August

And then after July came August as usual. August started well - exceptionally well in fact; the very first day we had our annual Big Day Out on the beach. We "camp out" all day once a year on one of the huge deserted beaches on the arms of the Ebro Delta, with a fantastic knee-deep bay of water on one side of the beach, and  the wilder sea of the open Mediterranean on the other. See satellite photo below. Cousins, grannies, uncles, friends, we all hit the beach with cars loaded up with sun shades (essential), kites, buckets and spades, canoes, picnics, drinks... and spend the full day there till dusk. A great time was had by all.

Two days later I flew to England with our oldest son (12 today) to drop him off at my parents' in South Yorkshire for a week's break from us and a chance to practise his English. And then I flew back to Catalonia. The rest of us spent another week here, finishing off translation work and coping with the heatwave before joining Andreu in England for a 3-week holiday.

However the day before we flew I felt a sharp pain in my leg which brought back unhappy memories of my DVT 2 years ago and so went to the hospital to have it checked. I was given the all-clear, and a couple of blood-thinning injections "just in case" and told to fly.

For our first week in England we'd decided to go to the Lake District and a grand time was had by all - lake cruises, treks up and down hills, bathing in tarns and lakes, eating Grasmere gingerbread, visiting the Pencil Museum and so on. See photos.

However, again, by mid-week that pain was starting to come back. I managed to finish the week in the Lakes but as soon as we got back to my parents' we went to Barnsley Hospital A&E to check it wasn't a DVT again.... and it wasn't, it was a SVT! I'll explain: instead of a potentially life-threatening deep vein thrombosis which could mean the clot moving into the delicate parts of your body, it was (is) a "superificial vein thrombosis" or "thrombophlebitis" which is nowhere near as bad ... unless it develops into a DVT if the clots start to move from one vein system to another... which shouldn't happen but.... lots of should/might/but/not usually vocabulary used by the doctors who gave me a very thorough looking over in the hospital (long live the NHS!) meant that I spent the next 2 weeks scared out of my brains once again. They were right, though, so far: the pain was intense and unbearable for a few days but has gradually faded, and is now just annoying. They say in 7-14 days more I should be OK again as the SVT is just running its course. It all meant I did hardly anything for the other 2 weeks in England but I did manage to check out a new second-hand record shop in Elsecar, The Vinyl Tap! With a few more blood-thinning injections "just in case" we flew back to Catalonia on 31 August and now the next step is seeing more doctors to see why this has happened and if there's anything I can do about it - and, looking at my history repeating itself, whether these incidents are related to flying.

I am still resting up at home now but hope to get into school for some preparation this week, and aim to be 100% for working when classes start on the 14th. Our kids also go back to school that day, with our son moving up to the Big Boys' School - i.e. secondary school. Time flies.

Mallorca

Una nova aventura! La setmana passada vam aconseguir escapar-nos 4 dies a Mallorca per a visitar familia, concretament la germana de la meva dona, el seu parella, i el bebe que acaben de tenir. L'objectiu era precisament aixo, visitar la familia i descansar despres d'un trimestre una mica moguda. I aixi ho vam fer. Vam voltar molt per Palma, vam anar a la platja, vam jugar a Monopoli, i vam fer una visita rapida a Valldemossa.

També vaig aprendre que Menorca queda a l'est de Mallorca, i no pas a l'oest com sempre havia pensat, malgrat viure aqui 25 anys i haver visitat les dos illes. També vam poder confirmar que el tema de la llengua està malament a Mallorca, molta gent no xerra en mallorqui - però a nivell personal, poc a poc, gràcies al cunyat estic millorant la meva comprehensió del que diuen quan ho parlen!

Fotos i musica....

...

Brian's Big Break finally arrived - a well-deserved 4-day break in Mallorca (or Majorca). We now have family there - the missus' sister, her partner and their new-born kid - so we went to visit them and relax after a hard term (the school year finished here on the 19 June) before starting our "summer courses". So relax we did - 4 days of playing Monopoly, wandering round Palma, checking out the sights, the beach, and a quick visit to the place Chopin (apparently a pianist) described as being the most beautiful place in the world, Valldemossa. Obviously he'd never been to Yorkshire...

By the way, a little knowledge; Mallorca was re-conquered from the Moors by the Catalan king Jaume I donkeys' years ago and as such formed part of the Catalan/Aragon empire, and the language they speak is a kind of Catalan with a few changes, and a tricky accent! The Balearic isles now form an autonomous community within the state of Spain, as does Catalonia.

A few photos, followed up by another song by the best group from Mallorca.

You've got a friend in me #SocialNetworks

Bé, encara que molta gent abusa de les xarxes socials i el temps que passen  enganxats al smartphone, i malgrat les opinions que diuen que tot això ens portarà a perdre vida social, jo he de dir que de moment en tinc bones sensacions. A banda de la gent que he conegut o contactat a traves d’internet, fins i tot aquest any he tingut la oportunitat de conèixer alguns en persona. I de moment, bé, cap assassí en serie ni coses rares.

