Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain
Spain- Santiago de Compostela has changed a lot since I first visited it 20 years ago. And not for the better. 'Pilgrims' now number not in their tens of thousands but in their hundreds of thousands. And, as in Barcelona and elsewhere, the locals are getting fed up with the consequences. I'm not sure what they're planning to do but - anticipating something - the Galician Xunta has gone to the lengths of imploring the inhabitants to be hospitable to the tsunami of visitors which will hit the city in the Holy Year of 2021.
- Talking of tourists . . . Spain's first hotel designed exclusively for women has just opened on Majorca. It's the 4-star Som Dona, which offers 39 rooms to women over the age of 14. The hotel claims it focuses on "comfort, relaxation, art, healthy living, and Mediterranean flavour". And it describes its style as: "bold decoration inspired by feminine features". Best of all(?), the hotel has "a unique atmosphere designed for women", plus "services specifically designed for women’s needs" but I don't imagine this includes a gigolo offering. None of this, of course, comes cheap. August prices start at around €100 (£93) per night.
- Here's how to stay cool in a Spanish heatwave. As our temperatures here in Galicia are currently those of May or October, I haven't bothered to read it myself.
- Notwithstanding the claim last week that the June-July average temperature this year was higher than in the previous 2 years, it's now been admitted that this summer has been the coolest and dampest for 5 years. I can't imagine that any family coming here for the first time will be returning any time soon. Perhaps when it's as hot and dry as Malaga is now.
- Meanwhile, hundreds - if not thousands - of visitors denied beach fun on Thursday all decided to visit the nearby village of Combarro, famous for it several hórreos. And for its shops full of 'Celtic' tat. It got so bad that the village was closed to late arrivals. It's an ill wind (plus rain) that blows no good.
- I wonder if the Pontevedra museum and art gallery also saw a similar surge in numbers but rather doubt it.
- Yes, slab-laying really has begun at the Pontevedra end of the O Burgo bridge. It's clearly slow work but, given that it's August, I'm surprised it's taking place at all. Perhaps the workers have abandoned or at least postponed their vacation plans because of the bad weather.
- If so, they could well be disappointed; the weather folk predict poor September and October months also.
- This being our big fiesta fortnight, we have bullfights tonight and tomorrow night. And on Sunday we also have a concert from a famous singer called Ana Belén. She's 65 and looks like this. Maybe:-
The USA
- I'll bet the medical staff in the El Paso hospital were thrilled to hear Ffart's (lying) account of the number of idiots who attended a rally he'd had there earlier in the year. Fortunately for the survivors of the slaughter, they didn't have the pleasure of listening to this, as they'd all refused to meet him. The White House, though, would have us believe Ffart was 'greeted like rock star'. Or at least as someone with the cerebral capacity of a rock.
- Word of the Day:- Cortar.
- I came across this bit of doggerel in, of all places, my old cartoon collection. It's on a gravestone in the cemetery of a church in Acton in Cornwall:-
Whose sudden death was suddenly brought on;
Trying one day his toe to mow off,
The razor slipped and cut his toe off;
The toe, or rather what it grew to,
An inflammation quickly flew to;
The parts they took to mortifying,
And poor dear Roger took to dying.
No comments:
Post a Comment