For
me this race was memorable for something else. I'd bet on Royal
Tan, which came in third. But my alcoholic, horse-betting,
pub-licensee grandmother somehow managed to avoid paying me my
winnings. I think she told me Royal Tan came in fourth. Which,
in other circumstances, it would have done, of course. I still pine
for the shilling I felt I was robbed of. It's the sort of thing
you never get over.
I've
arrived at a new theory as to why the Spanish are so noisy. It
wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that children here are
allowed to do pretty much what they like. This includes staying up
late with the adults. So it was that on Monday kids of 2 to 16 were a
constant presence at a dinner which started at 10pm and went on until
past 2am. And, of course, they didn't comport themselves as deaf
mutes. Meaning that the adults' conversation had to be shouted over
the base level of noise from the younger diners, fighting and
shouting in the sitting area. I guess that, after a year or two of
this, the default mode of parents will be to converse at 70 decibels. Simultaneously, usually.
Finally
. . . A bit of Spanish culture. I've known for some time that it's an
Xmas tradition in Cataluña (and neighbouring areas) to put
defecating figurines (caganers) in the family crib. However, I
hadn't heard of the tradition – also Catalán - of the defecating
log, or caga tío. In someone else's words . . . This
involves creating a character out of a small log - often complete
with a grinning face and hat – which sits on the dining room table
during the fortnight leading up to Christmas. It has to be fed every
day with fruit, nuts and sweets, and then – on Christmas Eve –
the entire family beats the log with sticks, while singing
traditional songs, forcing the log to excrete its treats. And
why not? Anything to put more smiles on the face of the world. But
origins . . . .'???
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