Fa temps que segueixo un bloc que m’agrada molt, que barreja musica i pensaments de l’autor. El blocaire en qüestió viu a l’altra punta de Catalunya, però aquest any va haver de venir a Tortosa i vaig poder trobar-me amb ell uns minuts i vaig confirmar lo que pensava, una bona persona! A vore si ens tornem a trobar un dia...

També seguim un blocde Yorkshire, el autor del qual viu molt a prop d’on viuen mons pares i explica caminades i parla de llocs que visita que jo conec bastant. A més a més, també hi posa molts reflexions personals molt variades, barrejat amb un bon sentit d’humor. Firma com a Yorkshire Pudding i poca gent coneix la seva identitat real – però a l’estiu li vam proposar una petita trobada a Sheffield. Vam anar tota la família, vam fer un cafè junts amb ell i vam xerrar més d’una hora. És una bona persona amb una vida també molt interessant. A vore si ens tornarem a trobar... almenys ara hem posat una cara al personatge del Pudding!

A la primavera vam quedar amb 4 o 5 tuitaires que ens sembla que tenim alguna cosa en comú – piular sobre les Terres de l’Ebre. No coneixiem gaire 2 d’ells. Vam fer un esmorzar de productes de la terra – pa amb tomaquet, pernil, formatges, vins, oli del bo etc – i vam parlar una bona estona, arreglant el món (local).

A l’estiu també vaig anar a Barcelona per un dinar amb un grup de gent que piulem coses sobre Catalunya en anglès i que poc a poc ens estavem trobant per les xarxes. També ho vam passar molt bé, i d’allí ha sortit un bon grapat d’amistats fructífers.

En fi, de moment, es confirma la regla – que si uses les xarxes amb coneixement, poder ser bones eines, no tots son trolls i ciberbullies !

..............

So, social networks and smartphones and all this internet stuff are just for cyberbullies, trolls, and nutters, and will be the end of civilization as we know it? Maybe. But for now, I’ve had a Good Year which seems to prove the opposite. Rather than losing my social life thanks to my (almost) addiction to the internet, I have in fact made and met more friends...

For some time now I’ve been reading a blog which offers up great music mixed in with the thoughts of the blogger himself. As he lives at the other end of Catalonia, we’d only “spoken” via blog comments or email... till this year. He had to come to Tortosa for a sporting event his daughter was participating in, so we arranged to meet up and had a short but grand time chatting.

Another blog I try to keep up with is written by a certain Mr Yorkshire Pudding and offers the author’s thoughts on a fascinating variety of topics, as well as many local references as he likes walking, studying the history of, and posting photos of many of the areas which I know from my youth as he lives quite near my parents’ house. In the summer we met up with him in Sheffield city centre – in a public café just in case he was the typical serial killer you hear about who uses internet to lure his victims into his web. Well, he isn’t – I think. In fact we spent a fine hour chatting away and, who knows, maybe we’ll meet in person again. But in a more civilized place, like Barnsley.

In the spring time a group of local tweeters who hardly knew each other, but shared our love of commenting on local things, decided to meet up at my house and get to know each other in person over a typical Catalan breakfast (with lots of local products) – “bread with tomato”, ham, cheese, wines, olive oil, local pastries and chocolate. We had a great time and will definitely do it again!

Similarly, a different group of us who’d noticed that we were all tweeting about Catalonia in English decided to have a meal together this summer in Barcelona. We had a great time and some fruitful friendships arose.

So, to cut a long story short, don’t believe everything you read in the Daily Mail, people are still people, and 99% of us enjoy getting out and meeting people and having a good time – and some of us know where the Off button is on all this technology too.

Update: forgot to link the blogs yesterday. Sorted now!

On dunking with #JoshRouse #QuietTown

Tornem al blog despres d'un merescut descans, per parlar d'un tema importantissim.
A Anglaterra - o almenys al meu poble, als People's Republic of South Yorkshire - sucar galetes o donuts al cafe, te, o xocolata de beure està molt mal vist. Se considera de una falta d'educació brutal. No obstant, sí que suquem, i molt, pa a la sopa.
A Catalunya, o almenys aquí al mig dels països catalans a Tortosa, és al reves. Suquem al cafe i xocolata amb molt de gust - i en public. Però no posen mai res dins la sopa. Curios.
.....
Interrupting this enforced respite from blogging to deal with the important matter of dunking. In England, or at least in Barnsley, dunking biscuits or other sweet products - buns, doughnuts... - in your drink is considered bad manners and you can only really do it up to the age of about 4. But we do dunk bread, and loads of it, buttered even, in our soup. The Catalans go about things in a different way. They love dunking in their hot beverages - even in public, but never put any bread-like substance in their soup.
Interesting.
(PS  searching for a dunking photo on Google, it turns out it means something else to Americans - lots of photos of tall guys in vests jumping up and down with a ball in their hands)
(PPS can't think of a dunking song, so ... looks at what CDs he's got strewn across the desk... we'll put this one on....

I'm not really optimistic... I know the feeling!

No seré jo (avui) qui ha d'opinar sobre religió o la gent que s'hi creu o la politica, i per tant, només poso les noticies i cada u que pensi el que vulgui....
....
I'm not gonna be the one (today) who comments on religion or people who believe, or, for that matter, politics, so I'll just put the news links on here directly. Judge for yourselves:

"Saint Theresa is helping Spain in times of crisis", Spanish Home Affairs Minister. Click here (English). 
Or here in Spanish.

