12th February, 2015.
“Adelante, camaradas!”
Right. Let’s get this blog up and running again! I must apologise for not adding things on a more regular basis. I have been playing on the International Brigade Memorial Trust Facebook page putting bits and pieces up, but realise that I should add more to this blog. As I explain on the main page, I could not alter the original entry, or add new articles thanks to the app that I am now using on my I Pad to add articles. They all go to the right hand column! I was able to update the main page before Christmas, and now, I must start adding more things. After all, today is the anniversary of the British Battalion’s first action at Jarama!
So here is a short film called “Combatidos” which. I have just watched. It moves me greatly. It stars Simon, an English brigader up at Arganda bridge. Nicknamed “paragayo”, or “parrot”, it summarises for me the confusion of brigaders who could not understand Spanish and must have felt alone, confused and frightened. The final scene as he cries “Victoria!” has a twist that you will have to watch. Pleased to see that various Irish brigaders are mentioned in the script!
Enjoy, and consider how you would feel if you were in Simon’s shoes, not understanding any Spanish.
http://www.rtve.es/m/alacarta/videos/somos-cortos/somos-cortos-combatidos/2245107/?media=tve
I will try and update this blog on a regular weekly or bi-weekly basis.
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