Wild Horses - The Stones / Els Rolling

Bé, encara que no m'agrada gaire remarcar les diferencies entre viure a Catalunya o Anglaterra, de vegades em surten les ganes d'explicar alguna i avui teniu sort. Els catalans tendeixen a abreviar els Rolling Stones com a "Els Rolling" mentre els anglesos els diem "The Stones". Suposo perque els catalans estan accostumbrats a que la primera paraula sigui el nom, i no pas l'adjectiu.
Curios.
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As you may recall, I'm not big on pointing out differences between living in Catalonia or England, but here's another one. English folk call The Rolling Stones, The Stones; whereas Catalans abbreviate them as "Els Rolling". I suppose it's as Catalans are used to the first word being a noun, and the following word the adjective.
Interesting fact, hey!

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.
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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....

The Party's Over - Doris Day #BackToNormality

Bé, ja està, s'acaben les festes i demà a treballar i/o anar a l'escola. Tal com deia en posts anteriors, és només el 3r cop en 25 anys que he passat el nadal aquí - i he fet una petita llista de coses dels nadals anglesos que, no diria que enyoro perque m'agrada adaptar-me i acceptar la vida allì on estic, però si que he notat la seva ausencia!

Bé, s'ha confirmat les meves sospites. Igual com al altres mesos de l'any, he dormit poc. Aqui es va a dormir molt tard, i això es nota. He menjat molta xocolate però encara així, mmm, no he menjat Cadburys :( La tele - no és que he tingut gaire temps per mirar-ho, ja que hem anat de dinar en dinar, però tinc l'impressió que la programació televisiva aqui no té la mateixa importancia que a Anglaterra on tothom s'asseu a la mateixa hora per mirar l'episodi especial de Doctor Who o Gent del barri, per exemple. 

Caminar. De dinars grans i molt de festa, a casa mons pares només en fem el 25 i potser el 26 però despres tenim molts de dies on anem a caminar. No vull dir caminar en el sentit d'agafar el cotxe per anar a un lloc i posar-nos botes i roba del Decatlo, sino surtir de la porta de casa i caminar per on volem fins tornar a casa - o parar a un tea-room. La xarxa de camins publics per fer això és molt gran a Anglaterra i algo que aqui noto a faltar.

Una altra cosa que he notat més que mai aquest any, amb els xiquets una mica més grans - i si heu seguit el bloc des de fa temps, sabreu que és una petita obsessió meva - les deures. Deu-n'hi-do la quantitat de deures que ens han donat aquestes festes. Jo no donaria cap.

Coses que no he enyorat gens - el fred d'un nadal anglès o, pitjor, la pluja, vent, fang, i neu de ciutat (tot gris i groc ple de excrements de gossos i contaminació). I les cues per anar de comprar cada dia cada hora.

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So, Christmas is well and truly over now. It dragged on till today, as kids have the 7th off school, but tomorrow it's back to school and back to work for yours truly. As I said in an earlier post, it's only the 3rd Christmas I've spent in Catalonia despite living here for 25 years. And the first one I've blogged about.

So , have I missed anything from the English Christmases? Well, I wouldn't say "miss" as I'm easily pleased and adapt myself to virtually anything, but I can remark on a few notable absences ... Cadburys' chocolate. I've eaten vast amounts of chocolate these past two weeks, but no Cadbury's. Decent TV. It's not that I'd have had much time to watch TV as our Catalan Christmas has been a very family-meal orientated one, but that moment when 95% of the country gather round the box to watch the Doctor Who or soap opera Christmas special (or new Sherlock!), well, it doesn't happen the same here.

Sleeping. As predicted, I haven't slept much. Too many late nights - and that's without going out drinking, just chatting, playing games, and ...eating! till late every night.

Walking. I don't mean "get in the car, put on expensive boots, and walking trousers" type walking. I mean, "open t'back door and just set off from public path to public path till you find a tea-room" walking. I like walking like this, no planning, no objectives. But it's difficult to fit into a Catalan day, and even more difficult to fit into a Christmas like the one we've had.

One gripe I do have - and again, regular readers will remember it's one of my pet hates - homework. The amount of homework our kids were given to do over the break was unbelievable. 

And three things I haven't missed - bad weather; the rain, wind, sleet, damp, "town snow" coloured yellow and grey with dog poo and car exhaust fumes. And shopping. And adverts for sofas on TV.

Catalan and English traditions at Christmas-time (part 3)

Tercer part de la fascinant trilologia sobre nadals i altres festes a Anglaterra o Catalunya.

