Dawn

Dawn

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

The Catalan vote; An honest builder; Weird place names; New words; & A bridge too low?

Well, 34% of the Catalans turned out to vote and 80% of them voted in favour of independence from Spain. The President there has vowed to carry on, unless he's arrested for civil disobedience. Madrid has snorted it won't attach any importance to the exercise since: 1. it was unofficial; 2. it was a farce; 3. it had no electoral census; and 4. it lacked proper state control. By which I guess they mean from Madrid. Some analysts felt the turnout didn't suggest enough support for independence but it did strengthen the hand of the Catalan President in his pursuit of Devo-Max.

My daughter told me she'd been highly pleased with herself recently when executing a perfect parallel park in a tight space. But she'd also felt disappointed there'd been no one there to witness it. As she got out of the car, though, a guy on a nearby building site applauded her. As she said, this was certainly as advance on traditional builders' greetings to young women.

Which rather reminds me . . . 25% of young Andalucians are reported to believe that a woman's place is still in the home. Well, it is further south than the rest of us.

Weird place names, anyone? Here's The Local's view of the 10 oddest in Spain.

Travelling by boat for 24 hours gives you plenty of time to read. Or to twiddle your proverbials. As a result of which I learned 3 new words:-
1. Sesquipedalian - 'Characterised by long words; long-winded'. It was used in an article on Russell Brand. If you've ever heard him talk, you'll know why.
2. Slub: 'A lump or thick place in yarn or thread.'
3. Shizzle: ??? As in "When she met the Pink Dragon, she completely lost her shizzle."

Finally . . . My mother told me something odd tonight. That my father had damaged a Spitfire while trying to fly under a bridge and so was sent to Sheffield as a punishment. "Which was where", she said, "they all went if they'd done something wrong". I couldn't help wondering:- Is this really true? And Wouldn't he have told me this himself, if it were? And Why poor bloody Sheffield?

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