home again, so we decided to go to the cinema in Granada this afternoon. There's a multiplex in the huge shopping centre. We haven't seen a film there before, but it's easy to get to and park, quicker and more convenient than going to Málaga.

The shopping centre is so vast that we haven't been in the section where the cinema is before, and it's only now we realised why it's called Nevada Shopping. It's because it's designed to take in a panoramic view of the Sierra Nevada. While it was sunny in Granada, unlike on the coast, you couldn't actually see the snowy peaks today because of low cloud.

Someone at the intercambio had recommended a film called El Buen Patron, starring Javier Bardem, which has won a few Goyas, so that's what we went to see. It's always a bit of a risk going to see a Spanish film without subtitles, but actually this one was fairly straightforward. I definitely missed some nuances, but the plot was easy to follow. And Javier Bardem was fantastic as the owner of a family business making weighing scales, which has been shortlisted for an award for excellence that he is determined to win. Unfortunately he's not as good a boss as he thinks he is. 91% on the Tomatometer. Edit: this review (in English) nails it.

This section of the centre is designated for "leisure" and apart from the acres of popcorn stands (no Spanish person goes to a film without popcorn), it's got every franchise restaurant you can think of. As we came out at about 6 o'clock, it was fairly quiet, but I can imagine it must be bedlam at peak times. We decided to skip  coffee here and go home instead. Within five minutes of leaving Granada in dazzling sunshine, we were under a lid of thick cloud again.

Home, wine, jamón, avoiding the doomscrolling, but still thinking of the extraordinary bravery and defiance on show in Ukraine.