Yesterday, the 1st of April, was not only my
mother's birthday but the anniversary of General Franco's declaration
of victory for the Nationalists over the Republicans in the Spanish
Civil War. Which reminds me . . . When, do you think, the divine
right of kings make its last appearance? The 17th century, perhaps.
Well, possibly not. In his victory parade address in 1939, Franco
announced, with the support of assembled Catholic prelates, that he'd
been chosen by God. If so, he's presumably now in Heaven, despite his
murderous record. Especially if he made a last minute Act of
Confession. Hate the sin, love the sinner, as they say.
There have been 2 very hard-hitting critiques of
President Rajoy's administration this week, one in English and one in
Spanish. Read them here and here, respectively.
Tonight on the UK TV a debate will take place
between the leaders of 7 political parties. Suffice to say, this
would be inconceivable in Spain, where such an event would be verbal
mayhem. Indeed, it would be if there were only 2 participants, each
of them shouting "You're worse than us!" ad nauseam.
Simultaneously.
My friend and fellow-blogger, Anthea, says the
Vikings who invaded Sicily left artistic evidence of their presence
and asks about those who settled in The Wirral. Well, as I understand
it, the Vikings who invaded Sicily were Normans, civilised
descendants of the Vikings who originally invaded the north of
France, or Normandy. Where they had art schools. In contrast, The
Wirral Vikings were real men from Norway, where they had more
serious things to think about. That said, here's a relevant
reference: Stone sculptures found in Bromborough, Neston, Hilbre
Island and West Kirby all show Viking-inspired artwork. No churches,
though.
Talking about art . . . The good news is that
Tracey Emin's seminal installation work, My Bed, has been returned by
its current owner to public display. This truly amazing work displays a range
of things, including soiled underwear and used condoms. To me, it
lacks a certain something. I suspect it's vomit.
A few days ago, I received a package of walking
boots I'd ordered on the net. Yesterday I received an email from
"armando.stevens@ecoprotech.com" advising "COLIN, We
could not deliver your parcel, #0000824776". An eerie
coincidence? One wonders. Incidentally, Eco Protech operates in
the field of air pollution treatment systems, not as a courier
service.
Finally . . . Here's a compilation of the best
April Fool jokes in the UK yesterday.
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