Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain
Spain- Spain might have had a general election 2 or 3 weeks ago but there is still no government. This is because the losing right-wing parties - particularly Ciudadanos, I think - are refusing to let the investiture of the PSOE minority administration take place. Though it can only be a question of delay, albeit with the risk of yet another general election, if the impasse is not resolved within 2 months. Hey ho.
- Important Trial 1: The Supreme Court has unanimously declared the members of the infamous Pamplona manada guilty of rape and not just the lesser crime that a lower court convicted them of 'in the absence of violence'. Sentences have been increased. Any other verdict would have been very hard to justify. Or believe even. Whatever the letter of the current law says.
- Important Trial 2: Commenting on the trial of Catalan separatist, an organisation called Open Democracy has said: The degree to which the law is used and abused for political purposes in Spain is directly descended from the Franco regime’ This is because the law permits politically motivated 'persons '- in this case the far-right Vox party - to instigate prosecutions.
- In today's not-so-Catholic Spain. the birth rate has fallen by almost 41% in the last decade. More here on this, from The Local.
- Also from The Local . . . Everything you need to know about Madrid Pride 2019, the biggest such festival in Europe.
- I wonder what it means . . . Here in Pontevedra we used to have 4 bullfights during the big August fiesta. First it was reduced to 3 and this year there'll be only 2. But we will have some big names, it seems, for the 12 concerts that'll take place then. Not that I've heard of any of the artists, I must admit.
- Can there be anyone in the UK who can stand the thought of a month's canvassing by the 2 remaining candidates for leadership of the Conservative party? That said, it's good that they haven't got any critically important matter they should be applying what passes for their intelligence to.
- After re-visiting the Alhambra in Granada and the Grand Mosque in Córdoba last year, I moaned about the number of visitors being more interested in taking selfies than in looking in awe at what was around them. The writer of the article below feels even more strongly about the aficionados of the practice. Or selfie zombies as he calls them.
- In this book Mr Facey Romford's Hounds, the 19th century author R S Surtees says of someone: He was a real Trump, no mistake. I gauge this to be a compliment, along the lines of 'outstanding'. Though my kindle only gives the definition relating to a superior suit of cards in bridge. Anyway, it's a shame to see the term so debased, even if it is obsolete. Though I guess one can be outstanding in negative as well as positive ways.
- Word of the Day: Rompedor
- I like wolves. So I was pleased to read that they have a positive role in the prevention of the spread of TB in cattle. Presumably by eating the sick ones. [I typed TV, which would have been surrealistic . . .]
THE ARTICLE
Selfie zombies have made Europe's cities a no-go zone: Oliver Smith, Daily Telegraph.
Today has even been declared National Selfie Day, Lord help us
I don’t really enjoy city breaks any more. Since the advent of cheap flights, I’ve gorged on weekends in Venice, Paris and Prague, but now I long for peaceful surroundings: quiet Greek islands and Umbrian villages.
Perhaps it is a symptom of age. The wrong side of 35, I simply can’t keep up with the pace of urban life. More than that, however, I believe it is because I can no longer bear the sight of so many narcissistic tourists.
A thousand theses could be written on the scourge of the selfie and the egotistical culture it epitomises. Yet far from being lambasted, some want to celebrate its influence on society – today has even been declared National Selfie Day, for pity’s sake. Precious few places are free from its grip, but nowhere is a person more overwhelmed by the selfie brigade than on a city break.
Visit a major attraction in any European city and they will be everywhere – gurning, snapping, assessing the results and returning for more. So alarming are their antics that they genuinely detract from the enjoyment of sightseeing.
Even art galleries are not immune. On a visit to the Uffizi, I couldn’t get close to Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus because the crowds were six deep. But hardly anyone was there to admire the artwork. They were facing in the opposite direction, trying to get the perfect shot of themselves – with Botticelli’s masterpiece poking over their shoulder. Having succeeded, they didn’t pause to actually examine any brushstrokes, but dashed off in search of Primavera, Venus of Urbino, or whichever painting was next on their checklist.
I just don’t get it. Why would you want your face in every photo, and not a shot of the place you’ve come to see? Better still, why not put the phone down for a moment and try soaking up your setting?
In search of answers, I sought the opinions of wiser people than myself.
“I’m always mesmerised by the vanity,” says Sophie Campbell, a Blue Badge guide who’s shown more than her fair share of tourists around London. “I guess I’m from a generation where showing off was swiftly snuffed out, so I’m always embarrassed by these displays: the artfully cocked head and the sucked-in cheeks. When they first arrived, I imagined that selfies would quickly become uncool. But the appetite for them seems undiminished.”
Taking photos of our holidays is nothing new, she adds – “remember those awful slideshows we had to sit through when people came back from somewhere” – but the focus is now on the person, with the destination merely a backdrop. “It’s social media that’s made the difference, and selfies are an extension of that,” says Sophie. “People seem to be living their lives through the lens of social and they’ve got to look good and do interesting things.”
Greg Dickinson @Greg_Dickinson
'Selfie' was Word of the Year for 2013 and 6 years on it shows no signs of going away, so here's a question. Do we like the selfie? A fun, expressive way of sharing travel experiences. Or do we loathe the selfie? A symbol of 21st-century self-obsession. Discuss.
Emma Gregg @Emma_Gregg
They're a bit like children. If they're ours, we love them unconditionally. If they belong to our favourite people, they're adorable. On the other hand, if they're somebody else's, and they're mucking about, it's a different story...
To an extent, I can understand this desire to brag, and I am certainly not free from guilt. I enjoy recounting my adventures to friends, and I take photos too – some of which I will share on Instagram. But it’s beautiful places I showcase, not my own ugly mug.
“It infuriates me too,” says Simon Parker, a regular contributor to Telegraph Travel. “It’s not just selfies, it’s people randomly posing in front of things, as if to prove they were there. I think it all taps into our narcissistic modern age. We are obsessed with our own faces.”
Is the urge to publish holiday selfies a sign of insecurity, Simon wonders. “Perhaps, subconsciously, we’re hijacking that famous place to make ourselves appear a bit more beautiful, learned, sophisticated or cultured than we really are. By placing yourself, visually, in the context of a recognisable destination, you’re saying: ‘I’m not at work. I’m living my best life. I’m living a more expansive and enjoyable life than you are’.” .
This desire to brag is clearly strong, and people are willing to take risks for the perfect photo. Recent years have seen dozens of selfie-related deaths in locations including Yosemite and Plitvice Lakes National Park.
Perhaps I should feel pity, and not irritation, for those who live their lives – and holidays –through the social media prism. I’m able to switch off and breathe in my surroundings, without the need to prove anything. They pick their holiday based on how Instagrammable it is, and can’t go 20 minutes without snapping their own features.
But I can’t – they are just too annoying.
Rob Crossan, another contributor to Telegraph Travel, thinks I’m a “po-faced Luddite”. He argues: “What is the one thing everyone always does in a travel selfie? Yep. Smile. Berate the selfie and you’re berating instant, harmless happiness. So lighten up. And stretch out that forearm.”
As long as it irritates me, and impinges on my enjoyment, I’d question whether it is “harmless” – and if it involves a selfie stick, danger is definitely lurking.
“Have selfies ruined European cities? I wouldn’t perhaps go that far, but I know selfie sticks are dangerous,” concludes Simon Parker. “Just last week I almost got trampled by a scrum of selfie stick-wielding tourists in Oxford. All of them were walking, with their phones about three feet ahead of them, watching themselves on the screens! Like a real time iPhone movie of themselves. The world has gone mad!”
And this Luddite has just added Oxford to his list of cities to avoid.
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