Distinct lack of procession..

It has been raining here in Andalucia, causing countless processions to be cancelled. In Sevilla, most noted for its processions during Semana Santa, people have been weeping in the streets.
And I don't just mean the hoteliers and shop owners, for whom this period is usually so very profitable.
The statues that are paraded around the streets are old and priceless and so rain is seen as a very serious threat.
This year is the first that the Thursday processions have been cancelled due to rain since 1847 -
(I understand that the Civil War in 1932 and 1933 also put rather a damper on things...) - which is why tears joined the leaking skies.

Here in Alcala, on Good Friday morning, we were awoken at the crack of dawn by the sound of a band passing by. They were playing a fairly mournful tune, as you might expect, and I just caught them as they disappeared down the street.

(I need to post this picture to show I did get up to look, but I apologise for the quality of the picture - I didn't have time to put in my contact lenses and couldn't find my specs in time...I think you can tell!)
We heard them disappearing into the distance but they kept playing for a long time.. then I fell asleep again.


At about 9 o'clock, Ruy woke me up to say the band was getting closer - I don't know if they'd been playing all that time -  and as we went to the window to look we saw the penitents passing, including several carrying crosses. 

It was a strange sight, watched by very few people on the streets - and nothing like the spectacles of earlier in the week. Just penitents, tied together - moving slowly towards the church at the far end of town.

It seemed something altogether more private and personal - and very moving.