Spanish Minster for Economy appeals to the Virgin Mary to help create employment. Click here for video (Spanish)

Spanish Home Affairs Minster awards medal to the Virgin Mary for "maintaining a close collaboration with police, particularly during the acts celebrated in Holy Week, and for sharing police values such as dedication, caring, solidarity and sacrifice". Click here - in English.

However, adds yours truly, when asked on whether she could get Spain out of the crisis, Saint Theresa said ...

It Might Get Loud #JimmyPage #TheEdge #JackWhite

El tercer documental que he mirat aquesta setmana, ja ho vaig veure fa 2 anys per primer cop. It Might Get Loud, nos explica l'historia de tres dels guitarristes de rock més bons del món, Jimmy Page, The Edge, i Jack White. D'on van sortir, com van aprendre, quins estils toquen - i un monton d'anecdotes interessants per qualsevol fan de la musica rock - fan que la pel·licula se'ns fa curt! També els tres es troben junts per a xerrar i tocar junts. Si sents curiositat per la musica rock dels ultims 50 anys, aquest documental també és un "must-see"!

Ja vaig penjar algunes peces de la pel·licula fa 2 anys, per aixo avui, posarem una cançó de cada u dels protagonistes:

....

The third music-based documentary I'm going to praise is It Might Get Loud. The history and life of three of the great rock guitarists, albeit each one from a diferent time period. Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. Their lives, upbringing, first steps on the road to fame, and musical fulfillment - their different concepts and playing techniques - loads of amusing and interesting anecdotes ... it all adds up to a "must see" for anyone interested in the last 50 years of rock music. The three stars also meet up to chat together and play a couple of tunes.

I posted these a couple of years back when I first saw this film, so today what I'll do is post different songs they are each well-known for (gulp, losing control of my English here!)

El pozo de Aran - Carlos Nuñez / Anabela

Regarding the tragic train accident in Galicia on Wednesday there is little I can add, or want to. Time will tell, and time may heal.
A bit of Galician music while we ponder on just how easy it is to be here one day, gone the next ....

City Girl - Kevin Shields #Googlespam #LostTranslating

Fa unes dècades ens van dir que els robots acabarien fent tota la feina i natros estaríem descansant tot el dia en una hamaca. Pos, resulta que no ha sigut així. No obstant això, hi ha diversos àmbits de la vida on si que han fet espai els robots ... per exemple, en el tema de la traducció. Hi ha mil i un programes informàtics que pretenen poder fer la feina del traduir d’una llengua a una altra. 

Pos, avui només us volia avisar que serveixen de ben poc! És difícil apreciar el malament que encara funcionen (suposo que aniran millorant) si no domines les dos llengües però de veritat us puc assegurar que fan traduccions fatals. Evidentment entre dos llengües d’un mateix arrel, com poden ser els que un dia van sortir del llatí, poden tenir més èxit – però encara així, haureu vist que les traduccions del castellà al català més bé semblen estar redactades en catanyol.

Però el tema és més greu quan mirem les traduccions entre dos llengües totalment diferents com són el català i l’anglès. L’estrany, per mi, són aquestes empreses que continuen usant el Google Translator per traduir les seves pagines webs, menus, fulls d’informació – fins i tot cartes i emails! Em diuen, no cal ser purista Brian, que l’important és comunicar. Pos, jo els contesto: (1) de vegades ni s’arriba a comunicar correctament per culpa dels errors i malentesos que poden haver-n’hi, (2) si arribes a “comunicar”, potser el client/empresari pensarà que està comunicant amb un idiota (la gent rarament entenen les dificultats per parlar la seva llengua i així cada petit error es magnifica en la seva opinió de tu), (3) en un món on tots estem competint, creus que el client anirà a una empresa que no ha pres la molèstia de fer la feina ben feta, o a aquella que ha tingut cura de la llengua i presentació de la feina?

Aquí un parell d’errors que hem vist en pocs dies: un artista parlant de que “mima cada detall”, pos, a la pagina web en anglès diu “spoiling every detail” – malmetre tots els detalls!

O aquesta frase en un altre web que bàsicament no té cap sentit! "The easiest way to back up if you fall into the water where they touch the ground standing”

En una altra pagina web que està venent kayaks i canoes, la versió anglesa parla de “cars” – cotxes!! Gràcies a Google.

O simplement una frase agafada a l’atzar de les noticies d’avui en anglès:

"Tour trucks for Bruce Springsteen were given parking tickets ahead of his concert in Leeds."

En català ens dona: "Camions turístic de Bruce Springsteen rebre multes d'estacionament abans del seu concert a Leeds."

Es pot entendre? Potser si, però vols que la teva pagina web “només” es pot entendre?

...

Remember those black and white films where they told us the future would be ours for the taking, watching the robots do the work while we sip a cocktail? Well, it ain’t so. However, the few odd machines and gadgets have crept into our lives. I have a bone to pick with one such “robot”, though, and believe its inventors have been reading too much Douglas Adams. The (in)famous Google Translator.

