Dawn

Dawn

Monday, August 18, 2014

Aldi prices; Kute Kittens; Chance meetings; Wi-fi. Not; & Chaucer's English.


A comparison of Aldi supermarkets in the UK, Spain, France and Germany reveals that prices in Spain are the lowest, with those in Britain being double these. Why am I not surprised?

Today's Diario de Pontevedra had fotos of cats and kittens available for adoption from the town's refuge. Their (intriguing) names were: June, Marta, Speedy, Yuyu, Globo, Yuca, Lola, Whisky, Talvo and Testa. The good news is that I learnt from the article that the Spanish for 'to purr' is ronronear.

My young visitor, Jack, today bumped into a colleague from his college in Pontevedra's old quarter, the PE teacher. Neither knew the other was here. Or, indeed, that they'd be in that street right at that time. What are the odds on that, then? When Jock posted about this on Facebook, the previous PE teacher at his college wrote to say that he, too, would be in Pontevedra next week. The centre of the world all of a sudden.

The cable company - R - confirmed that, in principle, they could guarantee a wi-fi download of speed of 1 mega(!) for my street. But, when I gave them my number, they told me they couldn't, even though they do for my neighbour 10m away. They said every house was different but gave no reason why. Still, at least they admitted this before I signed an 18m contract.

Finally . . . 75% of the verbs and nouns used by Chaucer in The Tale of Sir Thopas still feature in today's English. For example dreme, corage, and londe (land). In contrast, words such as to prick (ride a horse) and destrier (horse) didn't make it through into present-day English. The percentage of verbs which survived is 84, against 72 for nouns.


House for Sale in Pontevedra

My neighbours are moving to Madrid and selling their lovely house. Lots of pictures here. Brief description: South west orientation. Completely renovated. In a development with swimming pool, extensive green areas, place for parties, excellent community environment. €395,000.

Details
4 floors
322 sq m constructed, 283 sq m usable
5 double bedrooms
3 bathrooms
Plot of 336 sq m
Terrace of 336 sq m plus
Garage
Completely furnished
Excellent condition
5 built-in wardrobes
Lumber room
Covered laundry room
Central heating
Private garden

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