Cosas d España/Galiza

Here’s The Guardian on Madrid’s disgraceful slum up near the airport. Not awfully well known about, I suspect.

Talking of things disgraceful . . . . This is a leader from the Voz de Galicia on a train accident that took place all of 9 years ago, near Santiago de Compostela: We begin a week marked by the Angrois trial. Nine years after the accident, which claimed 80 lives and left 145 injured, only 2 people will sit in the dock: the ex-director of Traffic Safety of ADIF and the train driver. Before the start of the oral hearing, the focus was once again on the phone-calls made by the train driver on the day of the derailment. Both those prior to the accident, which could have distracted him and caused him to enter the curve at more than double the speed indicated, and those after the accident, in which he complained about the lack of safety on the track and the risk to passengers.

On a lighter note . . . 

Picking up my grandson from school on Friday evening, I was rather taken aback by 3 things:-  

1. These things were formed into pens until which the little kids were being shepherded, according to their class.

2. Parents were waiting very patiently in lines opposite the relevant pens, here:-

The lines all moved rather slowly as the parents of each child naturally had a chat with the class teacher.

3. There were male teachers for primary school kids. Presumably not as suspect as British males . . But, then, pedophilia isn’t a media obsession here.

All very efficient, but still a surprise.

We went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch yesterday, where my daughter ordered Maki de aguacate. To be told, rather bluntly, it was off because making it was too much hard work. Which is the first time I’ve heard that excuse.

Talking of laziness . . . Here’s how the bears at Madrid’s zoo presented themselves on Saturday:-

The UK

An ex Conservative MP and Times columnist argues here that Ms Truss must be defenestrated immediately by her (usually ruthless) party.

Quote of the Day

From a Guardian columnist: Here’s the question to define this sorry [UK]era: Truss or Johnson, which is worse? 

(A)GW  Spanish

In case you’re still wondering about Saturday’s Spanish text . . . A friend who’s a professional translator tells me that de poco vuelo (given as ‘of little flight’) would be ‘modest; not very far-reaching’.  And bastante trampa (given as ‘much trickery’) would be ‘very deceptive’ [tax rules].

Finally   . . . .   

As often happens when I modify a draft, I made a mistake yesterday when turning ‘lying down’ to ‘prostrate’. In case you didn’t notice, it came out as ‘prostate’ . . .

To amuse . . . A major threat:-

For new readers: 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.