Ahir, dia 31, era el dia del “Home dels nassos”, un costum que jo només coneixia a Catalunya – fins ahir, quan 3 persones diferents del nort d’Anglaterra em van dir que els seus iaios o pares també els contava l’historia fa anys. Hmmm, haurem d’investigar.

Bé, ja us vaig dir en el post anterior, passat l’u de gener, els anglesos tornen a la normalidad. A la feina i a l’escola. No hi ha celebració el dia 6 de gener, però si que deuen haver serveis religioses ja que la llegenda ens diu que és el dia que els reis mags van arribar a Belen. La tradició dicta que no s’ha de desmuntar l’arbre ni treure els decorats de nadal fins aquest dia – però la majoria de gent ho fa el mateix dia que tornen a treballar o a classe.

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So, part 3 of the fascinating “Christmas and other traditions in Catalonia and England” series of blogposts. In the previous “New year” post, I forgot to mention the story of “the nose man” – on the 31^st of December, Catalan kids are told to look out for a man who “has as many noses as days in this year” .... get it?! Here he is – but you can also see him (or her) by looking in a mirror. I thought this was a specific Catalan thing but Lo and Behold, yesterday (through the magic of internet social networks) three different people from the north of England said that their parents or grandparents had told them the same story!

So, if there are any “international” followers reading this:

1.       Do you tell this story to kids in your country/region?

2.       And specifically for any English folk – is it just a northern thing? Was it a typical tale in the past (question for the older readers!) which has now been forgotten or pushed aside by the magic of electronic games and the cynicism of the 21^st century?

Right, having made it past New Year, Catalans now get ready for the next big event – the 5^th/6^th January. As the Bible and Charlton Heston explain, the Three Wise Men arrived in Bethlehem with their gifts on the night of the 5^th January. So, Catalans and Spaniards usually take this as their Big Present-giving Day. Many kids get their presents from the Wise Men, and not Father Christmas. 20 years ago, 100% of gifts came this way, but now (thanks to Hollywood and shops out to make more money) traditions have “evolved” and many kids get presents on both the 25^th December and the 5^th January.

On the evening of the 5^th, the Wise Men (know literally here as the “Three Magic Kings”) roll up and parade through town on camels (or tractor-pulled floats, depending on their budget), followed by hundreds of masked helpers playing music, putting on a show (think Disney parade), and carrying gifts. People actually know the names of the Wise Men – Balthazar, Meclhior and Caspar. Apparently two are white or Asian, and one black, due to their countries of origin but I can never remember which is which. Kids throng the streets to see the parade and then rush home to find that the Wise Men have already been to their houses and left them gifts – if they’ve been good. If they’ve been naughty, they get a piece of coal! The Wise Men have a lot of work on and don’t get to some houses till the early hours of the 6^th – for example, in our house, where our kids find their presents (or coal) on the morning of the 6^th. The 6^th January is a public holiday with – you guessed it – a huge family meal. Following that, things start to open up again in the 7^th and schools on the 8^th (allowing the kids an extra day to play – poor creatures, having waited through all the Christmas holidays, they only get their presents 2 days before school!).

Christmas and New Year and so on, Catalonia/England (2) - with a bit of Prince

Més reflexions desordenades sobre aquests dies de festa ... el dia de nadal, el 26 de desembre és diu Boxing Day a Anglaterra, suposadament perquè era el dia que els rics donaven una caixa (a box) amb un regal als servents i/o als pobres. Tal com he dit en el post anterior, és típic aquell dia anar de visites a la família, o anar al pub. També hi ha gent que prefereix una llarga caminada per a gastar les calories del dia 25.

Però, pel que veig a les noticies, l’activitat més habitual avui en dia a Anglaterra és anar a les rebaixes! Cues enormes de gent pegant-se entre ells per a aconseguir una ganga. El tema de les botigues i les rebaixes està totalment liberalitzat a Anglaterra. Poden començar les rebaixes quan volen – algunes botigues comencen el dia 24. I els dies que obren també – durant l’any, la majoria de grans botigues sempre obren en diumenge – i al meu poble, l’any passat vaig vore que per primer cop van obrir el supermercat el dia de nadal.

Passat el 26, hi ha una pausa en la festa – per a continuar comprant – fins la nit del 31, quan, o surts als pubs a beure i cantar, o et quedes a casa mirant una tonteria a la tele i potser fent una copeta d’alguna cosa més forta. Però, per molta gent, no és la festa que era fa anys, i molta gent no fa res. A casa de mons pares, fa anys ja que fem algun joc o mirem la TV, però anem a dormir abans de les 12.

