At the peluquería.

At the hairdresser’s yesterday I scanned the scandal magazines as usual. They were full of details of the lives and loves of famous people most of whom I have never heard of. Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are apparently divorcing amicably and insist that they remain the best of friends. Goodness! I wasn’t even aware that they had married. There is speculation about Poor Jennifer, as she is often called, and whether she and Brad Pitt will perhaps be reconciled. Anything else she may have done in her acting career is forever overshadowed by the story of the man who first broke her heart. It may have been mended several times since then but that question will always be there. How sad and silly! 

Harry and Meghan (does she really spell her name with the letter “h” in it?) figure largely:- ”What a lovely couple!” “They hold hands in public, something other royal people never do!” “So romantic!” “So daring!” So what?

One thing that struck me is that Harry is almost always referred to as Harry whereas his brother William becomes Guillermo, just as his father becomes Carlos. Is this because he is less important? More ordinary? (Not that. Few “ordinary” people live like he does.) Or is it just that nobody realises that Harry is a variant of Henry and can be translated into Enrique? Which I am pretty sure used to happen when reporting on his doings? Maybe it’s because nobody knows how to translate Meghan.

How many little Meghans, or Megans, will there be over the next few years?

I found a little article about new words that have been accepted officially into Castilian Spanish:-

“Posverdad” for “post truth”.

“Gentrificación” from the English word, with an explanation that this comes from “gentry”, the English for “burguesía”.

And a completely new one for me: “aporofobia” - fear of poor people! Do we fear that they will rise up in protest? Most of those you see around Manchester look more fearful than anything else. But then I do know people who are somewhat afraid of walking along certain streets as there are so many beggars. Not to mention so much evidence of the places where the homeless bed down for the night. 

In the centre of Vigo yesterday there seemed to be fewer beggars than I remembered from previous occasion. Maybe I just did not walk in the right places. Maybe they found sunny places to pass the day.

And we have been fortunate to have had three sunny days on the run since we arrived. It might be cool at night and a bit chilly first thing in the morning but 15 degrees in the afternoon is nothing to complain about. Here are a few pictures of places looking picturesque in the sunshine:-

Not bad!