After almost a full week of unrelenting rain, this morning suddenly the sun decided to grace us with her presence. This, combined with the fact the kids are finally back at school, held too good an opportunity to pass up on.
Hubby and I packed up the camera and headed off for the day. Sadly, the video voice-over fails a little as I try to explain the origins of “Spanish Head”. It’s thought to take it’s name from when Francis Drake’s fleet (in Queen Elizabeth’s rein, 15-something-or-other) were chasing off the Spanish Armada. It is held the Spanish fleet split in two, half of which landed up on the shores of the Isle of Man.
A very common Manx name is Juan (pronounced Jew-an), which is also a popular Spanish name (pronounced Whan). Our island is approximately 30 x 15 miles, a very tiny place, and it’s rumoured our culture became strongly influenced by this reputed influx of Spaniards.
Even our tail-less cats are thought to have originated from one of those ships, – arriving with a genetic disorder, it bred, and over generations of in-breeding, this is how we have our present day Manx cat. (Though in truth, it’s all mostly all rumour and supposition, no-one can really say..)