silence in the library

So, what do you go to the library for?

Prohibido gritar, pegar e insultar en la biblioteca
Which still leaves a lot of options.
I think most of us go to read books, refer to works of reference, borrow books to take home, use the computer facilities etc. But it seems that either other people have other motives, or they get a lot more het up and argumentative than I would expect.

That’s the only explanation I can see for the sign displayed in the library at Navarredonda. For those who don’t read Spanish, it says:

IT IS FORBIDDEN
TO SHOUT, HIT OR
INSULT
IN THE LIBRARY

Continue reading “silence in the library”

swallows

with primaries taut, they finger-tip
the contoured air, screeching
a splay-tailed upward glide to peak

then tuck – dip – swoop –

and skim the puddled mud,
gape-mouthed and hungering.

 
 
It’s San José – St Joseph’s Day – which is Father’s Day in Spain, and a bank holiday in parts of the country. It’s also the day that the swallows return to Capistrano, which is why I’ve chosen to post this poem. (Or, perhaps, this ‘poem draft’.)
Continue reading “swallows”

white

Cirrus over Gredos

 

snowdust on the mountain;
weft of cirrus; along the bridle path,
a twist of lamb’s wool, bramble-caught.

 
 
(No photo of the lamb’s wool, I’m afraid – it looks awfully grubby when you try and take a close-up!)

not if, but when

It's not if we catch you, it's when
Big Brother is watching you
For reasons I won’t go into, I clicked a link to watch a video on YouTube and was startled by the advert that came up alongside.

I don’t think I have a particularly guilty conscience, but I can’t imagine I’m the only person who has seen that appear on their screen and immediately started wondering what on earth they’ve been doing that they shouldn’t have.
Continue reading “not if, but when”

positively crackers

When there used to be an M&S in Madrid, you could buy hot cross buns at Christmas – I think they labelled them bollos de Pascuas – but I’ve always thought of them as an Easter speciality. On the other hand, I’d associate crackers with Christmas or birthdays, but it seems there are places in the UK where you can now buy crackers for Easter.

Easter crackers
I wonder what they contain.

Christmas and birthdays are times for gifts, and the knick-knacks, fripperies and party favours seem totally appropriate.

Easter, though, has always struck me as more focused on the religious side of things. Which meant my first idea was that there should be no paper hats and plastic toys, but that an Easter cracker should burst open with a loud Hosanna and a dazzling manifestation of the Risen Christ.

Further thought made me decide that this was unrealistic and that a little more symbolism would probably be appropriate.

So I’ve reached the conclusion that you must pull the crackers on Easter Sunday, only to discover that, just like the tomb, they are empty!

(Thanks to MG for the photo.)