It was “World no tobacco day” recently, for which the Asociación Española contra el cáncer joined forces with Salamanca council, and the Asociación Salmantina de laringectomizados. It’s always a wondrous moment when the wheezing, malodorous smokers of the world interlock tar stained digits and leave off their vile habit for a liberated, if rather shaky, 24 hours.
We’ve heard much recently of the suffering of farmers– whether from vermin (no names) or from drastic hikes in the price of cereals. But we’re all struggling; there’s some rise or other nearly every week. Still, if you think you’ve got it hard (which you may well do if you’re in the third of Salmantinos living on less than a thousand Euros a month), just be grateful you’re not a bee. Yes, even they’re suffering; disappearing at the shocking rate of 80% a year. Apparently Castilian bees have been hit by the same disorder which has destroyed thousands of colonies in America. The phrase “The bees are dying” strikes one as being in the same vein as “the flood waters are rising” or “Boris Johnson wins election” – it has all the flavour of an apocalyptic setting. Read the rest of this entry »
Before starting my weekly rant, I’d like to apologize for the amount of errors in the last few editions of the English page: it’s due to the sleep deprivation that comes with having a baby. But excuses aside, we’re all occasionally apt to be careless – idiotic even. Which brings me, in my usual roundabout way, to the election of Boris Johnson to the mayoralty of London (a small village just outside Berkshire). You might not be aware of who the fellow is. Well, he’s a conservative backbencher who has frequently taken part in a successful satirical TV quiz show, during which he appears in the role of a (supposedly) charming duffer. Whether this is an appropriate pastime for a politician is not the issue here; let’s just say that whatever the faults of our own mayor -Julian Lanzarote, nobody could accuse him of hiding behind a charming façade. It seems to me that Londoners have to ask themselves, “Is Boris Johnson a bona fide idiot or a shrewd political performer?” Certainly on the afore-mentioned TV show he appears to be a complete buffoon, and some would say that the performance is too convincing to be anything but genuine. Read the rest of this entry »
Looking back over the past few months of the English page, it’s somewhat embarrassing how much whinging I’ve done. Well, it happens to be something we Brits excel at – that and coming second of course. British style whinging is usually performed under one’s breath and at least one hour after the offence was given. My own particular “bugbear” is the British roadside café, at which one generally suffers both from the “service” and the flavourless “slop” that is rather optimistically given the name “food”. Not that I’ve ever said anything but “Thankyou very much” after I’ve managed, heroically, to force it down. But it’s not just “normal” English chaps who like a good moan. Apparently “top popstar” Cliff Richard has been doing his fair share of whining recently, complaining that way back in 1968 General Franco had the results of the Eurovision song contest rigged, in the belief that a win for Spain would bring greater popularity for his regime. Read the rest of this entry »
Salamanca university took the decision last week to rid itself (at least partially) of its “Doctor Honoris Causa a Franco”, which was bestowed in 1954. Rector José Ramón Alonso responded to calls by UNE to get rid of the dubious title, by holding a vote. The rather peculiar and some may say meaningless result of this vote was the rejection of the title but not its removal. The reason given for this was that the legal implications of such an action would be extremely complex. Well, if a thing’s worth doing eh? Of course, the region abounds with Franquista symbols. There is actually a law aimed at the removal of such traces (la ley de la memoria histórica), the intention of which is to supress any glorification of Franco and the civil war. Naturally, anyone in their right mind deplores rabid nationalism and dictatorship – but such deliberate erasing of the past seems not a million miles away from the kind of historical revision that a dictator himself would impose. Read the rest of this entry »
Choice is a wonderful thing. But so much of the time it’s simply an illusion (satellite TV for example). There is an inherent tension between commerce and culture. Well, I say “tension”, what the situation really amounts to is a 500lb gorilla that has a feebly protesting bookish type by the throat. Dialogues between the two don’t tend to be equitable, even when democratic governments with social concerns are supposed to be mediating.
So it is that USAL’s philology department finds itself threatened with a reduction of its courses - on the grounds that some are not as popular as others. It seems English is one of the most popular. But why? Is it that it’s an inherently beautiful language, or that it has produced some of the world’s greatest prose? Or could it possibly have something to do with the fact that it’s the language of international business. I’ve always felt dreadfully attracted to those languages which aren’t so widely spoken – that often hold concepts unheard of in other, more widely broadcast tongues. Students of such languages rarely elect their specialism due to a glittering financial prospect, but for the love of words; for the unique worlds that varying languages can construct. Do those proposing the cuts actually want to banish such wonderfully quixotic pursuits from Salamanca University? To be honest, they probably don’t care. It seems that humanity is losing the battle and economics is winning; certainly if the cultural “life” of Salamanca is anything to go by.
You know you’re in trouble once you Start writing about writing. This column is usually composed,between coffees, in the seclusion of a local bar; but this week an interruption arrived in the form of a semi drunken diatribe, delivered by “Juan” (a gent of Castilian heritage). My eyes had barely swept the morning papers, lingering upon a wonderfully revealing double portrait of Berlusconi and Putin, in the same way one catches sight of a threatening pile of something unmentionable on the pavement. Juan sat beside me and introduced himself, prefacing his monologue with the promising words, “I noticed you were French”. Read the rest of this entry »
As the region alternates somewhere between drought and flood, it’s a good reminder that extremes of any sort are bad for a healthy culture (which includes floods of tourists).
Whilst driving home during last week’s extreme rainfall, I encountered the most dangerous phenomenon one can meet upon the road at rush hour – a rainbow. Drivers whose heads had been turned by the spectacle suddenly realised that they were about to “rear-end” the car in front and slammed on the brakes. Well, it was the kind of rainbow which would have twisted the neck of the most jaded and world weary commuter: at one end (miraculously it seemed) it alighted upon the very roof of the old cathedral, whilst at the other it settled (rather more mundanely) in the car park of the Tormes shopping mall. So, they’re mixed blessings rainbows; but then what isn’t? Well, actually, if you believe the news, there is only ever the negative side; hence the popular refrain I suppose. It seems that away from the shock, horror headlines, even the little snippets of information one can gleam from the papers are of a generally gloomy nature, whether it’s the startling revelation that over 200,000 Salmantinos are overweight or that, as usual, the topillos are nibbling away at things they shouldn’t. Presumably these little chaps are going to have to learn to live the life aquatic given the recent weather. Read the rest of this entry »
Salamanca’s hospitals have constantly been in the news recently – due to the continuing strikes. Many are critical of this industrial action which is apparently putting lives at risk. But who would want to work in such an environment, where the responsibilities at every level are so great, stress levels so high, and where there’s no such thing as a “regular day at the office”: rather a constant influx of unpleasant, and occasionally life threatening occurrences? Patients on the whole aren’t the easiest folk to deal with; tempers are often understandably short and demands frankly unreasonable. During the last few months I’ve had quite a lot to do with the Hospital Clinico, which has brought me into contact with many members of staff. It’s not an easy place to work; admissions usually resembles an extremely busy airport terminal. It’s obvious that nobody’s there for an easy ride. It’s equally obvious then that these strikes point to the fact that something has gone awry. Read the rest of this entry »
The vultures are feeding on the living. Does that sound like something out of a post apocalyptic horror film? The reason for it is simple though: any animal corpses left exposed on the Sierra are being buried. The vultures must have been pretty hungry to start swooping down on new born calves the way they’ve been doing.
