Plans for 2014

Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday we were packing away the Christmas decorations this time last year. We are looking forward to the coming year and hope to make new ideas and plans come to fruition both personally and here at La Pasera. We tend not to make new year resolutions because we believe that if you really want to do something you will eventually find a way and create the right environment in which to do it.

2014 will bring a push to finish the hard landscaping in the garden. We are nearly there but still a bit more to do on the large terrace and the driveway but we will get there once the weather improves a little.

We will also install a raised bed around the raspberry and blueberry bushes. It will mean lifting the bushes and refining the soil structure but it really does need doing as the bushes are not doing too well at all. The garden will of course need regular input and growing our own fruit and vegetables will be a regular but welcome activity.

Luis will continue with his mosaics and has a couple of commissions in the pipeline. He is currently busy with a Byzantine-style mosaic called Prometheus. Here is a sneak peek...it's looking great and will be a fairly large mosaic once finished. This is the reverse.

I will continue writing and aim to add more short stories to the Smaller tales and tittle tattle blog. This year I have also resurrected my interest in making music. Having been in bands 30 years ago, the urge to make some kind of music has never left me. At the moment I am experimenting and learning the new software that drives my Axion keyboard. The link to my sound cloud stream can be found below, only three tracks so far but more on the way including vocals but not necessarily mine.. I'm enjoying learning the new techniques (for me) as the last time I composed anything I was using a Teac 4 Track cassette recorder...crikey. As with most things it's the process that is just as important as the end product if not more important.


I have a couple of things in the pipeline; web-based projects I want to develop so it will be a busy year in the making. Photography will remain a staple hobby for both of us as we use images such a lot in our respective blogs. A photograph can be so powerful in many ways.

Luis will offer another chair caning course in the early Spring. Several people have already made enquiries which is always a good sign. We've met some lovely people on the course, many keep in touch and it is always good to see how their skills are developing.

We will look forward to spending time with family and friends, walking the beautiful Asturian countryside, foraging and beach-combing, growing good food and hopefully enjoy good health. Wentworth and Gawber have grown and become established in their own routines and behaviours, a real joy to be part of... In the mean time we will enjoy the mixed weather, keep warm and make the most of our time.

December days and nights

The Picos de Europa mountains are capped with snow and looking good. The garden is too wet to work and although many plants and bushes want chopping, hazels need coppicing and vegetable beds need turning, it will all have to wait for the warmer, sunny days we normally experience in December.

Until the ground dries out a little we are taking the opportunity to walk with friends, take photographs, make plans for 2014, complete mosaic projects and continue writing; exciting times ahead.

As we don't have television it is always good to have things to do during autumn and winter as the evenings and nights are long. Having recently transferred to DVD some old recordings from bands I was in when much younger, the memories and long evenings prompted me to take up the keyboards and midi sequencers again which after 30 years is great fun. I might even upload some compositions to Soundcloud, not sure about re-visting the look though....

Luis is away helping his sister and family helping with the Matanza. There is always lots of work to do once the pigs are slaughtered. Chorizos, black pudding and salami to make, joints of meat to prepare, hams to salt and crackling to make in bulk. We have written about it before and this is the link (click here) if you want to find out more.

The wildlife in the garden never ceases to fascinate and entertain us. Since installing the Bushnell Trail cam we have seen: deer, fox, pine marten, field mice, hedgehogs, cats, stoat, badgers and many birds. Our You Tube channel has many of the videos from the trail cam. Apart from birds, daytime sightings are few and far between. Yesterday morning I did however, come face to face with a stag which duly roared and ran. My heart was pounding, it was just a pity there was no camera to hand.

This magnificent buzzard was perching on the telegraph pole near to our garden, it took flight and I just managed to get a shot but alas not the sharpest photograph. I just love the power of these birds.

