I asked the ladies in the stationery shop when the nearby wine shop opened up as I had some information on Galician
wines for the owner."Whenever he likes", was the answer. I
felt I was back in Spain. Said owner, some readers may recall, was the one who last year selling a
Galician wine under the label The Priest and the Altar
Boy. Another time, perhaps.
Talking of wine . . .
In the UK now, virtually all bottles come with a screw top. I met these
first in Australia and New Zealand in the 70s (back in the day) and it was a while
before they dominated the British market. My impression is that
they're yet to make a real showing in Spain, where the
fight is between real corks and a plastic variety. I put the resistance down to
simple conservatism. Logically, Spanish wines are sold with screw
tops here in the UK, even if they still have corks back in Spain.
When you first go to
live in Spain, you notice little negative things such as the tendency
of supermarket staff to compete with you for the door. After years there and when visiting the UK, you notice little
positive things such as the people around you having antennae which
tell them not to walk across or even into you. Small things in the
overall context, of course. But noticeable.
Sometimes life really is
stranger than fiction.
Famous Spanish Women 1:
Miriam González Durántez. Or Mrs Clegg, to most Brits. She wears trousers, it seems. In the house. And out.
And now I'm driving to
Sheffield to watch a football match between Os Porcos Bravos of
Pontevedra and The Stags of, well . . . Sheffield. And then I'll go to Manchester to see if my daughter's completely mastered the answerphone yet.
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