Un altra cosa que és evident és que aquí a Catalunya preneu el tema dels menjars molt més en serio – lo menjar sempre ha  de ser perfecte, i amb un cert grau de formalitat que a Anglaterra no tenim. Allí, els records de nadal normalment es basen en el nadal que vam menjar entrepans perquè el gall d’indi no s’havia descongelat. O l’any que vam cremar les verdures etc. També, típicament portem tots el típic sueter de nadal o els barrets de papa noel o banyes de ren.

Quan els anglesos surten al pub, normalment marxen de casa (a peu, perquè això si que tenen clar, no agafen el cotxe si han de beure – en general) en mini-falda, i samarreta de maniga curta etc per no haver de vigilar l’abric tota la nit. Veig que els catalans es vesteixen més apropriadament per les temperatures de l’hivern!

I ja està, no hi ha cap celebració el dia de reis. Un cop entrat l’any nou, la gent comença a tornar al treball i els xiquets al cole, normalment el dia 3 o 4.

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So, making the most of the post-Xmas, pre-New Year lull, here’s another blog post. As I said previously, Catalans typically have great meals on the 24^th, 25^th and 26^th , with different members of the family – usually with extended family, aunts, in-laws, you name it .... one big difference I’ve noticed is that although everyone has a really good time, the meals are much more formal affairs than the ones I’m used to back in England. Formal, in that the food has to be perfect and is planned and prepared for days in advance. No “frozen turkey” or “burnt sprouts” jokes here to remember Christmases-past. People tend to take the whole thing more seriously making sure the food and drinks are spot on perfect – and there’s no cracker jokes, reindeer hats, Christmas sweaters, or drunken grannies either :(

Oh, I’ve also found out that Catalans celebrate Boxing Day (St Stephen’s Day), but the Spaniards don’t – one more reason for independence!

I’ve also noticed that in England, even in sub-zero temperatures, people wander the streets from pub to pub in mini-skirts or short sleeved t-shirts. Catalans don’t. They dress appropriately for the winter temperatures.

In the middle of the Christmas week, the Catalans celebrate their version of “April Fools’ Day”, on the 28^th. This was the day that, according to the Bible, Herod ordered all the infants to be slaughtered so as to make sure he’d do away with Baby Jesus. Apparently many parents used their wit and different tricks to hide their babies, and this is the origin of this day being a day to play tricks on each other.

Next on the calendar:  New Years’ Eve – this is a big event in Catalonia, celebrated once more with lots of food and drink. The English also drink plenty at major festivities but in my experience they’re happy to accompany the drink with a sandwich or a few cocktail sausages – Catalans aren’t. Food is first. Anyway, people either go out to restaurants or organised events, or hold grand meals at home – usually eating up till midnight at which time they eat 12 grapes, one with each chime of the midnight bells. Eating all 12 while the clock chimes 12, means good luck for the coming year. The party then usually continues until late, or early depending how you look at it.

Last but not least in this trilogy of posts will be coming soon – watch this space! Meanwhile, Happy New Year!!

Christmas in Catalonia and England

 Our Nativity Scene.

Our Christmas Log

Aquest nadal ho passarem a Catalunya – crec que és només el tercer cop en 25 anys que veig un nadal català. El fet és que normalment anem a Anglaterra perquè (a) decanses de veritat només si marxes de casa, (b) és dels pocs moments a l’any quan podem veure la família anglesa, i (c) el nadal és una mica més bonic allí (per mi!).

Però, segur que aquest any ho passarem de meravella –ja tenim l’agenda plena d’activitats i moments socials, a més a més de les ganes de celebrar TOT.

Bé, m’han demanat que expliques una mica les diferencies entre un nadal català i un d’anglès. Recomano llegir el post tan en català com en anglès, perquè potser diré coses diferents.

En la meva experiència, el nadal comença molt més aviat a Anglaterra. Des d’octubre, la gent ja pensa en regals i les botigues en van plenes.

El temps. Allà sempre fa fred i el cel és gris. No neva gaira a la meva zona – Yorkshire – però algun any si, i els dies són molt curts. Si vols veure una mica de llum de dia, t’has de espavilar a matinar, i pensa que a partir de les 12 el sol ja va de baixa. Són dies per estar dins de casa, mirant un sense-fí de pel·lícules de nadal o estrenos de novetats de Disney etc.

A Anglaterra es menja molt, però aquí també. Potser fins i tot aquí es posa més emfasi en el menjar – al UK el dia de nadal, fem com un gran dinar de diumenge però amb quantitats doblats. El típic són el gall d’indi, “stuffing”, i moltes verdures fetes de diferents maneres. De primer, una sopa o un cocktail de gambes. I molts de postres, sobretot Christmas Pudding, que pot sortir cremant si ho fem bé (inundat amb cognac). Però, sigui com sigui, en una hora hem acabat i estem al sofa dormint.