The written word

Over the past few months Luis and I have both been busy with projects close to our hearts. Luis was invited by Andreas Kunert to write a prologue for his new book: A legacy in stone. Andreas works on huge stone and pebble installations in his native Canada. The book covers his artistry in stone and is full of wonderful pictures of his work. Here is an excerpt:

Needless to say Luis loved writing this prologue and is really pleased with the finished piece. More information and photographs can be found on Andreas' website here: Andreas Kunert

About a year ago I had the privilege of been asked by Mary Turner to read through and comment on early drafts of a book detailing a forty year history of an Arts organisation I worked with back in the UK: Action Space Mobile. Mary has worked tirelessly in community arts since the 1960s and together with many other artists shaped and informed community arts provision both in the UK and further afield.

After a great deal of hard work by Mary, the book is now available to purchase on Amazon. It really is a feast on the eye with many captivating photographs and informative narrative. You can preview and purchase a copy here: Action Space Extended

I have also just re-launched my writing blog after a make-over and name change. I am busy transferring short stories but will be adding new material in the near future. Small tales and tittle-tattle - follow my progress by subscribing by email.

Summer highlights and review from La Pasera

Summer in Asturias is a funny old affair. The weather is usually mixed with intense heat, storms, cool overcast days, misty drizzle and hot muggy nights when the winds carry fine particles of sand from turbulent storms in Africa. Generally speaking, it is never too hot for long, too wet or too cool but remains unpredictable.

The weather of course affects our vegetable and fruit crops but apart from the orchard trees being sparse  of fruit, most things seem to be cropping well. We look like we will have a bumper harvest of blackberries but the raspberries are failing and probably need renovating in Autumn.

The highlights at this time of the year in the vegetable garden are many but fennel, beetroot, lettuce, cucumber and marrow are performing exceptionally well giving us enough for cooking, preserving and juicing. Peppers, carrots, aubergines, squash, beans, tomatoes, celery, celeriac, turnip and a range of brassicas are growing well and we hope will provide enough stock to fill the dehydrator, freezer and larder.

Elsewhere at La Pasera we are busy preparing for the rastrillo (street market) next week where we demonstrate chair cane weaving and take a few completed chairs to sell.  It is usually a great day with all the money collected from stall holders who pay for space, going to medicine without frontiers. Luis' sister will join us again this year to sell her hand-crafted felt accessories.

Cane and Rush Chair Restoration blog:  www.artesanialapasera.com 

Luis' mosaic making goes from strength top strength with a steady stream of enquiries and orders. He has just been asked to design and make a garden mosaic for a family in Madrid who found his work from the Internet so he is really pleased about that.

Mosaic Blog: www.mosaicoslapasera.com

Summer is always a busier time with plenty of work to be done in the garden with the long list of maintenance and building jobs never seeming to get any less. We have laid more mosaic paths, finished damp-proofing the studio, started building a fountain to accommodate a water supply for the garden and we are making headway with sorting out the herb garden.

Not having television gives us a bit more time to enjoy our respective hobbies and interests and this summer saw the launch of a new blog Adventures in Altruism and plans are developing for an exciting new mosaic exhibition. I am writing more and involved in two projects that you will no doubt hear about in time. We are walking regularly, taking too many photographs and trying to keep relatively fit. We have made soap for the first time this year which is great and we continue to make hand-cream with plants from the garden infused in olive oil.

Writing blogs: www.ianhicken.wordpress.com


The cultural calendar in Asturias is extremely packed as usual this summer with varied events and fiestas taking place every week. We have just had the Jazz festival which was great, the International Canoe Descent of the River Sella and the local cheese fair takes place this coming week. Lots more to do and see if we get the time.

Band of young street entertainers from Seville touring Asturias this summer

Wentworth and Gawber are keeping well and sleeping most of the day when it is hot and out most of the night enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the balmy desert night winds. Gawber had a problem with a plaque build-up on his teeth but he let us clean them and with the addition of natural anti-plaque granules in their food, it should no longer be a problem.

Gawber and Wentworth

And finally, thank you to all of you who follow or read our blogs, we really appreciate your feedback, comments and kind words. This blog now has a regular readership of over 2000 people per month from over 100 different countries around the world. Keep in touch, it is lovely to hear from you.