One problem with trying to find illustrations for some of the pieces I post here is that I’m between cameras and the phone isn’t as adaptable as I’d like it to be, so the photos – particularly the ones that should be close ups – are fairly hit and miss.
These wonderfully clam-like toadstools would probably have made a better photo to go with the smallest room in all the world:
Continue reading “images: both photographic and poetic”
Today is doce de octubre: la fiesta nacional de España, celebrated in Spain as el día de la hispanidad – ‘Hispanity’ day – although it used to be called el día de la raza – the day of the race.
Although I’m not in Madrid to see the parade, I did catch part of the desfile militar on the TV this morning. There were certainly plenty of horses in attendance, but none of them seemed to be making much effort to win the race.
And, sadly, there were no glorious Ascot-style hats. Indeed, as can be seen from this photo from El País, none of the royal ladies wore hats of any sort. A poor sort of race day, if you ask me.
I went into the local agricultural supplies store to buy cat food and the guy looked up and said “¿pienso?”.
I’ll admit I was sorely tempted to reply, “lo dudo” as he’s not the brightest crayon in the box: he’s more the sort who “just sits” without much in the way of thinking going on. 
Anyway, he really meant pienso as a noun – alimento para el ganado. Well, I’d never thought of our semi-ferals as livestock, but there’s certainly a small herd of them. (And, as the guy in the EDS advert says, “Herding cats? don’t let anybody tell you it’s easy.”)
Continue reading “food for thought”
Simply because the page is looking rather drab and I think these are absolutely glorious:
Of course, they aren’t the wild caléndulas that sprout up all over the grass in spring when we aren’t looking; these (growing in a flower border down by the piscina natural) are so startlingly vivid that I am tempted to think about planting some.
There’s a general strike planned in Spain for this coming Wednesday and this advert appears in El Público today:
The call to action comes from the Izquierda Unida, the main left wing party in Spain (as opposed to the PSOE – the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party – currently in power and not half as left wing as the name might lead you to expect).
Whatever my sympathies might be for the left, and for those who intend to strike, I object to the phrase nosotras y nosotros.
Continue reading “of gender and generalities”
don't confuse the narrator 