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| I know I said no more about weddings, but... |
| 05.31.04 (10:24 pm) [edit] |
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I watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" again at the weekend. I'm with the Greeks, what IS a "bunt"?
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12 Comments
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| Moral dilemma, or goons go shopping |
| 05.29.04 (3:33 pm) [edit] |
We need to create some shade on the terrace (which is on the roof) so that we don’t spend another summer cowering indoors during sunlight hours and trying to convince each other that “pale and interesting” is the new “tan”, so off we went for our now weekly visit to Leroy Merlin. Eventually we chose the covering we wanted (Note: two men discussing the various shades of bamboo in a hardware store can draw quite an audience…I know.) Anyway, we loaded up the trolley with rolls of bamboo and various sundry items, paid and went off to find where we’d abandoned the car. We put the back seats flat to get all the stuff in, turned round to empty the trolley…and it had gone. (Why is it that at times like this when you need to think and act fast the brain turns to mush and life goes into slow motion?) “Where’s the trolley?” I said. “I don’t know, you had it” he said. I turned round to see our Leroy Merlin trolley, complete with goodies, haring down the car park like a formula one racing car and picking up speed by the second. I set off after it at a pace reminiscent of Neil Armstrong on the moon, but before I got very far it came to a sudden stop. Thankfully a shiny white V.W. Golf prevented the trolley’s bid for the open road.
Now gentle reader, it’s moral dilemma time. There was a scratch, not huge, but a scratch nonetheless. Nobody was around, would you have left a note saying the scratch was your fault and give your phone number, or would you drive off before anybody saw you?
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10 Comments
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| An apostrophised question |
| 05.29.04 (6:33 am) [edit] |
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Just noticed that previous posts have gone all unnecessary again. Anybody got any ideas why all my apostrophies turn to question marks after a couple of days?
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4 Comments
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| OK, who told them? |
| 05.27.04 (7:28 am) [edit] |
Thank you "SofP" I now know what internet sub-culture I am.
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7 Comments
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| You never know who might be listening |
| 05.26.04 (7:46 am) [edit] |
I live on a small cobbled street. There are no pavements, so when you go through the front door youre on the road which is just wide enough to drive a small car down. I live very close to my neighbours. With the warmer weather were all living with our windows open, so we can all hear each others day to day living. I like that. It still makes me smile when I hear a conversation going on between two people in two different houses. However, I heard something this morning which has made me feel really sad. My Spanish isnt that good, but its OK. Ive worked hard at learning the language, it didnt come easily. I didnt want to live in a Brit ghetto, I always hoped that learning Spanish would be a door opener to friendships with local people.
Since moving to this village Ive made an effort to talk to all my new neighbours. As I expected from village life theyve all kept me at arms length. Except for one woman everybody has been polite but distant. The woman who lives directly opposite our house wont even say hello to me. Ive been ignoring this, and every time I see her I smile and say hello, how are you? She never replies, she just looks straight through me. I got to the point where I thought maybe she was deaf, but this morning I heard her talking to one of her neighbours. The neighbour was commenting on how nice our house was looking (my ears pricked up), but then the woman opposite us said, I dont know who he thinks he is. He comes over here speaking Spanish and thinking hes really important..
I dont think Im important, I just have a really old fashioned notion that different cultures can live happily side by side. I say old fashioned because more and more Im hearing the us and them argument rearing its ugly head. Im not just talking about my small world. I take an interest in world news and it seems to be a global problem, foreigners are people to be wary of. Thats what makes me sad.
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12 Comments
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| No more on weddings...honest |
| 05.24.04 (3:17 pm) [edit] |
Well, the Royal wedding came and went. On an online poll the best bit was voted to be when the eldest son of the Enfanta Christina got up and kicked one of the bridesmaids. (Hes clearly destined for the military.) Throughout last week they tarted up the Madrid streets with decorations for the wedding. The Madrilleos said it was amazing how beautiful their city looked and if the decorations were kept in place after the wedding it would make Madrid one of the worlds most beautiful cities. However, after the wedding the city was trashed. People took all the decorations away as souvenirs and even went as far as cutting up the red carpets! That reminds me
A couple of Brit friends recently got married here. They obviously didnt do their homework though. Its traditional at a Spanish reception for everybody to cut a piece of the grooms tie. He was horrified. Hed spent 300 on it. Still, at least there were no red carpets to cut up. On that note I promise not to mention weddings againI must be going through a phase.
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4 Comments
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| Reply to mblog's comment |
| 05.22.04 (7:43 am) [edit] |
This is in reply to mblogs comment on my previous post, but thinking it might be long I decided to write it here.
I used to do that thing of turning up at the cinema half way through a movie and staying to that point where you turn to your friends and say, this is where we came in. It seems so weird now, but completely normal then. Our local flea pit was a grand old lady with lots of red and gold decoration. On Saturdays she hosted a matinee for all the local kids. It was chaos. Wed come up with all kinds of schemes to get in without paying, climbing in through toilet windows was a favourite, and spend our entrance money on sweets instead. My mothers parting words on a Saturday morning were always, be nice to the lady with the torch and the moustache.
