Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain
Spanish politics- The Washington Post tells us that Spain's PM is offering an alternative to Trumpism.
- And Time explains what's happening around the removal of Franco's bones to somewhere more appropriate than the Valley of the Fallen. Sadly, not an incinerator.
- Here's a few more Spanish ads from only 40 years ago, currently doing the rounds in Spain. Some of them extol the health benefits of booze. And one recommends you enjoy a brandy before you drive. Another promotes a heroin drink for kids. Things have certainly changed . . .
Galicia Life
- I'm confused about our Albariño grape harvest. One report says it'll be a good year; another says that volume is down 20-40%, depending on location. Maybe the former relates to quality. Either way, I expect prices to rise. Especially as there's a growers' cartel, HQ'd in Pontevedra.
- There was cartoon in a local paper yesterday featuring a plane with Thomas Cú on the side of it. It took me a while to figure out this was Galician for 'Thomas Cook'. By a similar process, I guess, to 'pub' being transmuted into paf.
- As predicted, the new zebra crossing at the city end of O Burgo bridge is proving dangerous. At 9.45 last night, this happened in (very)quick succession:-
- Car 2 swerved past me as I walked onto the crossing.
- Car 3 screeched to a halt as I was 2-3 metres onto the crossing.
It doesn't help that the crossing isn't yet lit. And I fear at least one accident before it is. So, not wanting to be the first victim, I've invested in a pair or reflective armbands . . .
- Two more new panhandlers arrived on the Beggar Train last night. The problem with these is that they don't yet know they're wasting their time with me and should concentrate on the many foreign tourists we have this time of the year, some of whom are gullible.
- A British ex-woman who now regards herself as a man has been told that he/she must be entered as the mother of the child he/she conceived and gave birth to on its birth certificate. One commentator has described the verdict as 'a rare victory for common sense'. Maybe. The father/mother is going to lodge an appeal . . .
- Word of the Day: Medio ambiente.
- How English can you be? I was with a group of friends in Pontevedra's Moroccan restaurant last night when an English couple entered and the man apologised to the owner for being under-dressed, in jeans. Dear god. Spanish folk even even attend funerals dressed in these!
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