OK, maybe between two languages with a common Latin root (French and Catalan etc) it can throw up an acceptable job - though far from perfect -, but in most cases (English to anything, and visa versa), it’s not worth the bytes it takes up. It’s hard to appreciate just how bad a job it does (hopefully it will improve) if you do not have a good understanding of the two languages you are working with, but believe me, it leaves a lot to be desired. The funny, or sad, thing is how many people believe this is good enough for the foreign language versions of their websites, tourist leaflets, menus, even letters and emails!

They say, well Brian, at the end of the day it’s all about communication, not grammar accuracy. To which I answer (1) yeah, but with some of the confusing options it throws out, I’m sure communication is often not achieved or it can even lead to misunderstandings, (2) yeah, communicate – but you may be giving the impression to your client that they are communicating with an idiot, and (3) which company would you choose? The one who can’t be bothered to show a basic respect for other languages or the one who’s offered a mistake-free easily understandable and well-presented service?

Today’s rant has come about after seeing a few Big Mistakes recently – for example, a Catalan artist’s web page talks about him “taking care of every detail” in his work in the Catalan version, but the Google-translated English web page says “spoiling every detail”!

Checking out another web page about buying canoes and kayaks, in English they talked about buying a car!

Taking a random sentence from today’s Catalan news, Google translator offers me this in English: “After last year the Venice has some of the heavyweights of American cinema of the season, the festival runs Alberto Barbera still no sacred cows edition of the classic Hollywood stamp cosmopolitan festival, by force must return to limelight charge.”

Understand it? Maybe. But do you really want people reading this level of English on your website?

Wrapped up in books - Belle & Sebastian #SantJordi

So today is Saint Jordi's Day once more. That means Books and Roses galore in Catalonia! By far the most beautiful traditional celebration I have seen during my short time in this world -  if you don't know what I'm talking about click here for last year's info!

Anyway, this celebration is also taking off in other parts of the world and this weekend as part of this, and the ongoing cause to show to the world that Catalans are normal peace-loving folk, not a nasty greedy bunch of nationalists, the Catalans have hit London.

Here they are building their famous "human towers", and here's a video about the book fair in Borough Market.

And here's a hip song :)

I don't want to talk about it - Crazy Horse, Rod Stewart, EBTG, Amy Belle

Diverses versions de la cançó, així cada u pot triar la seva favorita.
...
A few versions of the song to please everyone.
The original (1971):

Rod Stewart's version from 1975 - my fave!
 
 E

Everything but the girl (1988) - wow!
And what about this one - Rod with Amy Belle!

Guilty - Bonnie Raitt #Corrupció_politics (3)

"Inocent fins que es demostri lo contrari", una frase que sona molt bé a les pel·lícules americanes perque normalment resulta que el sospitos principal realment és inocent - si no és una pel·lí moderna on fan un "double-twist" i al final quan tots pensavem que era inocent, torna a demostrar la seva culpabilitat.

És una frase que té molt de sentit pels juristes, però per a mi, poca cosa, per no dir no res mateix. Que els politics, i cia, s'agafen a aquest eslogan per no dimitir ni marxar, pos, no és ni etic no correcte - perque la frase no és correcta. 

A vore, un cop que has comés algun delicte, ja saps tu mateix que ets culpable, tan si t'enxampen o no. Si un politic roba, menteix, enganya, o un funcionari es fa 200 fotocopies a la feina, o un conductor aparca damunt d'un pas de peatons, o .... tothom que fa alguna cosa malament, o és babarota, o sap ben bé que ho ha fet. Llavors, també sap que és culpable. Depenent del sentit de l'etica de cada u o de la gravetat dels fets, pos, cada u és lliure de fer el que vulgui després, però lo minim és saber tu, internament, que has estat trapella!

I precisament, un representant politic, en el qual hem depositat la nostra confiança per portar el pais o ciutat cap endavant, són els primers que, en saber que han actuat malament, haurien de marxar.

Despres, si la policia els poden enxampar i si acaben tenint consequencies legals (un diputat de Barnsley, Anglaterra, va passar 3 mesos al preso per haver cobrat 15.000 en despeses de manera irregular), pos, millor que millor. Però el primer pas, seria que actuessen com persones humans normals amb un minim de auto-respecte i respecte pels demés (i pel sistema democratic), i marxessen.

....

Innocent until proven guilty. The "phrase of the month" over here in Catalonia. As more and more councillors, mayors, MPs, and so on, are being imputed or charged on counts of corruption, this phrase is coming to mean "so, until I am sentenced I will not give up on my role, salary, perks, pensions, political standing, and with a bit of luck the court case could take 10 years and meanwhile I'll stay where I am2. That is, whereas I'm sure in 90% of the civilised (!!) democratic world, the first whiff of a court case leads to resignations on demand, Catalan politicians are more bare-faced. 

But, the point is, outside of a court of law, "innocent until proven guilty" is a fallacy. From the very first moment you do something wrong, you know you are guilty. Or you're stupid. From politicians screwing the tax-payer, to people helping themselves to 200 free photocopies at work, or parking their car on a zebra crossing - the moment you do it, you know you've done it, whether you're caught red-handed or not. Obviously, depending on each person's moral values and the seriousness of the "crime" committed, each person will act differently - but the thing we all have in common, is that we all know when we've been naughty, don't we?

