Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
- Christopher Howse: 'A Pilgrim in Spain'*
The Bloody Virus
- The latest thing seen to make you more susceptible to the virus is . . . baldness.
- The writer of this (decent) article is certain that the Swedish 'gamble' has failed. But, in truth, it might be some time before this can be proven. With the benefit of hindsight, the writer's (valid) bottom line is that: We're all likely to have been better off aiming for that undefined middle ground between Sweden and those countries which over-reacted. Next time, maybe.
Life in Spain
- Having touched on the subject earlier in the day, yesterday evening I was reminded of Lewis Hamilton's sad experience of racism here in Spain, when Alonso fans dressed up in black face and taunted him with monkey chants. Admittedly, that was 12 years ago but - given what's happened at football matches in the intervening years - I wouldn't bet on it not happening again.
- I have to renew my driving licence. Which means I have to pay a company to give me a battery of tests to prove I'm not a danger on the roads. Which means I have to get a certificate from my (ex)shrink saying I'm no longer on anti-depressants. Which meant a trip yesterday to the relevant health centre. Where, I'm pleased to say, this turned out to be the successful aspect of the morning. Or, rather, it will be when I get the certificate in the mail in 2-3 weeks' time.
- The unsuccessful elements of the morning were: 1. a purchase of de-shelled pistachios which turned out to be stale, and 2. a trip to the central police station. Where this chat took place:-
Sir, where are you going?
I want to change this A4 certificate of my permanent residence for the credit card-sized version now available.
OK, but you should have stopped by the window just after the door, and not walked past the X-ray machine.
I did but there was no one at the window. Or next to the machine.
Well, I was just over here [Chatting with 3 colleagues]. Please return to the window. . . . You have to call to make an appointment. Here's the number. Have a good day.
Thanks. You too.
- By the way, those drivers who don't have to go through the above procedures are those who form the sizeable minority who have neither a licence nor insurance. Personally, I regard these as a much greater danger on the road than me. Especially as those caught seem to be fond of substances I don't swallow. You'd think the police would be better deployed checking for these people than persecuting, say, decent folk who happen to be listening to the BBC through a single earphone.
- María's Come-back Chronicle, Day 25. More thoughts on the USA.
- Nice to see a story of the restoration of Moorish bits of Sevilla. See the article below. Because of the paywall, you'll have to go to Google Images to see the walls and the gates cited.
The USA
- My favourite Friday morning reading is Caitlin Moran's Celebrity Watch in The Times. Today she writes, inter alia, on Fart, whom she (rightly) portrays as more of a TV celebrity than a president. See the extract below.
- Predictably, Russia takes advantage.
- And, equally predictably, J-L Cauvin takes the piss.
Finally . . .
- In the latest episode of a favourite podcast - No Such Thing as a Fish - the participants were astonished and amused to hear that among the French soldiers at Agincourt were 64 call Colin, of whom 4 had the full name Colin Poisson, or Colin Fish. But this isn't as odd as they thought, as Colin is one of the French names for hake. Others are merlu and merluche, similar to the Spanish merluza. There are, in fact, several Rues de Colin in France and at least one in Belgium. I'm proud to say. Sort of.
- Talking of France . . . Did you know there's a place up in NE Spain where jurisdiction goes back and forth every 6 months between Spain and France. It's called Pheasant Island and you really couldn't make it up. Wiki here.
THE ARTICLE
Delightfully Moorish: Seville restores 12th-century walls: Isambard Wilkinson, The Times
A section of the city walls of Seville built by the Moors to stave off conquest by Christian forces is to be restored after decades of neglect left them crumbling.
The renovation project, which is due to start within weeks, will focus on the stretch between the city’s Córdoba Gate and Macarena Gate, where Spanish monarchs traditionally entered and Nationalist forces shot about 3,000 republicans during the 1936-39 civil war. The Macarena wall, as the 540-metre section is known, will be saved after years of petitioning for state funding by local associations and Juan Espadas, Seville’s mayor. “In any other country this would be a very important monument to visit but in Seville it’s been ignored,” Emilio Mascort, an engineering professor at Seville University, said. He is part of a team leading the project.