What you reminded me of however is something Ive spoken to many people about and nobody seems to know what Im talking about. It must have been in the 60s, a brand of tea (Brook Bond P.G. Tips I think) and they used monkeys in their advertising. From what I remember it was all based on a chimps tea party. Anyway, one Saturday we all went along to the cinema to a special P.G. Tips presentation. To get in you had to turn up with an empty packet of tea. I remember the foyer being piled high with empty packets, women dressed up in Indian saris, kids running wild and dozens of chimps let loose in the cinema! Its true. They just threw a few hundred unaccompanied kids into a cinema with a load of chimps, closed the doors and rolled a few films. What I cant remember is who came out worse for wear, us or the chimps.
Im sure this thing was some kind of road-show, but so far havent met anybody else who experienced it. Maybe our cinema in Manchester was the first venue and they decided after that it was a bad idea.
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10 Comments
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| When all else fails, read the instructions |
| 05.20.04 (9:58 am) [edit] |
Being a cheap-skate I buy my DVDs from a supermarket (bargain bucket). OK they may not be the latest movies, but not having had access to movies for years theyre new to me. One evening last week wed been out to dinner and when I got home I still felt too awake to go to bed, so decided to watch the Pelican Brief. I settled down with a glass of wine to watch the movie but after a few minutes realised I didnt have a clue what was going on. I must have had more to drink over dinner than Id realisedtime for bed.
Yesterday I had a pile of ironing to do so decided to numb the boredom by watching the Pelican Brief while doing it. It started, the opening scene was JR and DW mid conversation in a motel room. I thought this must be a flashback. I concentrated on what was being said, thinking it would be important when the movie started proper. I watched and waited. After about twenty minutes I was getting really frustrated with this, as I thought, avant-garde style to start a movieI still had no idea what was going on. I watched on, and after about twenty more minutes it ended! Ive been done I thought. No. On VERY close inspection I realised there were TINY little red letters A and B on either side of the DVD. Id watched only side B. :roll:
![]() =http://img50.photobucket.com/...
Oh well, I guess Ive got something to look forward to next time I do the ironing.
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3 Comments
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| Is it time to move on ... again? |
| 05.18.04 (12:09 pm) [edit] |
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What's going on with tBlog? Has anybody else noticed that all their apostrophies have turned into question marks? tBlog seems to be spending more and more time down these days too. Maybe it's time to move on.
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3 Comments
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| Think before you hate |
| 05.18.04 (8:21 am) [edit] |
"Now by the power vested in me by the state of Massachusetts as a justice of the peace, and most of all by the power of your own love, I now pronounce you married under the laws of Massachusetts," said Margaret Drury, a city clerk. "You may seal this marriage with a kiss." The couple embraced.”
It’s an emotive subject. Should marriage be kept as a heterosexual institution? Whether you agree with same sex marriage or not it looks like its here, and here to stay. What I don’t understand is why people who are not affected by this become so passionate in their condemnation. If two men or two women choose to marry it concerns them and them alone. Yes make your opinions heard, it’s your right, but the hatred I’m hearing over this is so sad. I personally think marriage should remain a heterosexual institution, but more strongly I think all people should have the choice to marry their partner.
Here in Spain we have that choice. Ex “m-bloggers” will know that last summer my partner and I became a legal couple. We’re not married. By becoming a “pareja de hecho” it gave us all the same legal rights that married couples enjoy. There was no ceremony, it’s purely a legal document which gives us legal equality. Most gay people I’ve spoken to about this want nothing more than choice and legal/financial security.
I say “Good Luck” to all those couples in Massachusetts (or wherever else). If anybody is lucky enough to find a person they want to spend the rest of their life with let them choose how.
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12 Comments
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| It's never too late to call the whole thing off |
| 05.17.04 (12:53 pm) [edit] |
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No sooner have we had time to get over the excitement of Eurovision 2004 (won by Eukraine with a song reminiscent of horny Neanderthalsthankfully I slept through most of the show), and its time for another Royal wedding. Its our turn this week (I was disappointed last week that the Australian woman who married into the Norwegian royal family wasnt called Kyliewouldnt Princess Kylie be the coolest thing this year!! Were all royal weddinged out here with all the preparations for Crown Prince Felipe to marry Letizia the news reader. OK forget Princess Kylie, Queen Letizia is pretty cool too. Even better, wouldnt it be fantastic if she decided to keep her job after marrying! The mind boggles. One thing bothers me though, I wonder if Doa Letizia has noticed the family trait evident in the offspring of Felipes two younger sisters? Instead of hair these kids have got little Brillo Pads sat on their heads. Its obviously a throw-back thing because both King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are follically challenged. Im sure our favourite news reader would be having second thoughts if only she realised whats in store.
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1 Comments
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| It's that time of year again |
| 05.15.04 (5:08 pm) [edit] |
For the past two weeks Ive been doing the dance of the ADSL modem, waiting for the little green light to show. Today it came. We are back in the land of high speed internet connection! However, yeahtheres always a but, the connection is on the account they (the ISP) told me they were going to close, and not on the new account. Hmm this may mean itll go phutt any day now, well see.