So, Mr Politician, don't wait for the police to come calling, or the judge to work his way round to you. If you've been a naughty man, at least show a bit of self-respect, and respect for those of us paying your wages, and leave office! If the full weight of the law does fall on you (a Barnsley MP went to jail for 3 months for fiddling his expenses), so much the better, but at least save a bit of dignity (for yourself and the system) and get out now.

Austin Powers #Corruption_and_spying (2)

Continuant amb el tema d'ahir, avui toca espies:

...

Continuing with the corruption stories we mentioned in yesterday's post - So how do we know all this? Well, presumably the police are doing their bit but there's also lots of stories being leaked to the press - from people who probably weren't getting their "fare share" of the "slush fund" (new word there: "a fund for bribing public officials or carrying on corruptive propaganda"), or who've been caught and are trying to either blackmail their way out of trouble, or drag the rest down with them. For example, apparently the King of Spain's son-in-law has been on the fiddle for years, but being who he is, well, only his "business" partner was having serious problems with the law. Until he decided to squeal! Watch this space!

But all this fun and games has now taken a new twist into the realm of Austin Powers or Tom and Jerry.....

An ex-girlfriend (can you trust them? Who knows, but it makes for a good story!) of the son of the ex-President of Catalunya (following?), has declared that this respectable President's son, has been driving to Switzerland for years with a car-boot full of €uros in cash (presumably) on behalf of the political party (CiU) they belong to. And how do we know? Well, she has taken her story to the press and the police, but before that, she spilled the beans at a private meal with the leader of the Catalan PP party, hoping she'd make use of the story. She didn't, she says. But how do we know about the meal with the PP? Well, apparently the flower vase in the restaurant was bugged - a private detective firm was following the ex-girlfriend to see what  dirt she would come up with about CiU? Who paid the detectives? Apparently, the socialist party (PSC)! Confused? So are they, I imagine!

This has now all come out in the press and it turns out that the private eyes have been spying on all 3 parties (PP, CiU, PSC) for years, presumably under the orders of the parties themselves! It seems that some parties even pay for the detectives to spy on their own members or ministers!

And you wonder why Merkel is unsure about bailing us out!

Incapable of love - Dexys #LP_of_the_year_2012

Ja s'han acabat les votacions i podem dir per fi quin ha sigut el Disc del 2012 per Tannu Tuva.  Redoblamenet de tambors..... s'obre el sobre i surt el nom .... One Day I'm Going To Soar pels Dexys (abans conegut com a Dexys Midnight Runners). Original, a no pugui més, quines veus, quins instruments, i quin humor, una retornada d'aquelles que fan historia. Despres de 20000 anys sense saber res de Kevin Rowland, que tregui aixo de la maniga ens deixa sense paraules. 

Per la cançó us deixem aquesta "conversa" que ens recorda als grans duets de Meatloaf, salvant les distancies!

....

So, the votes are in and counted. We can finally announce Tannu Tuva's 2012 LP of the Year - drum roll, ..... opening the envelope .... it's - One Day I'm Going To Soar by Dexys (formerly known as Dexys Midnight runners). A classic pop-soul album, but amazingly original at the same time. Great voices, great instruments, and a great sense of humour! What a comeback! Years and years without hearing anything from Kevin Rowland, and he comes back with this! 

For today's song, what about this beauty which somehow reminds me of those duets Meatloaf used to amaze us with.

Beatles, Clint Eastwood and Bill Fay #newmusic

Primera entrada del bloc per l'any 2013, i encara que ja han passat dies, toca comentar la musica que vam rebre de regals de nadal. Despres de calcetins, potser el regal que més il·lusió em fa és la musica.

Pos aixo, aquest any m'ha tocat el segon disc dels Anthology dels Beatles :) Nyam nyam, bonissim, com tot el que han fet. M'encanta sentir les primeres versions de les peces que ja son classiques, o B-sides o "rarities" que dificilment sentiries si no fos per aquesta col·lecció.

Després ens ha tocat la BSO de la pel·lícula del Changeling de Clint Eastwood. Ja feia temps que volia agafar una de les BSOs que Clint mateix composa, m'encanten, i sobretot em van perfecte per a la "banda sonora" quan estic treballant a l'ordenador. Clint i un got de whiskey i ja et pots enfrentar a una nit de feina davant el teclat!

El tercer CD és el nou de Bill Fay, Life is People. Per si no esteu al cas, Bill va gravar 2 LPs bonissims al principi dels anys 70, i despres res més fins l'any passat. No puc fer el xulo i dir que ja li coneixia des de sempre - jo li vaig descobrir potser fa 5 o 6 anys a traves d'un article i vaig buscar els primers LPs pènsant que ja s'havia jubiliat o desaparegut del mapa. Sorpresa total quan l'any passat va publicar aquesta joia.

.....

Although we're well into 2013, this is my first post and we have to go over the Christmas music present list. After socks, what else could one wish for at Christmas but a few musical gifts.

This year I got the 2nd volume of the Beatles Anthology collection. Pure delight for Beatles' fans, with its early versions, B-sides, rarities, and a bit of Beatles' banter.

