Striking items!

Yesterday in our local supermarket I ran into a friend from one of the book clubs at the library who told me that she had tried to go shopping in the centre of Vigo but had found it impossible. The sales had started, creeping up on me once again, finding me completely unawares. It’s no wonder I rarely find real bargains. However, it wasn’t just the sales that had made life difficult for my friend. The start of the sales coincided with a strike by textile workers and chaos ensued.

Pickets for the striking textile workers did not just stand around shouting and handing out leaflets. Oh, no, not at all. They went into shops, pulled clothes off rails and threw them on the floor. They threw eggs into shop doorways and caused general mayhem. Many shops on Príncipe and Urzáiz were forced to close for a while and in some cases just closed for the day. Meanwhile outside there were pickets and shoppers, some of the latter waiting for shops to re-open so they could try to take advantage of the promised up to 70% reductions. And then, to cap it all, there was a cruise ship in port meaning that there were several thousand extra people in town, no doubt wondering if such chaos was normal for Vigo.

Such fun and games! I’m quite glad I only made it to the supermarket. Perhaps I’ll get to the sales some time later today.

Later yesterday we strolled out in the early evening sunshine and had a drink in the Cafetería Monaco just round the corner from my husband’s chess club. I can recommend that cafetería for the generosity of its tapas. We ordered a clara and a Kas naranja which arrived accompanied by the usual olives and crisps. Some 15 minutes later, as we sat with the same clara and Kas naranja a plate of assorted odds and ends on bread arrived – spicy mussels, ham, cheese – and more olives. So for less than the price of one drink in the UK we had a drink each and a fairly substantial snack. And, I hasten to add, this is not the first time this has happened in that cafeteria.

Reading the Correo de Galicia newspaper while I sat there, I came across one or two interesting snippets of news. Here is a selection:-

The Centro de Investigaciones Agrarias of a place called Mabegondo has developed a strain of pimientos de Padrón que no pican – Padrón peppers that are guaranteed not to be hot and spicy. Surely part of the fun of eating pimientos de Padrón is the Russian roulette aspect; you’re never quite sure when you’re going to come across a hot one!!

The Escuela de Idiomas in Vigo has decided to limit enrolments to two languages per student. It seems that people have been enrolling for three or even four foreign language courses at a time and then fail to turn up for lessons. The Escuela de Idiomas stresses that learning a foreign language takes dedicated hard work and consistent attendance at lessons. They take language learning seriously and won’t accept this dilettante approach. This restriction makes a good deal more sense to me than the municipal library’s decision this year to allow people to be members of only one book club.

Mind you some people might say it shows a lack of business acumen. Provided students have paid their fees, such business orientated folk might say, does it matter if they fail to turn up to classes? Well, apparently the Ecuela de Idiomas believes it does. I remain impressed that such a thing as an official language school exists at all. It demonstrates a belief in the importance of language learning that seems not to be presenting the UK.

Then there’s the news that in Indonesia they are showing a film about President Obama’s childhood. Here in Spain there is a series about the romance, engagement and eventual marriage of Prince Felipe and Letizia. Same genre, it seems to me. At one time you had to be dead before they started telling your life story all over the place. No longer. We want it NOW! Or at any rate the media have decided that we do.

In the sports news at the moment we have the forthcoming confrontation between Nadal and Murray at Wimbledon. If Nadal wins and if there is a representative of the Spanish Royal family present, I wonder if the Spanish tenista will once again climb over the stands to reach the royal box and hug the king as he did once before!

From a little item I found in the Guardian online this morning I think it’s probably a good job that the England football team is out of the world cup. One of the big pet shop chains has been selling cute little England t-shirts for dogs. On balance I’m surprised there haven’t been Spain doggie-coats around too, given the propensity they have around here for putting raincoats and winter warmers on their canine friends. Perhaps it’s just as well that they’re not here; the poor dogs would suffer in the warm weather we’ve been having.

The Tour de France starts tomorrow. How did that come around so quickly? The Madrid cyclist Carlos Sastre, winner of the race a couple of years ago, says he is preparing himself sin grandes esperanzas (not very optimistically) since he did not have a great time in the Spanish race La Vuelta a España. Local boy, Óscar Pereiro, from Mos is disappointed not to have been selected for the Astana team and plans to retire from cycling now.

It’s a good job we still have Alberto Contador to root for then!! That is, unless I decide to support our own home-grown English Bradley Wiggins.