Dawn

Dawn

Sunday, September 03, 2017

Thoughts from Galicia: 3.9.17

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

If you've arrived here because of an interest in Galicia or Pontevedra, see my web page here.

Life in Spain
  • Given that I - while trying hard to stay within the speed limits - get regular fines, I can't help wondering about the drivers of all the cars which pass me at speeds way above the limit. Like the more than 30 who overtook me in only 10 minutes on the A52 last week, just before the junction with the A6. Or the many who pass me at more than 80 (currently 60) on the bridge over the Rande Straits, just outside Vigo. Do they all have some sort of immunity? Or fantastic lawyers??
  • My impression is that all drivers of Mercedes, BMW and Audi cars think that the speed limits don't apply to them. Along with the drivers of every make of 4 x 4, off-road vehicle. All these must give the drivers a false sense of superiority.
  • I frequently say that the Spanish have no radar or antennae when it comes to personal space. At the other end of the extreme are the Japanese, who seem to have eyes in the back of their heads and move out of the way long before you reach them. The Brits are towards this end of the spectrum as well, of course, and have excellent peripheral vision. Maybe this is because, like the Japanese, they live on a crowded island and have an aversion to being touched. Unlike the Spanish. To whom an accidental brushing against someone is more of a pleasure than a pain. Which is just as well, as it happens so often. Chicken and egg?
  • The ex-king's love affairs are back in the news here in Spain. It seems that, at 79, he's still fond of horizontal jogging with women who aren't his wife. In an article this morning, I read that in a 'quiet period' between 2005 and 2014, he's said to have had 191 lovers. In the Spanish media, this is probably reported to 2 or even 3 places of decimals . . . 
  • Ian Gibson is an Irish historian of Spain who's lived here for around 60 years. His latest work is Aventuras Ibéricas, not yet available in English, it seems. I see I posted this interview with El País back in April but I'm now citing the answer I most agreed with:-
Q. And where will you never return?
A. To the Valley of the Fallen. It is the most sinister place I know. I have never visited something so gloomy. It was terrible seeing what was probably the biggest Spanish murderer of all time lying under that oversized cross. I am not setting foot there again until they take out Franco, the only cold Spaniard who ever existed, the one who signed death sentences while he sipped on a cup of coffee. I'm on record as saying I believe it should be blown up. Along with Franco's corpse. 

Brexit:
  1. I'm less than surprised to read that British pensioners will still have access to healthcare in Spain after the exit. See here. The costs of this have always been borne by the British government and, as reader Sierra has pointed out, continuing to do so is better than having half a million aged Brits impose further burdens on the already-struggling British NHS. 
  2. Someone's comment this morning: How typical of the unaccountable, grotesquely self-important bureaucracy the European Commission has become that it insists on settling the question of more money for its own ludicrously inflated running costs before discussing issues of huge importance to citizens and businesses of the UK and the EU
The English Language: I stumbled across 'to dabb' this morning. A 'dabb' is a popular dance where you bend your arm 90 degrees and bend your head into the bent arm. But its original meaning arose from the fact that: When you smoke/take a hit of a strong high quality Marijuana and it makes you chock/cough heavy you 'dabb'. Meaning you are in a position where one arm is the air and the other bent in with your face coughing in your elbow. The dance imitates this action, I read. One lives and learns. Now to find out what 'to chock' means. . . 

Finally . . . Some good news for both men and women:- Having an orgasm releases a hormone called prolactin, which is linked with deep sleep. And it gets even better for women, as sex boosts estrogen levels, which results in a better quality deep sleep – which opens up the door to whole load more health benefits, such as keeping your figure trim. What's not to like?

Today's foto:-

A group of Pontevedra sisters I snapped at our medieval fair (Feira Franca) yesterday. Their mother then insisted on taking one of me in the middle but I'm not posting that for fear of provoking male jealousy . . . 


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