Castle Comfort Clarion 2005

A good starting point is always the village bar – heaving with typical mid-morning activity – coffee . . . cognac, cards, that sort of thing. Amongst it all was a certain Señor Manolo Cabrerra, a well known character, pictured here, who retired from his post civil-war career of Probation Officer 25 years ago. Apart from being a confirmed anti smoker (he spat out his only cigarette at 18) he offered no clues for ensuring healthy longevity. No single member of the three generations below him ever light up – quite unheard of in Spain! But Manolo thinks perhaps that his staple diet for many years during hard times, of goat’s milk sweet potato now reaps dividends. Oh – he confesses to consuming local wine and without disclosing how much, he is confident that it’s considerably ‘more than water’.

Relaxing nearby, Richard (“Dick”) Ellis formerly of Greenwich, London puts his health down to a stress-fee life on the island. He has had just 22 years getting used to the idea! Dick, a retired Army Officer and in later life a business executive is seen here finishing off his pizza snack with a cool beer.
Neither Manolo nor Dick consider themselves at 85, to be particularly old – in fact we have started with a couple of the sun-blessed islands juniors!

The next port of call involved someone just a few years up on the age scale, but to take a breather on the way, the Clarion team too refreshments at a restaurant owned by Canary Islands Wrestling League President, Leandro Morales.
He was a brilliant source of local information. “It’s all down to the food, the air, the altitude” Leandro began.. and couldn’t wait to relate a tale of the mainland journalist who visited him 25 years ago before the tourist boom. “this guy first came to our village, then nipped over to La Graciosa” (Lanzarote’s baby sister islet with just 800 fishermen living there “He then reported in El Pais” (Madrid’s equivalent of The Times) “that he had unearthed a remarkable way of thinking…” Leandro excitedly continued…
“Why isn’t there any crime?” the journalist asked the locals. Answer – ‘Because there isn’t a Police Force’.
“Why does nobody get ill?” Response – ‘Simple, there aren’t any doctors’.
Finally, he enquired… “Does anybody die?...” ‘Impossible’ was the conclusion – ‘we don’t have a cemetery!’

LEANDRO - everything
natural!

Taking such a philosophy with them, the Clarion team moved on to meet a certain SENORA GUILLERMINA FERNANDEZ-DIAS, at her home overlooking the mountains. It was a weekend and some of her huge family were visiting. Noticing that one of the English contingent wore glasses he was asked if he could see some large birds at the top of the nearest mountain – he struggled to. But it was eagerly pointed out that Guillermina could WITHOUT spectacle help and in fact had never needed glasses. We’ll come to her age in a moment but her remarkable faculties and health is nothing short of a miracle. Apart from a cold ‘a couple of times’ she has never had an illness in her life!
Chatting to Guillermina is like conversing with someone a third of her age and she had answers ready for the questions about her longevity even before asked. “It’s down to the food” it was announced. Everything consumed in that household is totally natural and the thought of a can or mass produced product is unheard of. In fact this lady has spent most of her years, on top of rearing a huge family, working nearby land to produce everything possible. One of her sons was keen to add a key factor… He described it as “illusion of belief” and explained “if mother wanted to walk to the top of that mountain right now – she could.” There was no doubt.

IT'S SAFARI TIME
Spot the 3 CCC Animals
Hidden away in this edition of The Clarion is
a CHICKEN, a CHEETAH
and a CARIBOU

If you find them, write to us at CCC,
FREEPOST MID 30746,
Newcastle, ST5 0BR
telling us where the are....
but just what is a caribou?
- and where in the world might it be found?
To complete the fun - tell us what the collective
terms are for a group of each of these three species.
The £25 winner willl be announced in the next Clarion.
All entrants will recieve a CCC pen.

Pictured here is Señora Fernandez receiving a bouquet on behalf of The Clarion and Castle Comfort Centre. This lady, whilst not the oldest on Lanzarote, was born on 25th June 1902, giving her not just the privilege of attaining (this coming summer) the age of one hundred and three – but she is continuing to enjoy a happy and quality-filled life.

Continuing the adventure,
The Clarion Press then landed in
Lanzarote’s hospital…
and the Town Hall
turn to page 13

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