Dawn

Dawn

Thursday, September 08, 2011


So, Manuel Fraga - the long-time president of the Galician Xunta and the last surviving relic of Franco's regime - is finally retiring from politics at 89. He'll be remembered for a lot of things, I guess, but especially the huge vanity project, A Cidade da Cultura (The City of Culture), on the south eastern edge of Santiago. And here in Pontevedra for a suspension bridge which - because of its many cables - is known as Fraga's Braces.

I've written before about women nicknamed 17/60s, because they look 17 from behind but sixty from the front. My daughter told me today of another Spanish term for women still slim in their fifties and sixties - gambas. Or 'prawns'. Of which you throw away the head, of course.

Here's my fellow blogger Trevor The Baldie (@ Kalebeul) nicely following up on the piece on tourism from Lenox I cited the other day.

The excellent Times columnist, Matthew Parris,today addressed an issue which has long bothered me - How exactly does one use shower gel? Not perhaps an issue of worldwide importance but possibly a problem more common than you'd think. Personally, I hate it and can see no advantage at all over common-or-garden soap.

Talking of difficulties . . . The free wi-fi down in Veggie Square appears to have given up the ghost. It hasn't been available since Sunday last. Perhaps it was only a summer thing,

Does anyone know the Spanish for To hawk, as in 'hawking and spitting'? I believe that resoplar and bufar mean to snort and carraspear means to clear one's throat but I'm having difficulty finding the word for To hawk. And I would like to have it to hand.

Finally, the last time I saw this chap (back in Cheshire) he was a clever young kid. Now he's a clever young man, writing an entertaining blog from Russia that I recommend you take a look at. Reader Moscow might like to comment as well on the accuracy of his observations.

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