Tordesillas
is a Spanish city famous for several things. One of them, sadly, is
annual 'festival' based on the torture until death of a terrified
bull which is chased and lanced continuously by braves on foot and
horseback. Even aficionados of the bullfight (La fiesta
nacional) find this disgusting and the good news is that there
was a huge demonstration against it in Madrid at the weekend. With
luck and a fair wind, its days are numbered.
Just when you thought the Portuguese were our friends, an academic returning home there has produced a book in which he has painted the English as promiscuous, dirty and drunken. Everywhere he went, he says, the toilets were filthier than his grandma's hen coop. Well, I must have visited thousands of toilets in England over the years and I can honestly say I don't recall meeting a filthy one. And if you were to ask me about Portuguese public toilets, I'd reply that it's not uncommon to find (as in Spain) that they are without paper. Nor, sadly, have I come across much promiscuity in England. Nor drunkenness, for that matter. Maybe we haunt different places. Or he was getting down and dirty only with students. More here.
Just when you thought the Portuguese were our friends, an academic returning home there has produced a book in which he has painted the English as promiscuous, dirty and drunken. Everywhere he went, he says, the toilets were filthier than his grandma's hen coop. Well, I must have visited thousands of toilets in England over the years and I can honestly say I don't recall meeting a filthy one. And if you were to ask me about Portuguese public toilets, I'd reply that it's not uncommon to find (as in Spain) that they are without paper. Nor, sadly, have I come across much promiscuity in England. Nor drunkenness, for that matter. Maybe we haunt different places. Or he was getting down and dirty only with students. More here.
Another
doyen of Spanish commerce has died in the last few days - the
president of El Corte Inglés.
As with the president of Santander bank, he was of an age (79) well
past that of normal retirement. And he is to be succeeded by a
relative. El Corte Inglés
is Spain's biggest department store, essentially because it's the
only one. Even little Cyprus has two. Luxembourg also has only one. I
suspect without a hint of irony, it's called Monopol.
Bits
of Spanish.
1.
To separate the wheat from the chaff - Separar
el grano de
la paja
2.
A lobbyist - Un lobist
3.
Relay switch - Un
relé
The
EU: One of Spain's top politicos-cum-eurocrat has pronounced that
the new government of Mr Junker is 'revolutionary'. Ye gods!
With
a general election next year, Spain's PP government - as I predicted
- has scrapped its plans for a controversial abortion bill. God knows
why it ever thought it was smart to initiate it in the first place.
The relevant minister should be sacked. But won't be.
Finally
. . . An association of Spanish judges has warned the Catalan president
that he could face up to 15 years in jail if he goes ahead with the vote on Catalan independence in November. Since when did judges
involve themselves in a political process? Or perhaps the question
here should be - Since when didn't they?
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