Whilst
on matters religious . . . I listened to a discussion on celibacy
earlier this week. It may not be widely known but this was only
introduced for Catholic priests in the 11th century. But, anyway, the
comment that brought me up sharp was that of a priest who viewed
celibacy as a 'gift from God'. Some bloody gift. And one which a
significant number of priests around the world have thrown back in
his face.
Yesterday
I gave an hour of English conversation to two of my neighbours, Ester
and Ana. There was clearly a misunderstanding between Ana and I as to
what time this kicked off but I couldn't swear who got it wrong. The
real problem, though, was that Ester's 17 year old daughter, María,
felt it necessary to call her 8 times during the lesson. Credit where
credit's due, Ester only answered 4 of the calls.
Talking
of María . . . It was end-of-term party time last night and, as I
sat reading in my garden, I espied her and 3 friends setting out for
the evening's festivities. Dressed to slaughter. I was tempted to tell María she'd left her skirt at home but refrained. Just as well,
really, as Ester later told me she'd been wearing shorts. With the
emphasis on the first 4 letters.
My
Anglo-Australian friend, Ian, has come to stay for a week or so,
armed with a fancy new hearing aid. He explained it has 3 settings -
'Normal', 'Crowded Room' and 'Television' but lacks the one he
really needs this week - 'Spain'. I sympathised, having only just
recovered from the raucous wedding I attended a month or so ago.
James
Gandolfini: Well, I didn't know who he was but the world's papers
seem to have regarded him as the best actor ever to have trodden the
boards. El País gave him the longest obit I've ever seen
therein - 2 pages. I suspect this is even longer than the Nelson
Mandela encomium they've got on file. So I did a bit of research and
came up with this article by the estimable Clive James. The outcome?
I'm resolved to watch the box-set of The Sopranos which a kind
friend left me a few years ago. And which, shamefully, I've never
opened.
The
EU has rapped Spain over the knuckles for starting the construction
of an AVE high-speed train line down south without first carrying out
the requisite environmental study. It's not as if this is anything
like the first line to be built; there are dozens of them. So,
inexperience can't be the excuse for the oversight. I wonder whether
funds are dry and the Spanish government would prefer to blame
Brussels for non-construction of the line.
Finally
. . . Here's another review of the book I mentioned the other day -
All
is Silence,
by Manuel Rivas. The reviewer manages to pull out all the hackneyed
adjectives employed by those who don't really know Galicia - misty,
damp, Celtic, etc. but this doesn't mean the book isn't worth
reading, of course.
No comments:
Post a Comment