Dawn

Dawn

Friday, December 23, 2011

This is a marvellous article on the greatest pop tunesmiths, cited by my American friend, Dwight. I'm re-citing it here despite the following reference to Liverpool:- What makes the phenomenon of the Beatles so unrepeatable is that two of the greatest songwriters who ever lived grew up in the same shitty English town, where they were bound to connect. He's clearly never visited the place. It's a shitty city, not town.

I read today of a Spanish couple celebrating both their 103rd birthdays and their 78th. wedding anniversary. And I found myself wondering if they subscribed to the dictum that you never find out where true happiness lies until you've been married a few years. By which time it's far too late. If so - and I sincerely hope not - they've had an awful long time to repent at leisure.

Earlier this year, a priceless 12th. century book - the Códice Calixtino - disappeared from the archive of Santiago university. There were murmurings at the time that it wasn't a real theft but something done to discredit and prejudice the Dean of the Cathedral. The police have now endorsed this theory and said they believe the book is still in the city. Let's hope so. And let's pray that the Dean achieves an improvement in his inter-personal relationships. Or resigns.

The good news for the Spanish economy is that 2011 looks like being the third best on record for tourists, with a total of 57 million by year end. The Brits, at 13m, headed the list, with the Germans at 8.6m and the French, Italian and Scandinavians close behind.
The most popular region (at 13.1m) was Cataluña, followed by the Balearic Islands (10m) and then the Canaries (9.2m).

Finally . . . Talking of Cataluña, here's a tradition you may not have heard of. And a portrayal of the Duchess of Cambridge you may not have seen before.

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