Dawn

Dawn

Friday, November 14, 2014

That non-referendum; Corruption; Bleating sheep; Humanism; Coffee shops; & Bloody cyclists.

As obdurate as ever, the Spanish President/Prime Minister has repeated that he's willing to talk to the Catalan President about constitutional reform but only on the basis of legality. He's dismissed the recent 'democratic exercise' as a complete failure and a farce. Which is probably not how it's seen up in Cataluña.

Corruption in Spain: Here's The Economist's view.

If you were in Madrid this week, you might have found yourself confronted by about 2,000 sheep. This happens every year - albeit on a smaller scale - under a 700 year old law granting rights of passage to shepherds. But his year the sheep were dragooned into participating in a protest (bleat) against the threat to traditional herding of modern agriculture and urban expansion.

Hat tip to Lenox of Business Over Tapas - "A bleak and powerful song about Spain today, subtitles in English: España de mi Infancia".

Nice quote: I'm enchanted by humanism; it's the humans I can't stand.

Britain seems to be awash with coffee shops. Not just the ubiquitous Starbucks and Costa chains but also small private places. My elder daughter and I passed one on Monday that caused her to laugh out loud; it had a name which she and an ex had once invented as a parody - SIPS. I thought of this in Manchester yesterday when my younger daughter and I passed one called GOS-SIP. This way lies COFFEE BREATH, I fear.

Finally . . . Imagine my pleasure at finding that my host, a very old friend, is as annoyed as I am about cyclists on the pavement (sidewalk). And that he resorts to the same stratagem as me - a walking stick. In fact, he's so angered by this nuisance that he's formed GECOP or Keep Cyclists off the Pavement. Watch out for the Facebook page. That said, we've found there's a Gecop Baptist Church in the USA, with the motto: God loves a cheerful giver. So, we may have to go with KECOP - Keep the etc. Or possibly Kill the Cyclists on the Pavement.

Oh, and my hosts have an internet speed of 20.4 megabytes, against my 0.8, at best. For which they pay less than me.

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