Covid

In the UK at least, lockdowns inevitably led to weight increases. As many as 61% of adults say they have put on weight, with 89% of these failing to get rid of it.

Cosas de España/Galiza

The about-to-be ex president of Galicia will be the new leader of the PP party. This article suggests he’s already found that politics at Spain’s national level are dirtier than at the regional level. More tribal, in short.

As far as I can tell, there’s been none of the Saharan orange dust here in Galicia. Which is odd as it’s reported to have reached London.

If it did get here, the continued wearing of masks by maybe 80% of the denizens of Pontevedra city would surely be of benefit.

The UK

What a marvellous dead cat . . .

The EU

According to the investigative website Disclose, even after the 2014 EU arms embargo,
10 member states continued to sell arms to Russia. France, at 44%, was the biggest supplier with Germany, Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Slovakia and Spain being the others.

Germany and France stand accused of helping Russia – and themselves – commercially over the decades. Reading this reminded me of the scandalous role played by German and French banks in flooding Spain with cheap money after the creation of the euro, leading to a phoney boom, a subsequent bust and then years of austerity in which the poorest and the young suffered most.

USA

US senators, who these days could not agree on how to tie a shoe (if shoes were still tied), have voted to scrap changing the clocks twice a year. Let’s hope this happens in Europe soon too!

Quote of the Day  

Not exactly topical but funny . . . Malcolm Muggeridge compared the British human-rights activists who whitewashed Stalin’s Russia to “vegetarians undertaking a pious pilgrimage to a slaughter-house because it displayed a notice recommending nut cutlets”.

English

Cerebrotonic:  Refers to someone who is introverted, shy, restrained.  

‘Dead as a dodo’. Perhaps not for much longer, thanks to planned genome sequencing

Finally . . .

More recognisable Old English words below, plus one or two nice words/phrases we’ve lost.

For new reader(s): If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.

RECOGNISABLE OLD ENGLISH WORDS: PART 10 

Pronunciation in brackets

From Hana Videen’s ‘The Wordhord’  

ān-pæþ, noun (ahn-path): Single-file path, narrow path. 

æppel-hūs, noun (ap-pell-hoos): Storehouse for fruit. 

bāt, noun (bawt): Boat. 

bæþ-hūs, noun (bath-hoos): Bathhouse. 

bell-hūs, noun (bell-hoos): Bell tower, belfry. 

bōc-hūs, noun (boak-hoos): Library (book-house). 

brim, noun (brim): Sea, ocean. 

brim-gyst, noun (brim-yuest): Sailor (sea-guest). 

cēap, noun (chay-op): Purchase, sale, business transaction; possessions; price, payment. 

cēap-stōw, noun (chay-op-stoh): Market-place. 

cræt, noun (krat): Cart. 

drenc-hūs, noun (drench-hoos): Drinking house.  

fisc-hūs, noun (fish-hoos): ‘Fish-house’, place or building for storing and perhaps selling fish. 

flōd-wudu, noun (fload-wuh-duh): Ship (water-wood). 

hlāf-hūs, noun (hlahv-hoos): Bethlehem (bread-house). 

hof, noun (hoff): House, hall, dwelling, building. 

holm, noun (holm): Ocean, sea, water. 

hūs, noun (hoos): Building, house; temporary shelter; room. 

hūs-bōnda, noun (hooz-boan-dah): Master of a house. 

hwæles ēðel, compound (h’wal-uz-ay-thell): ‘Whale’s home’, the ocean. 

hwæl-weg, noun (h’wal-way): ‘Whale-path’, the ocean. 

hwēol, noun (h’way-oll): Wheel. 

mearc-hof, noun (meh-ark-hoff ): ‘Mark-dwelling’, dwelling in the borderlands. 

mere, noun (meh-ruh): Sea; mere, lake; artificial pool. . 

mere-strǣt, noun (meh-ruh-strat): Sea (sea-street). 

morþor-hof, noun (mor-thor-hoff): ‘Murder-hall’, place of torment, hell. 

morþor-hūs, noun (mor-thor-hoos): ‘Murder-house’, house of torment, hell. 

ranc, adjective (rahnk): Proud, haughty, arrogant; showy (in dress); bold, valiant. 

ranc-strǣt, noun (rahnk-strat): ‘Bold-road’, ‘proud-road’ (definition uncertain). 

sand-hof, noun (sahnd-hoff): Grave (sand-house). 

sǣ, noun (sae): Sea. 

sǣ-bāt, noun (sae-baht): Sea boat. 

sǣ-genga, noun (sae-yeng-ga): Sea-goer, mariner; ship. 

scip, noun (ship): Ship. secg, noun (sedg): Man, warrior; the sea; sword. 

segl-rād, noun (sail-rawd): Sea (sail-road). 

stōw, noun (stoh): Place, location. 

strǣt, noun (strat): Street, road. 

wægn, noun (waeyn): Wagon. 

wæter-scipe, noun (wat-er-ship-uh): Water, body of water. 

wīd-wegas, plural noun (weed-weh-gahs): ‘Wide-ways’, distant regions, regions far and wide.