Christmas Stuff.

Well, we got through Christmas Day. 

Santa came, as expected and left presents under the tree. We all ate far too much as usual but amazingly, also as usual, there seems to be almost as much turkey meat left as we started with. 

We were promised a band of rain moving across the country today so when we got up this morning and saw some blue sky we set off for a walk early. Relatively early anyway. Mid to end of the morning instead of mid to end of the afternoon. And the promised band of rain did arrive. By three o’clock I had drawn the curtains to shut out the dull and dismal end of the daylight. We’re past the winter solstice and the days are supposed to get longer now but it’s still too soon to see a noticeable difference. 

 It could be worse though. Scanning Spanish newspapers online I came across a photo of someone cycling in Amsterdam ... under an umbrella. The writer of the article talked about an average of 190 to 210 rainy days per year in Amsterdam. That’s 18 days per month. No wonder they need legalised drugs to help cheer them up. I shall stop moaning about the weather forthwith. Well, for a while anyway. 

I also read about an unusual kind of protest that has taken place in Santiago de Compostela. Recently lots of people in Spain, as in the UK, have been made homeless because the banks have foreclosed on their mortgages and reclaimed the houses. To draw attention to this a group calling themselves FARTAS (Fomos Armala Raptando Temporalmente Ao Susiño) stole/kidnapped the baby Jesus from the Nativity scene in the Obradoiro in the centre of Santiago. They then shut him up in the doorway of a bank, one of those where you can go in and use he ATM machine. All of this was made into a video which they put on Youtube so that people would know what was going on. 

At least they didn’t leave him out in the cold. Eventually he was found by bank workers and rescued. Much to the relief of those who care look after the Nativity scene and to the interest and amusement of tourists to the cathedral precinct, baby Jesus was reunited with Mary and Joseph early this morning. 
  
 I wonder if it will make any difference to the homeless.