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Some people collect stamps, others beer mats. A friend of mine collects vintage cars and I had a phase some years ago of collecting elephants. Now there is a new trend in town – collecting COVID-19 face masks.
Since coronavirus turned all our worlds upside down and the wearing of face masks has become compulsory in some countries, like Spain, the manufacturers of mascarillas have been inspired. Shops of all kinds have impressive displays of imaginative masks to suit all tastes and pockets, anything from 2.50€ to 6.99€. One high-class ladies’ dress shop in Ronda has masks made of the same material as some of their expensive outfits.
My wife Rita has put together quite a large collection, about twenty. She certainly has a mask for each part of her current wardrobe. And I’ve got together quite a few too, approaching ten. One of my favourites is a grinning clown mask, which invariably gets a laugh when I wear it. I also came across a FC Barcelona mask which I bought straightaway just to annoy my Spanish friends who all support Real Madrid. However, in the interests of fairness I got a Madrid mask too por si acaso. And , to be fair, they did win the Spanish Liga this season.
The best face mask I have had I gave away to my friend Álvaro who owns a hotel, bar and restaurant in Montejaque. I thought I’d be able to get a replacement, but by the following day the shop had sold out and hasn’t had any more of this particular mask since. Doh!
If you want to know what the mask says, visit the bar of the Restaurante Entre Ascuas in the main square in Montejaque, where it adorns the beer tap on the bar.
