Dawn

Dawn

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Drugs; Doctors; Mad mayors; Families; Misplaced marketing; Fish-eaters; Moaning robins; and Morning music

I read in a newspaper based down south that "Four Canadians have been arrested in the port city of Pontevedra in Galicia, a region with a reputation for being the gateway for Colombian cocaine into Europe." In fact, Pontevedra was last a port city way back in the 17th century. But the rest of the sentence is OK. Apparently, three bikers were waiting here in Pontevedra for the 4th member of the gang, arriving by yacht. And their two vans contained half a tonne of cocaine. My guess is they'd failed to involve the local trafficking community - everything is a 'community' these days - and the police were tipped off. Anyway, here's the Voz de Galicia on the subject.

Well, I went for my appointment with the doctor yesterday. This, as some may recall, was a replacement for that of 2 weeks ago which couldn't happen because he'd gone off on holiday. On the advice of the receptionist, I'd made an appointment for his 2nd day back from said holiday - since this would be less busy than the first. And I got to the medical centre 10 minutes in advance of my 16.02(sic) slot. And there I waited until 17.35, or more than an hour and a half. When I finally got to see him, the doctor took a copy of the February analysis details I'd already given him in April and entered them - again? - in the computer. After which he told me everything was fine and I should keep taking the pills. Fortunately, unlike everyone else in the crowded waiting room, I'd taken something to read. So it wasn't a complete waste of time. But, then, neither was it very efficient.

A mayor of some municipality in Madrid has been caught out making homophobic remarks on Twitter. He's issued the classic all-purpose Spanish apology, which makes it sound like just a case of excess sensitivity and offers no evidence he's aware of what he's done or thinks it's wrong - "I apologise if I offended people's sensibilities."

I've mentioned that my neighbour, the lovely Ester, gets discounts at various places because she has a familia numerosa, which is 3 kids or more. One of Spain's smaller parties, the UpyD, has now proposed extending this largesse to single parent families with just 2 kids. Which is going to make me feel even more excluded. I wonder if they'd check whether my two daughters still live with me.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that companies do any research at all before they promote their products. There were 2 fliers in my mailbox yesterday. One was for central heating oil, delivered at the very moment natural gas pipes are being (noisily) installed in the street. The other was for an estate agent(realtor), telling me that Galicia is a wonderful place and encouraging me to visit it.

A new word to me - Pescatarian: Someone whose diet includes seafood but no meat. I'm not sure I can see the logic of this but everyone to his own, I guess. Anyway, they'd be pretty much at home in any of the tapas bars or restaurants of Galicia.

Our superb weather continues, with today being the 48th day in a row the sun has risen in a clear sky over the eastern hills. But autumn and winter can't be far way and the first harbinger of them appeared in my garden this morning - a robin. I'm no expert in birdsong but I'm pretty sure its melody was plaintive, as it asked why on earth the temperature was so much higher than normal.

Finally . . . It's my custom to play a CD when I'm shaving, showering and dressing. On Sundays I bow in the direction of religion by putting on Mozart's Great Mass in C minor. But last weekend I decided to ring a change and play his Requiem. However, I couldn't put my hand on it and so I went with the Mass. Fifteen minutes later I switched on my car radio to hear . . . yes, you've guessed it, Chopin's Preludes. No, it was Mozart's Requiem. Quite a coincidence, I thought. As was the fact BBC Radio 3 started playing Vivaldi's Gloria as I was typing this. I suppose.

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