Dawn

Dawn

Monday, February 20, 2017

Pontevedra Pensées: 20.2.17

I've got to start with the biggest laugh of the year so far - The North Korean government saying that the Malaysian government can't be trusted to tell the truth. What wonderful chutzpah! Perhaps irony isn't big in Pyongyang.

Reader Maria reminds us it's not just foreign tourists who make fools of themselves in Spain, citing this article, in Spanish. I particularly like the story of Madrileños asking where the beach was in Verín up in the Galician mountains. On the assumption every town in Galicia was on the coast.

So, the UK NHS is once again 'at breaking point' this morning. Looking at all the coverage of this, you'd be forgiven for not knowing that expenditure on this has doubled in the last 10 years, without any apparent benefit. But imagine how things would be if the Brown-Blair duo hadn't initiated this in order to bring UK spend up to the percentage of GDP level of other EU members. And still the fish stinks. Can this be because fire-hosing money at the institution isn't the answer? But that no one dares talk of another?

Reading about what the British call the Peninsular War and the Spanish term the War of Independence, I was surprised to hear that one or two UK cities commemorate specific unfamous British victories via place names. Most surprisingly, my birthplace - Birkenhead - has not just one but 3 places honouring Wellington's success in Vitoria/Vittoria, south of Oporto. One wonders why exactly:-


















Coincidentally, these are all close to the railway station where I used to alight each morning before walking half a mile to my college. We used to do this sort of thing back then, when our mothers didn't all have Chelsea tractors. And fear for our lives once we left their sight.

Unless you live in a cave, you'll have seen the wonderful Dutch video pleading with Trump to make The Netherlands second in his priorities, after the USA. There's a whole slew of these now, even one from Iran. Or at least from some Iranians. Click here for this.

Fascinating to see the Nokia 3310 making a comeback. And not just for drug dealers.

Which reminds me . . . My Samsung smartphone appears not to be able to distinguish between 25%  and 0% battery life, switching itself off regularly when the higher figure shows on the screen. Knowledgable friends suggest the battery is designed to give out after 2 years, though mine is only 18 months old. Can any expert confirm this? If so, can the same reader explain why - despite paying for roaming - I can never get 3 or 4G via O2. Which, coincidentally, is Spanish owned I believe. The wonderful Telefónica/Mvistar.

Way back in July 2015 a Democrat politician warned that Trump could well be the next president. Click here for the reaction of the professional pundits to this pearl of wisdom.

Finally . . . Another cartoon, though not this time from Bill Tiday:-

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