Idiotic behaviour – not mine, other people’s!

When I went out for a run first thing this morning the day was bright. It wasn’t exactly a total blue sky day but there was quite a fairly substantial amount of the blue stuff and what clouds there were looked white and fluffy rather than imposing and grey. I was overtaken by a lady on a bicycle. This lady and I have been meeting in this way for several years now. On the rare occasions that we run across each other when I’m not in running gear and she’s not wearing her cycle helmet, we are always surprised to recognise each other. She lives somewhere not far from me, we see each other on the bridle path, in the green grocers or at the Wednesday market in Uppermill. And yet I have no idea of her name, even though we have progressed from nodding to greeting. 

This morning as she sailed past me I commented on the fine day. She replied that she had heard that rain was forecast. We both expressed wishes for it to hold off until we had returned home. And then we went our separate ways. 

My timing was brilliant: run to Uppermill, pop in the Co-op for a couple of things and to use their cash machine, replenish my fruit stores at the small greengrocer’s, pick up a good loaf of bread and scuttle to the fish van in the market before catching the bus home. I waited no more than a couple of minutes for the bus and was home in no time. 

After that the day grew greyer and greyer. Before we knew it the rain had arrived. Not as badly as predicted for some southern parts of the country but still damp and gloomy. So I turned to the papers on line and discovered that the weather front that is hitting us is once again affecting Galicia just as badly. In fact, the coastal areas there are suffering just as badly as coastal areas here. And by all accounts there as many loonies who think it’s fun to play chicken with the waves. Here’s a link to a mini film on youtube called “Idiotas en una Tormenta” . It was made in 2009 in La Coruña but there are still people playing this kind of chicken game today. 

So that’s the weather dealt with. Now, here’s a photo of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela where repair and restoration work is going on. They started in October and will last for twenty months. Consequently there has been some concern because this means a couple of “festas do apóstol”, the celebration of the saint’s day on July 25th with the scaffolding in place. Possibly the biggest concern has been the fate of the firework display which takes place on the eve of the festival. There had been fears that it would be cancelled but the church authorities have agreed that there can be a reduced display. That’s a relief, isn’t it? 

A couple of princesses have been in the news again. First of all there’s the Infanta Cristina and the ongoing court case where she will at least be asked to make an appearance as a witness. Her lawyers are at pains to assure us that she is feeling fine about it: “La infanta Cristina «se encuentra bien, está serena». 

The second is the princess by marriage, Letizia, wife of the heir to the Spanish throne and, therefore, queen in waiting. She seems to have been less than «serena» in her reaction to a young man with a mobile phone. Apparently she was out shopping in Madrid with her daughters when she spotted a teenager concentrating intently on his mobile phone. She snatched it off him and, despite his protestations that he was only reading his emails, refused to return it until he showed her the photos on his phone. Reassured that he had not been snapping her royal daughters, she let him go on his way. I bet that’s done a lot to maintain the image of the royal family! 

Fortunately I don’t have such problems to contend with. I’ll just stick to weather watching.