A casa meva, la nit del 24 no fem res d’especial, com a molt bevem un licor més original i anem a dormir aviats. El 25 ens llevem aviat i trobem tots els regals baix l’arbre. Quan ja els hagim obert i muntat, i hem esmorzat, potser sortirem tots (menys la mare – ja se sap que li toca ...) a passejar, a escoltar musica pel carrer i/o a visitar algun tiet. Natros dinem entre l’una i les dos, només la família directa, i passem la tarde a casa jugant, mirant la tele, i dormint. De vegades venen tiets, iaios, o amics a l’hora de sopar (5 o 6) i fem entrepans del gall d’indi que ha sobrat i continuem jugant.

És bastant típic el dia 26 anar també a visitar els tiets i iaios que queden per a veure. De casa en casa, i a cada casa un got de jerez o una cervesa, o una tassa de te. A les cases que arribàvem a l’hora de dinar o sopar, pos, entrepans i snacks.

Que més? Si, el nadal potser una bona època per gastar diners. Però (a) no passa res per gastar si en tens (tampoc és que t’ho emportaràs a l’ataud), i (b) cada u és lliure de consumir tant o tant poc com vol – segur que hi ha famílies que no gasten tant en regals, i/o que pensen en altres aspectes del nadal.

Evidentment, sent anglesos, també es beu molt – però cada cop menys diria jo, degut als preus i una mica de sensibilització! Quan jo era un nen, recordo que mon pare en plegar de treballar el dia 24, ell i els amics anaven sempre directes al pub i no teníem mai ni idea de l’hora que arribaria a casa ni en quin estat. Quan li despertàvem el dia 25 a les 6 del matí, normalment es podia calcular com li havia anat ...

Lo que jo enyoraré aquest any, a banda de tot això – pos, lo dormir! Dormim molt més a Anglaterra!  A casa nostra estrany és la nit que anem a dormir més tard de les 10.30 :)

Per cert, jo he explico com un anglès que viu a Catalunya, però per a saber lo que diu una catalana que viu a Anglaterra, recomano visitar aquest blog!

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So, only the third Christmas we’ve spent in Catalonia in the last 25 years. Normally we go “back” to Yorkshire to see family and friends – and also because, let’s face it, you only really rest when you get away from it all. So, what’s a Catalan Christmas? Well, here’s my personal highly subjective view on a small town (Tortosa has a population of 35,000) Catalan festive season. I suppose life in the big city of Barcelona is more cosmopolitan and a mixed bag of Christmas festivities, but here in Tortosa it’s still relatively traditional.

Firstly, Christmas shopping and spending money is obviously common here but not to the extent that it is in England. The whole thing doesn’t really kick into action until December, whereas in England the shops are full of Christmas stuff from September onwards! Another example, today, the 23^rd, the supermarkets opened at 9.15 as usual and the shops I wanted to go to didn’t open until 10 am, as usual!

The weather – contrary to popular belief it does get cold in Catalonia. All those British ex-pats emigrating here as you don’t need to spend money on central heating – well, you do! But, obviously it never gets as cold as England, and 90% of the time we get blue skies which is great (but not very Christmassy). Yesterday we were around 12º in the daytime, maybe 5º at night. I remember, though, having Christmas dinner outside on the verandah in 2003, at about 20º!

Catalans are not big on Father Christmas, although he has joined the party recently. A more traditional and common activity is the “Christmas log”. Families search for these logs in the forest (or in a supermarket if you live in a city). They then cover them with blankets to keep them warm and spend the days before Christmas feeding the log mandarin peel or carob beans. Kids leave the food at night, and while they sleep, the log eats! Then, on Christmas Eve, the family gather around and take it in turns to hit the log with a stick while singing a song. One of the songs talks about hitting the log until it (literally) pisses white wine and shits sweets and treats. And yes, the log does sh*t little presents for all the family. You continue beating it and looking under the blanket until the poor log has nothing more to give up and merely excretes a toilet roll (or an onion). 

Which brings us on to the typical tradition of setting up a nativity scene at home. You can buy or make all the necessary elements – the barn, animals, chief characters, flora and fauna etc. Even atheists like ourselves do it! However, the most surprising element for a non-Catalan is to see one of the ever-present characters, the “crapper” – el caganer. A guy who has been taken short at just the wrong moment, and while Baby Jesus is being born, he’s hiding behind the bushes having a cr*p!

