Winter Flowers

The Mimosa festival is the first activity in which thousands of people descend upon the small hillside village of Rqueburn. We missed it last year, so followed instructions from a seasoned visitor to the festival and left bright and early to ensure a parking space. We left later than instructed, but parking was fine not difficult. After the event, there was not a space on the verges, left or right which did not host a car, motorbike or mini-van. Even the surrounding vine-yards had become unofficial car-parks.

The day began like may of the festivals we have come to know and love, but unlike those other festivals, every stall had mimosa cuttings in among the products, most of the crowd had mimosa peeking out of pockets, under or though hats, and even attached to their little dogs, of which there were hundreds.

The mimosa was on sale for only 3 Euros a bunch, but most people seem to think it okay to walk around the village, ripping great bunches off trees from private gardens, parks and event the Mediterranean Garden exhibition.

It was a long day, cumulating with a precession of floats decked in mimosa, which was unhooked when passing by those unwilling to pay for or steal from gardens.


As the precession passed, those who had already had the benefit of the floats, preceded to walk along side the floats, stopping to unhook more mimosa, stand in the way of cameras, and basically block the view for those not privilad to have been at the start of the precession. Upon the floats were young children distributing confetti to the waiting crowd, pulled along by tractors, driven by men who were smoking, drinking and at times spending more time looking at the exotic Brazilian dancers (who were the main draw of the entire festival) than the road.