Spanish dishes; English phrases; Gunning for the pigeons; & Odd names.

A Spanish blogger based in London has recently listed all the monstrous 'Spanish' dishes on sale in supermarkets and elsewhere. He has a particular problem with the use of chorizo in every dish, on which I disagree with him. I use it to good effect in stews and stir-fries. Indeed, if the day ever comes when I eat a salad, I might put it in that as well. More relevantly, I had a tortilla in town last night with chorizo in it, and excellent it was too.

I've been taking notes of the fascinating English phrases on the front of T-shirts in town:-
Come with me 
Ahoy mate 
Struggle 
Time to get a summer on me 
I am yourself to me 
You and me 
You don't fool me 

Talking of apparel . . . Yesterday I clocked a couple wearing matching Union Jack shirts. His blue and hers white. But at least the lady wasn't sporting the Union Jack handbag I saw the other day.

I took my next step in my war against the bloody pigeons today. Given the non-availability of a salt-gun or an electric, small cattle-prod (not a small-cattle prod, of course), I decided to buy a powerful water pistol. The girl in the shop asked me the age of the child I was buying it for and seemed non-plussed when I said it was for me and that I was going to use it to scare off pigeons. Same thing at the checkout when her colleague asked me if it was a present and needed wrapping. Anyway, I repaired to a café, where I failed to make sense of the 2 diagrams which showed the 2 ways of charging it. And so hit the people at the next table with a sudden spray of water. Fortunately, they both looked up at the awning and - despite the bright sun - blamed it for soaking them. Me, I said nothing. But only because no one else had noticed. After the couple had gone, I retrieved the pistol from its hiding place and was able to prove its efficacy. More accurately, the jet did get the pigeons to flee but I'm not sure the bird-brained creatures didn't later return for another drenching. More research is planned.

Finally . . . I've occasionally mentioned odd Spanish first names - Imaculada, for example - but could anything be stranger than the names said to have been given to a set of English twins - Fifa and Uefa? Girls, presumably.

House for Sale in Pontevedra

My neighbours are moving to Madrid and selling their lovely house. Lots of pictures here. Brief description: South west orientation. Completely renovated. In a development with swimming pool, extensive green areas, place for parties, excellent community environment. €395,000.

Details

4 floors

322 sq m constructed, 283 sq m usable

5 double bedrooms

3 bathrooms

Plot of 336 sq m

Terrace of 336 sq m plus

Garage

Completely furnished

Excellent condition

5 built-in wardrobes

Lumber room

Covered laundry room

Central heating

Private garden