Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain
Spanish politics- Greater uncertainty than ever, it says here.
- I learned this - to my great surprise - when I was first arrived here, but had forgotten about it.
- Oh, dear. Odd medical practices.
- October events.
- Here's the BBC on what might be Spain's best paella. The question of authenticity seems ridiculous to me, for whom the question is: How tasty is it? By the way the local speciality of crispy rice isn't at all Spanish. I used to enjoy it in Iran, where it's called Tar Digh(ته دیگ), or 'bottom of the pan'. It was presumably brought to Spain - like nougat(turrón) - by the Moors.
- Reading this, I'm happier than ever that I've embarked on getting Irish nationality, assisted by an extremely helpful chap (Brian) in the Irish embassy in Madrid.
- The Spanish really don't care who hears their private conversations. The clue lies in just how loud these are. So, quite logically, they don't mind if you interject, having heard something you either disagree with or want to amplify. Contrast the British reaction - which is almost to freeze at your bad manners/insolence. And then to move away from you as quickly as they can. At least, that's what happened to me on the boat yesterday . . .
- Yet more on the Aussie building her home here.
- This is Richard North today on the UK government's final proposals to/demands of the EU. To say the least, he's not optimistic.
- The Orange Madman gets even madder, in all senses of the word.
- Word of the Day: Contaminar
- Driving, first, from Pontevedra to Santander and, then, from Plymouth to Dorchester, I was very lucky with the weather. Santander looked glorious in the sun and the Devon countryside perhaps even better. Until I ran into the rain. And then I noticed something different about precipitation as between Pontevedra and Devon. I could be very wrong on this, but when it rains in my city you'd have to drive a long way to get away from it. But here in the UK, it's sometimes possible to drive between sun and showers, meaning that the rainfall is very local. Something to do with cloud formations, I guess.
- Of course, this doesn't mean there's never widespread, torrential rain in the UK. Indeed, arriving in Dorchester, I learned that there'd been terrible floods in the West Country yesterday.
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