I also got the soundtrack to Clint Eastwood's film, Changeling, composed by the great man himself. Perfect listening for late night computer work. Clint's music, a keyboard and a glass of whiskey and the night is yours.

The third LP was the new one, Life is People, by Bill Fay - his first new work since 1971 I think! 

Spotlight on Christmas - Rufus Wainwright

Gloria #Three_Songs

Ja està aquí de nou, el concurs anual per "Millor cançó que es diu Gloria". Aqui els tres nominats ....
...
That time of year again - the annual "Best song called Gloria" competition. This year's three nominees ...

U2, Laura Branigan, Mando Diao.

Passejada per l'historia de South Yorkshire / A walk through the history of SYorks

Avui intentarem explicar una bona passejada que podeu fer – si aneu 1000 km cap al nord, al comtat de Yorkshire! Dic “intentar” perquè això farem de memòria i amb el mínim ajut del Google. El començament serà als aparcaments del Elsecar Heritage Centre, just detras del pub el Market Inn, on podríem acabar la ruta amb una bona pinta. Aquest Centre és un intent de trobar una utilitat als antics edificis de les mines de carbó d’Elsecar, i aportar algo de diners i feina a aquell poble, al qual se’l va treure el seu motiu de ser als anys 80 quan van tancar la mina. Com podeu veure, la ruta és una bona excusa per a conèixer algo de l’historia d’aquest lloc. Fa un segle hi havia uns 100.000 persones treballant a les mines de South Yorkshire, fa 50 anys uns 50.000, i ara potser uns 5. Sis dels meus 7 oncles hi van treballar i diversos cosins, alguns van morir massa jovens i un va morir en un accident als 20 anys. Ara molta gent d’aquí estan a l’atur o han hagut de marxar. Gairebé tots els pobles del South Yorkshire tenien una o més mines de carbó i si no treballaves, depenies dels treballadors indirectament. Tot això va acabar quan Thatcher les va tancar, sense res a canvi.

Detras del aparcament veurem un camí que puja cap a un bosc (Kings Wood). Anem-hi. Passem el bosc i sortirem a uns camps enormes de blat. Per sort a Anglaterra hi ha molts de camins públics i aquí n’hi ha un que creu el camp. Desprès, un altre camp, fins que arribem a dalt d’un turo, sempre direcció sud/sud-est. A dalt de tot el camí continua, ara entre uns camps de blat a l’esquerra i un bosquet (Lee Wood) a la dreta. Passat uns 20 minuts, trobarem una clariana a ma dreta. I veurem això!

Aquest “monument” és de fet un folly, en anglès, aquests edificis sense gaire sentit ni utilitat que construïen abans els rics als seus terrenys. I amb això tenim el segon punt d’història del dia. Tot aquesta zona abans pertanyia al Earl of Fitzwilliam. Les mines, les cases, les granjes, tots els pobles dels voltants hi pertanyien. Ara no, però quan l’últim hereu de la família va adonar-se que ja no era una situació sostenible, va crear una fundació per tenir cura de tot, una entitat que vigili per a que la gent pugui continuar treballant en les petites industries o empreses ques’han muntat, i per a que un estil de vida i una estètica de poble tradicional no es perdis. Evidentment no abarca tant com abans, però si tot un poble, Wentworth, on totes les cases son de llogar, de la fundació, i les granjes i empreses.

Bé, aquest monument es diu Needle’s Eye (l’Ull de l’agulla) ja que es diu que el Earl ho va fer construir per guanyar una aposta – va apostar que ell podria conduir els seus cavalls per l’ull d’una agulla ...

Continuem pel camí i d’aquí 5 minuts sortim a la carretera. La creuem i seguim per un estret camí asfaltat (Station Lane) que ens porta a un grapat de 4 o 5 cases, amb cabina vermella de telèfons si no l’han tret;)

Davant nostre, veurem un altre bosc a l’esquerra i un monument que en sobresurt. Entrem el bosc i podem arribar-hi. No està obert per pujar normalment però és un altre folly, és diu Hoobers’ Stand i si tenim la sort de poder pujar dalt de tot, hi ha unes vistes espectaculars.

OK, tornem pel camí d’asfalt fins la carretera i baixem cap a l’esquerra. Sortirem a una carretera nacional però amb una bona vorera. Seguim-la 5 minuts, i veurem l’entrada a Wentworth Park a l’esquerra. Entrem-hi. Ja estem en els terrenys del parc, on els Earls tenen la seva residencia, Wentworth Woodhouse, encara que el parc sempre ha estat obert al públic. Abans els miners hi celebraven quantitat de festes, i ara la gent a l’atur hi passeja. El parc és preciós i al mig trobarem aquesta casa !

Té la fatxada més llarga d’Europa – és una casa poc coneguda però tots els experts diuen que té poc a envejar als palaus i mansions més famosos com fins i tot el palau de Buckingham. Encara que el parc és públic, la casa en si és privat. La fundació de Fitzwilliam no va poder seguir pagant els costos del seu manteniment i ara ho han comprat una gent, que sembla que la volen obrir per poder visitar i tornar a donar una mica de vida a aquesta zona.