I just read Debs Daily Waffle and she reminded me that today is Eurovision day! Fan-bloody-tastic!! Now for the uninitiated, the Eurovision Song Contest is an annual event which nobody admits to liking unless youre gay, sick of mind or trapped in that sad world where you know all the words to all the Abba songs. What happens is each European country (all 745 of them now) submits a song which is dreadful. They then search for an out of work wannabe singer who is so desperate to be on television that they will embarrass themselves to the enth degree by singing said dreadful song out of tune. A choreographer teaches all the contestants how not to dance, and a stylist with a sick sense of humour dresses them.
After youve sat through all the entries (and if you still have the will to live) the voting starts. This is the best bit! Each country has a certain number of votes which it dishes out (I think from 12 to zero). Eurovision is non-politicalyeah right. All the political back biting which has taken place throughout the year is remembered at this point. ITS PAY BACK TIME.
So, if youve got nothing better to do at 8 p.m. (GMT) today you can watch Eurovision online at http://www.eurovision.tv/engl... I think.
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4 Comments
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| Kitchen warming party, round my place in an hour...all welcome |
| 05.13.04 (7:42 pm) [edit] |
I know Ive been quiet, but Ive spent all my spare time finishing the kitchen. OK, so it may not be everybodys taste, but I like it. *
![]() =http://img50.photobucket.com/...
* Andaloo Kitchens are available for weddings, birthdays and bar mitzvahs.
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8 Comments
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| High tech V's Low tech |
| 05.06.04 (2:11 pm) [edit] |
I sometimes forget where I am. The outside world is so accessible now that I sometimes need to stop and look around me. Andalucia is a bit of a joke with the rest of Spain, it takes us a while to catch up. Andaluz people are considered insular and slow. Its not surprising, through the Franco years Andalucia was basically cut off from the rest of Spain. There were very few roads so it was easy enough to police peoples movements and permits were needed to enter or exit the province. Starvation took far too many people. Im not talking about the dark ages here, The Generals regime ended just twenty six years ago.
This morning I was driving down to the coast, lost in my thoughts about the hassles with my ADSL line. I had to stop in a queue of traffic but was too far back to see what was going on. Eventually we started edging forward. A man flagged me down and said that they were cutting trees around the bend. Seeing as I was the last in the queue he gave me a twig and asked me to give it to the man along the road so hed know the road was clear for the traffic coming in the opposite direction.
Forget fighting with somebody in a Madrid call-centre about an ADSL connection, Im so lucky to be a paying guest here in Andalucia! (But dont quote me on that when Im next ranting.)
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10 Comments
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| Of dreadlocks, taps and the illusive ADSL connection |
| 05.05.04 (9:56 am) [edit] |
I was talking to a new neighbour last night. She was saying how appalled she is at the lack of security at our local commercial centre. (Who said sophisticated conversation would go out the window after moving to the country!) It turns out that she used to be head of security for a major chain of stores in UK. By the end of the evening I was rolled up laughing at her stories. In one store (with cctv, security guards etc) a couple walked out with a fridge/freezer. They simply tilted it, picked it up and walked through the doors with it, and because they were so blatant nobody stopped them. There was another story of a man who went to the same London store regularly to steal taps. When they eventually caught him (he was a Rastafarian and secreted the taps under his hat, and used a push-bike for his getaway) they found hundreds of the things stacked up in his home. When asked why he did it he replied, I like taps. You cant argue with that can you?!
The ADSL saga took another turn yesterday. My ISP called to say the problem was because theyd written my telephone number down wrong;
Me: I know that, I told YOU that two weeks ago.
ISP: You now have to close the account with the wrong number, and open a new account with the right number.
Me: Cant you just change the number?
ISP: Oh no. That would be seen as altering somebodys personal details.
Me: How long will this whole process take?
ISP: About fifteen days.
Me: Ive had enough. Ive been paying for an ADSL line for three months already. Close my account, Im going to another service provider.
ISP: You cant do that. Youve signed up for a year.
Me: But youve just told me to close the account.
ISP: Thats different.
Me: Its you who have defaulted on the contract, not me.
ISP: If you stop the standing order from the bank we will denounce you.
I know I should stop the monthly standing order and go to court with them, but to be honest Im so fed-up with the whole thing Ive decided to see if they come up with the goods in a couple of weeks time.
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2 Comments
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| Thoughts all over the place... |
| 05.03.04 (8:18 pm) [edit] |
Usually if I don't post it's because I'm too busy, but for the first time I either can't think of anything to blog about or the chemicals in the stuff I'm using on the kitchen have finally started rotting my brain.
Some friends came over at the weekend from UK. It was great to see them again and we spent hours eating and chatting. Sidenote...sexy pudding; Make a cone shape of strawberries and whipped cream in alternate layers, starting with a deep layer of strawberries. Then fill the bowl with pink champagne to the first layer of cream...but I digress...
We met these friends on holiday in Thailand, and obviously the conversation eventually got round to things Thai. I love that place, the people, the culture. We've often said, if we ever leave Spain it will be to go to Thailand. Ho hum....dreams.
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3 Comments
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