Wednesday, October 13, 2010

BEACH WALK AND NEW STATUE DISCOVERY

Went for a walk with friends of friends from UK and took them to a new sculpture I discovered on the rocks outside someone;s house. Here are the pics. Like I have said before.......beats Weston on a wet Tuesday.



Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Em dic Anthony!


No, I'm not being rude or self critical. I've started Catalan lessons and that's how you say 'My name is Anthony'.
The local autonomous government here offers free naturalization language courses to beginners so I'm taking advantage.
Here are the fruits of my first lessons.

Com et dius? What;s your name
Em dic Anthony. My name is Anthony
Com es diu. What's his name.
D'on ets? Where are you from?
Jo sóc d'Anglaterra. I'm from England
De que fas? What do you do?
Faig professor d'anglès. I'm an English teacher
Quant temps fa que hi treballes? How long have you been doing that?
T'agrada la teva feina? Do you like your work?

Any students of Italian French or Castellano can see the connections. Can't wait to build a bit of fluency.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

FESTIVAL SURREALISM





Images from the recent festivals here. Double click to enlarge. And....yes.....the second pic is a naked breasted dragon bird spouting fireworks from her mouth.!!!

Human Castles.....a unique obsession.




The thing I love about the crazy and unique activity of competitive Human Castle Building is the passion and emotion it triggers in the crowds that watch.
I cannot expalin it. I guess you need to be here but I think it has something to do with the incredible combination of strength and courage but above all trust in your team.
It;s very competitive and we stumbled across the local Colla de Joves (youth team) practicising as they do twice a week all year.
Here are a few images


Saturday, October 9, 2010

YEAR 2. I'm back!

Haven't posted for ages, but I'm back now. Many things have happened. I have moved to a lovely studio flat in the Old Town. It's awash with medieval charm and atmosphere. And I'm alone! I love it!
I don't miss the old place. Flat sharing had run it's course. Although I will look back on the madness with a wry smile;
The alcoholic, manic-depressive Romanian girl who never gave up trying to tempt me into bed. Her tactics ranged from straight forward flattery, spontaneous hugs and enforced hand-holding, to drunken confessions of passion and finally the direct-marketing approach of knocking on my bedroom door at 3am dressed in a negligé and smelling of Vermouth.
Then there was the bizarre Brazilian football agent who always greeted me by bellowing in a cod American accent :
'Hey maaaan, Antony Quinn! How u doin?'
This was the sum total of his English.
He was permanently on the verge of making it big......but in the mean time kept asking me if I could pay his rent for the next month.
He also had a huge penchant for eating other peoples food.
"We're a family" he said. "What's mine is yours."
The trouble was I wasn't that partial to out-of-date yoghurt and stale toast biscuits. He, however was very partial to most things.
One day I baked 4 peppers stuffed with tuna and basil and left them in the oven to cool. When I came back several hours later looking forward to dinner there was half of one left. He came out of his room, slapped me on the back and said;
'Damn! Those peppers were good! I could smell them from my room but it took me ages to find them. You're a good cook Antony Quiiiiinn!'
However he had an achiles heel. I discovered by chance he hated spicy food, and as I like it my problem was solved. It was chilli with everything. I kid you not....I even made chilli-chocolate muffins just to foil his pilfering.
Attached are a few pics of my new flat. My balcony has the red towel outside .