Si continuem pel parc, veurem una manada de cérvols (que pertanyen a la reina Isabel!), i al final del camí, arribarem a uns llacs. Aquí jo pegaria mitja volta, i tornaria a pujar i sortir del parc. Seguim la carretera cap a l’esquerra 200m i entrem el poble de Wentworth. 

Si agafem el primer carrer a l’esquerra podem entrar el Centre de Jardineria que ha aprofitat una part dels jardins de la mansió. És un petit “poble” amb activitats pels petits, tea-rooms, restaurant, gelats fet a ma, carn produït al poble etc –perfecte per a dinar! I si entrem els jardins antics que han conservat, podem veure el ossera que tenien els Fitzwilliam !

Sortim del Garden Centre i entrem el poble. Bàsicament és un únic carrer ple de cases molt paregudes entre si, ja que totes pertanyen a la fundació. Hi ha dos pubs tradicionals que valen la pena visitar! I en un carrer secundari podem visitar les esglésies, una de “nova”, i una antiga on estan enterrats els Earls of Fitzwilliam.

Bé, continuem atravessant el poble, fins una carretera a la dreta senyalitzat Elsecar i Hoyland. Anem-hi i després de 5 minuts veurem un camí públic a ma dreta que tornarà a creuar camps i boscos fins arribar a l’aparcament original. Sense parar, potser el camí dura uns 2 o 3 hores, però evidentment s’ha de gaudir del dia i fer-ho durar aprofitant els photo-opportunities i llocs per beure i menjar!

Davant de l’aparcament podem trobar el parc públic d’Elsecar, amb un gran bandstand on podem sentir musica en directa si és un diumenge d’estiu, i on poden passejar els jubilats i aturats dia si dia també.

Passem de llarg el Market Inn de moment i entrem al Heritage Centre (centre de patrimoni històric). 

Hi trobarem lavabos on potser ja tenim ganes d’anar, segons quantes pintes hem begut, i un centre de visitants on t’explicaran que hi ha. Bàsicament a tots els petits edificis antics de la mina, hi ha botigues i tallers artesanals que intenten donar sortida a la gent d’aquest poble. D’iniciatives n’hi ha, però de diners de gastar, pocs. També un petit tram de via de ferrocarril on uns voluntaris han restaurat un tren de vapor. Alguns dies funciona. És un lloc interessant per a visitar per l’historia que hi ha, i a la vegada trist pels mateixos motius ...

Com a punt principal de la visita, val la pena visitar la maquina de vapor que usaven antiguament per bombejar l’aigua de les mines. És del tipus de Newcomen (un Newcomen steam engine), i és l’únic que queda en peu en el seu lloc de funcionament original a tota Anglaterra. Alguns dies de l’any uns voluntaris ho obren i fan una visita guiada. Valdria la pena abans de planificar la ruta, posar-nos en contacte amb el Visitor Centre per saber quins dies/hores ho obren.

Bé, encara que jo he fet aquesta ruta milers de vegades, l’idea d’escriure l’apunt m’ha vingut al cap llegint aquest llibre, Black Diamonds, que explica l’historia fascinant de la família Fitzwilliam i la casa Wentworth Woodhouse, i de pas l’historia social i industrial de South Yorkshire.

La musica, la típica musica de les bandes de vent dels miners al bandstand d’Elsecar ....

...................

 

Inspired by an amazing book I’ve just read, Black Diamonds,  I’ve decided to post on one of my favourite walks in South Yorkshire – basically as it’s one I can do from “home” (i.e. my parents’ home), but also as it is beautiful, peaceful and educational etc. Enough struggling for adjectives and let’s get to it ...

One possible starting point (it’s a circular route) would be the Elsecar HeritageCentre car park behind the Market Inn at the bottom of Elsecar. The Heritage Centre is basically an attempt to give some use to the old pit workshops and buildings left behind after the pits were closed down, while offering the local community a chance to get back on its feet after Mrs Thatcher so determinedly destroyed their lives back in the ‘80s. Anyway, more later when we come back here at the walk’s end. 

From the car park, head up a lane/path between the car park and the centre. You should be heading roughly south-east (I say, roughly, as I’m currently sitting 1000 km away writing this from memory) uphill. You soon enter Kings Wood, and have to stay left going up the hill, as opposed to veering right along other paths. After a short while, the path comes out into a corn (or wheat?) field and goes straight across it, still climbing. Another stile and another field and keep going up until eventually the fields “move”, and you have field to the left and wood to the right (Lee Wood for those of you with the sense to have packed an OS map). After another few minutes (maybe 20 from the car park), you will see a clearing on the right with this little beauty!

It’s one of Earl Fitzwilliam’s follies. The Fitzwilliams used to own everything you can see around here - villages, mines, farms, the lot. As you can see, apart from the views, this walk offers a good insight into the history of this area; mines, Earls, the rich and the workers, and this is why I insist on reading Black Diamonds before setting out. This particular folly is called Needle’s Eye and the story goes that Fitzwilliam built it so as to win a bet that he could drive his horse and carriage through the eye of a needle. Anyway, the woods are private, as are the lands hereabouts, and most of the village we are about to enter (Wentworth) – owned by Wentworth Estates, set up when the last generations of Fitzwilliams realised their situation was unsustainable and set up this entity to take over the running of this area as a private concern. A wise decision which has enabled this village to retain its character and many local people to work or set up their own businesses. So, the wood is private land but there’s nothing to say we can’t wander up to the folly to sit down and have a snack – and enjoy the views in both directions.

