Meet England’s octogenarian matador

It’s a sunny October morning at a bull-breeding ranch north of Seville, and 82-year-old Frank Evans is preparing to step into the ring. Born in Salford, Evans is one of the few British men ever to become a professional bullfighter, or torero. There is something of the retired rock star about him. He is dressed in the traditional matador’s outfit of black trousers, white shirt and red-and-black waistcoat. Although a little frail, he is toned. His thinning hair is dyed brown but still reaches his shoulders.

Evans and I are here for a tienta – a practice session in a private bullring, in which young cows and bulls are assessed for breeding. The two-year-old females (vacas) that he will face aren’t as big as the four- or five-year-old males, but it would be a mistake to underestimate them. Last year, Evans was knocked to the ground and kicked in the face by a vaca. He was left with a broken cheekbone and eye socket, but the injury hasn’t deterred him: ‘There are a million people in the local cemetery who’d love to have my eye problem.’

When the tienta begins, and the first vaca comes racing out of the pens towards him, Evans’s assured movements are those of a much younger man. With his feet planted on the ground, he smoothly directs the animal past with a dark red cape (muleta). Poise is essential to good bullfighting – yet even experienced toreros can fail to achieve it. A few weeks before, at a bullfight in Antequera, I witnessed a dismal performance by one of Spain’s top bullfighters. He was unable to keep still as the animal passed him. Evans’s style, by comparison, is light and serene. It’s almost as if he is not there.