Covid

Has WFH during and since lockdowns led to an ‘epidemic’ of back pain. Dunno, though this is one of many reports that say it did. And I have read that a pilot study in Croatia has concluded: Our findings clearly point to a need to inform home workers how to make more ergonomic use of non-ergonomic equipment, use breaks, and exercise and to inform employers how to better organise working hours to meet the needs of work from home.

Cosas de España/Galicia   

In the centre of Madrid this week, I’ve seen 2 long queues. The first outside a branch of La Caixa bank and the second – much larger – outside a place selling ticket for the huge Xmas lottery. I’ve no idea about the reason for the 1st one but my daughter tells me the 2nd was because the ticket place was considered – contrary to all logic – to be among the luckiest in Spain. A thought . . . Maybe you can buy lottery tickets at La Caixa’s ATMs.

Getting the metro at 3pm yesterday, I was surprised at how full the carriages were. My conclusion was that this was one of Spain’s four daily rush-hours, brought about by the ridiculous split-day horario, by virtue of which places shut down from early afternoon until early evening. Unless it was an awful lot of folk taking Friday afternoon off.

Madrid’s old slaughterhouse was built in lovely Mudéjar style. I visited it yesterday and, as with Canfranc station, found it to be even better than my expectations. A couple of fotos:-

What is now the local town hall, I think:-

Two of the several ex-warehouses.-

Sadly, I couldn’t get into the Tutankhamun exhibition there, as I hadn’t booked on line and given them my personal details they could sell, So, I made do with lunch with my daughter in our favourite place in Malasaña.

I read years ago – in the Voz de Galicia – that it was the British navy, visiting the Ría de Arousa every year, who’d brought football to Spain. And that a club in Vilagarcia was the first in the country. But they beg to differ down in Huelva. There they insist that a Scottish chap working for Rio Tinto was responsible for introducing the sport to Spain. More on this here

Spanish 

Un chivato: A snitch; sneak; ‘rat’.

El más allá; The afterlife.

Did you know?  

The Turks – You’d think they originated in Turkey, wouldn’t you? After all, ‘Türkiye’ means ‘Land of the Turks’. But no, the original Turks came from far away, east of the Altai Mountains in Mongolia: From The Power of Geography, by Tim Marshall.

I suspect that many folk In Brussels think that at least one Turk – Mr Erdogan – should return to Mongolia.

Finally   . . . .  .

To amuse . . .

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.