Afterwards, continue along the path till it comes out on a road. More or less straight across, you will see a country lane (Station Lane) continuing in the same direction as the path. Along here you will pass a small hamlet, farms, fields, and come up to small wood on your left. You should be able to see another monument sticking out of the wood. Walk up the path towards it. Known as Hoober Stand, the views from the top are incredible – but it’s only open on odd days (usually Sunday afternoons in summer) so it might be worth finding out when, before doing this walk – or doing it twice!

Having visited Hoober Stand and checked out its history on your smartphone internet, walk back through the wood, and along the lane to the road you crossed earlier. Turn left and walk down this road until you come out onto the main Wentworth-Rotherham road. There are wide verges to walk on.

 Turn right and walk towards the village of Wentworth. In no time you will see the main gate into the grounds of Wentworth Woodhouse on your left. Cross and enter (ice cream van sometimes available!). You can walk through the grounds, admiring the buildings of the Woodhouse on your right, and eventually you will get this view.

The Woodhouse itself – residence of the Fitzwilliams until halfway through the 20th century when they handed it over to the local council who opened a further education college, which closed down in the 70s or 80s. The house slowly went to ruin, while the grounds were an excellent place for dog-walking or for kids to spend long summer holiday days languishing about. The council eventually sold it to a family who tried to restore it but it's a black hole for investments. A heritage association took over (not sure if they are linked to the NT) and have opened parts to the public while they try to restore it. Other events take place too, Christmas fairs, gin tastings, summer pop festival etc. As you can see, the front of the building is amazing, the longest in Europe and many “experts” say this house is a hidden treasure of England with nothing to envy of other more well-known stately homes. It has been closed to the public for decades but tours are slowly becoming available, and as you can imagine, the interior is amazing. All in all, mixed feelings. Built on the back of people's labour and the riches of the earth (coal), but still fascinating and local families have fond memories of the Fitzwilliams - despite having little option but to send their 8-year-old kids down the mines working back in the day!

Once you’ve taken a couple of photos, follow the path downwards to the bottom of the park, as far as a couple of lakes, passing along the way a herd of deer – property of Queen Elizabeth II.

Turn round and walk back up and out of the park. Follow the road left for two minutes and you enter the village. But just before that, at the war memorial, turn left, 200 yards up this road, and into the Wentworth Garden Centre, wherein you can enjoy homemade ice-cream, a cuppa, or a full blown meal in its recently enlarged tea-room. Plus you must pay the 70p to enter the Walled Gardens! Originally belonging to the Woodhouse, they are amazing and include a bear pit (with no bear at present)!

Back to the village. The main road goes straight through and is worth following to see how beautifully kept the houses and cottages are, as well as visiting two great pubs – The Rockingham Arms (my personal fave) and The George and Dragon (worth visiting too!). However, you should also allow time to follow the tree-lined path which runs parallel (behind the row of houses), and which you can get onto opposite the garden centre exit. It’s a nice walk up to the churches – the “new” one and the old one where we can see the graves of the Fitzwilliam dynasty.

As you reach the end of the village, turn right down the road to Hoyland/Elsecar. 5 minutes later you see a wood-yard on your right with a public footpath to the side. This path will take you through woods and over fields back down to the car park you started out from. Depending on how many pubs you visit, how much you eat in the garden centre and how long you stop and stare at some of the sights, the circular walk could have taken between 2.5 hours and a full day!

There are actually two car parks, connected, and they lead into the Heritage Centre, but maybe first you’d like to cross the road and visit Elsecar Park and its bandstand (summer  Sunday afternoons often feature music).

The Heritage Centre is a fascinating place for many reasons. To breathe the history in these buildings, and to see what it meant to this area (and others nearby) to lose all their industry at the stroke of a pen. There is a Visitor Centre which may be a good place to start out, after a quick visit to the loos if you’ve followed my advice so far on cuppas and beer.

 The buildings themselves are under-used and under-visited (thanks, I believe, to the council's failure to really get behind the area) but show a desire by many people to set themselves up in business or share their initiatives with others. Many art and craft places, a cool printing place, traditional sweet shop, children’s indoor playhouse (avoid!!) etc. Down at the bottom of the pit yards, the old steam railway is gradually being restored by volunteers and may be working the day you visit. Ask at the Visitor Centre for the Newcomen Engine, a steam-operated engine for pumping water out of the mines, it is the only one of its kind still in its original location. I have never been inside, but apparently there are also the odd guided tours nowadays if you ask about them. 

And that’s all folks, unless you fancy another quick pint in the Market Inn – if you’re not driving.

If you know anything about the mining industry, or if you’ve read the Black Diamonds book beforehand, this walk is full of history. The contrast between the luxury and wealth of the Fitzwilliams, and the lifestyle and conditions of the miners is clearly on show – but also the connections between them as the Earls were “good” rich folk, those philanthropist ones who really seemed to care for “their” workers. Please read the book before passing judgement!

And now back to Elsecar bandstand ...