Dawn

Dawn

Friday, May 12, 2017

Thoughts from Galicia: 12.5.17

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compelling loveable.
- Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain.

So Spain's Congress voted - as expected - to remove Franco's corpse from his ugly custom-built mausoleum in the Valley of the Fallen. But, of course, the PP party will ignore this. Maybe the next PSOE administration, if it ever gets its act together and gets back into power. See also here.

The best place to live in the entire world is apparently Mallorca, it says here. Especially if you speak German, I guess.

It's the Eurovision Song Contest farce on Saturday night. Well, the final. The whole thing now takes 3 or 4 nights. For what it's worth, here's the Spanish entry. I doubt it will win, whatever its merits.

I haven't mentioned corruption for a while. One gets weary. But here's the latest incident. And here's news of Cataluña's big political dynasty, the Pujols. And its links with handy Andorra. It seems that none of the family has any morals at all.

Here's a nice video on Galicia. Shame about the dreadful literal English translation. 

Which reminds me . . . I'm constantly having to break it to Galicians that - while there were certainly Celts here - this wasn't unique in Europe. Or even in Iberia. Or even in Spain. And that the real 'Celtic Nations' don't accept Galicia as one of them. Though Galicia did briefly achieve this status back in 1986, as it says in this Economist article. Of course, whatever the truth is, this doesn't stop Galicia having a "vivid Celtic identity". Anything not to appear just 'Spanish'. Incidentally, I've never heard anyone claim that Gallego "contains dozens of Celtic words." Unless this merely means place names, I suspect it's not true. This approach would make the UK's Wirral peninsula Scandinavian, of course.

They did some research in the USA on which word first springs to mind when you hear the word Trump. No great surprises:-
1. Idiot
2. Incompetent
3. Liar
4. Unqualified.
Way down the list came Leader, Strong, Business, and Successful. So, there's hope.

Nutters' Corner: A leading US evangelist preacher claims that modern-day Christian prophets are so powerful, they can predict the future a week in advance. So why don't they predict their arrest for the offences they're regularly charged with?

Finally . . . My lovely neighbour Ester complained this week that I'd chopped down 2 trees and left exposed our shared wire fence. At least until the ivy grows and covers it. This is the woman who not only did this for my entire back garden last year - when I was in the UK - but who then charged me for it. Twice! There was no evidence that she appreciated the irony of her words . . . 

Finally, Finally: I would ask if anyone else is having problems with Gmail regularly dropping but experience tells me no one will respond. You get the readers you deserve, I guess.

Today's topical cartoon:-


Special Treat: At the request of Alfie Mittington, I'm citing this last verse of something I wrote years ago about a large guy in the office I worked in. It harks back to the chat about Richard Ford and his use of soles instead, perhaps, of souls. The song is called Big Boots Don and is sung to the tune of Big Bad John:-

They buried Big Don day after he died.
His boots were lain close by his side.
And this they wrote on the tomb of Big Don.
Here lie three souls for the price of one.

Well, I like it.

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