The Macarena wall, which incorporates a lower barbican, moat and towers, is the most complete remnant of the city’s 8km-long Moorish defences, of which less than a third survives. Preceded by an earlier Roman fortification and a Moorish wall built after a devastating Viking raid in the 9th century, the construction on the existing rampart began in about 1125. It was erected by the Almoravid dynasty to defend against Christian forces fighting to retake the Iberian peninsula. They were ousted by their north African rival the Almohads, who built the Giralda tower in the 12th century.
After Ferdinand III’s forces captured Seville in 1248, the Macarena Gate became the enty point for Spanish monarchs. Isabella of Portugal, the bride of Charles V, the 16th-century Holy Roman Emperor, rode through it on a richly caparisoned horse for their wedding in 1526.
Antonio Jaramillo, an architect, said the wall was saved in 1870 when much of Seville’s walls were destroyed in a modernisation scheme. “They were spared because the conservationists lied to the authorities, telling them the walls were Roman,” he said. “If they’d said they were Moorish they would have been deemed of little value.”
The wall, despite being made a protected monument in the 19th century, contrasts with the preserved Unesco world heritage sites in the southern, wealthier part of the city.
Antonio Muñoz, a councillor in charge of culture, said he hoped the wall would one day be open to visitors, as it was “a cherished part of the Macarena district’s identity”.
THE EXTRACT
Donald Trump
The former New York governor Mario Cuomo’s aphorism “Campaign in poetry, govern in prose” is often cited as the neatest description for how politicians should communicate during their journey to power.
As with most things, Donald Trump is either ignorant of this principle, decided to ignore it, or simply set it on fire. His dictum appears to be: “Campaign in Twitter fusillades, govern in a style based on sitting in a bunker in your towelling robe, while eating burgers and watching TV.”
Almost four years into his presidency, Trump’s leadership mood board seems composed of stuff that he saw on TV: cop shows, old Hollywood blockbusters, mad evangelical programmes, and the news.
Astonishingly, America’s Covid-19 death toll this week reaching more than 100,000 has not been the biggest news story, rather the news has focused on how protesters in more than 75 US cities have taken to the streets over the killing of George Floyd. For the millions of people who have seen the footage of Floyd’s death, this seemed like a fairly open-and-shut case. Unfortunately, the president fell back to the TV tropes on which he leans. “LAW & ORDER!” Trump tweeted, prompting thousands to reply with the names of other police procedural dramas: “MIAMI VICE!”, “NYPD BLUE!”, “HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET!”
The president’s subsequent photo op outside St John’s Church — in which he held a Bible upside down, having first teargassed the church’s clergy and protesters to clear them from the area — was pure horror-movie stuff.
But it was Trump’s overarching response to the protests that brought home the chilling banality of having a man who is basically Roald Dahl’s Mike Teavee, but grown-up and with real guns, as president. In city after city we saw first the police, then the National Guard, charge peaceful protesters, drag them from their cars, beat them, shoot them with rubber bullets and teargas them. As many panicked or fought back, Trump insisted: “I will fight to protect you. I am your president of law and order.”
And do you know why this is so chillingly banal? Because this is a basic tactic from Trump’s show, The Apprentice. You put your contestants — or, in this case, citizens — in a situation where you try to make them turn on each other. Then Trump appears, an omniscient being who alone can decide what is right and what is wrong.
When the decision was whether some entrepreneur got the funding for their artisan sausage company, Trump’s need for brutal showboating mattered less. His catchphrase is no longer “You’re fired”, but “You’re going to be fired at”. The prose in which Trump is governing has historical consequences. There is every possibility that having a reality TV star as president isn’t such a great idea after all.
* A terrible book, by the way. Don't be tempted to buy it, unless you're a very religious Protestant.