The question should not be «Who doesn’t love a good party with friends and family?» The question should be …. «Who is going to clean up afterwards?»
It is the same story when you invite people to your home and everybody enjoys attending the party but few guests stay behind to tidy up and leave things the way they found them. It is in such instances when you find out who your real friends are.
The real unsung heroes of Valencia are the street sweepers!
As much as I love Valencia …. and I don’t believe you have to love Fallas in order to love Valencia as they are not mutually exclusive as some people might try to have you believe.
As an outsider and European/Brit/Scotsman, I also don’t believe that you have to love The Edingburgh Tattoo or kilts and haggis in order to love Scotland.
So with this in mind, I can’t help but wonder if the same people who litter, urinate and set fire to rubbish on the street, consider themselves to be conscientious members of society or even if a party of such nature is capable of being anything other than debauchery.
So I propose a new kind of street party for Valencia ….»A Flower Show» a show which encourages local and foreign citizens to plant plants and flowers to make the city look beautiful and clean while at the same time reducing air pollution.
I believe that such a festivitiy would draw in respectable people and not simply British/Scottish and other nationalities of alcoholic, binge drinkers who come along to use Valencia as a toilet bowl for 1 week.
People would come from around the world to marvel at the beauty and architecture of Valencia while transmitting values to new generations of local and foreign children to look after our natural environment and not simply to make noise and set fire to it.
I apologise in advance to any fellow Valencians and Falleros who promote such events.
But I believe it is an opportunity to reflect on what kind of city we all really want to live in…. especially those of us who love Valencia both in theory and in practice.