As you’re beginning to see, the Catalans are a very scatological people with what I’d call a toilet sense of humour – in fact I only discovered the word “scatological” when I first came to Catalonia and read am English book explaining Catalan customs and character.

Here’s Stephen Fry on the subject, and the following song is a Christmassy song devoted to the “caganer”.

 Which neatly links to another aspect; for me, Christmas in England is music – Christmas songs, modern and traditional, everywhere you go, radio, TV, shops, people’s houses. It’s a significantly less present aspect of the Catalan Christmas, although some shops seem to have cottoned on to the idea that if you pipe festive tunes in to the customers, they may spend more!

Christmas Day and Boxing Day are usually taken up with big family meals – with all the family, and go on for hours. Food can be a sort of pasta shape soup, canalones, sea food, and so on. I’ll let you know more in a couple of days!

New Years’ Eve and the “Arrival of the Three Wise Men” are big events, also to be blogged about soon.

Having said all that, by coincidence today I’ve found an excellent blogpost by an “internet friend”, a Catalan who lives in England, who can explain Catalan customs much better than me – please visit her here :)

Bon nadal!

If you love to read ... #Libraries #Biblioteques

Vam aprofitar les vacances de l'estiu per visitar, i usar, la biblioteca nova de Hoyland - el meu ciutat natal. Som molt fans de les bibliotques, i encara que sembla que avui en dia amb tant d'internet a casa, la gent no li cal anar-hi, a mi em sembla que s'han adpatat prou bé als temps moderns. Potser ja no anirem a buscar quin és el capital de Nova Zelanda, o com cuinar un cupcake, però si que continuen atraient "clients" tant pels llibres o per les activitats i opportunitats que ofereixen.

 Natros usem molt la biblioteca de Tortosa, tant per llibres, com per participar en actes culturals o pels jovens. A l'agost vam fer lo mateix a Hoyland, anant cada 4 dies a buscar més llibres i passar una estona fullejant-los allì mateix. Fins i tot vam tenir temps de participar en el projecte especial de l'estiu, on els xiquets els hi tocava un certificat, punt de llibre, enganxines etc, i al final una medalla si conseguien llegir un cert numero de llibres durant les vacances. En fi, jo content de continuar usant les biblioteques (encara recordo el meu primer viatge en autobus tot sol, als 11 anys - era per anar a la Gran Ciutat, Barnsley, precisament per anar a la biblioteca!), però més content de veure que les biblios estan "alive and kicking" i sembla que els nostres xiquets continuaran la tradició :)
Ah, si, em pregunteu si hi ha diferencies entre biblioteques angleses i catalanes? Pos, per exemple, a Tortosa si tornes un llibre tard, no et fan res; a Anglaterra si passa un minut del deadline, et cau la multa si o si! Aixo si, potser són només 10 peniques per dia, però s'asseguren que els llibres tornen quan toca. A Anglaterra, per agafar "prestats" CDs o DVDs, a més, s'ha de pagar una petita tarifa - potser una lliura. A Tortosa no es paga res.

Us deixo amb una versio de Rolling in the Deep que ha fet Sarah Ada (NYSRA) per animar la gent a llegir!

...

Back in the summer, another of our adventures on holiday in England involved visiting the brand new library that's opened up in Hoyland, and then visiting it again, and again ... the kids loved it and even participated in the Summer Reading Project, getting all kinds of little gifts to encourage them to keep reading - and if they managed to finish the project (I think it involved six books), they got a little medal. Our kids love libraries, and we are keen users of the one in Tortosa - following on from their father's example, as I've always been a big library user. Maybe nowadays we don't need a library to find out the capital of New Zealand, or how to cook a cupcake, or get from Rome to Paris on a bank holiday, but I think there is still a big need for libraries and the services they offer - and I see they have adapted too. In Tortosa not a day goes by without some kind of activity - cultural, social, for kids, for adults ... there's always something to do and see.

So, libraries, be they English or Catalan, keep it up! And politicians, watch what you are doing - he who cuts back on present education and culture, kills off the future of their society as someone once said, probably.
Ah, yes, you're asking if there are any differences in English and Catalan libraries? Well, for example, if your book us past its return date, in Tortosa you don't get fined, you just get reminder emails. In England if I remember correctly there is an immediate fine - maybe it's only 10p a day, but there's no getting out of it. Another difference is that the CD/DVD borrowing service in Tortosa is free - in Hoyland you have to pay a small fee to borrow this kind of material.

Anyway, here's a cool version of Rolling in the Deep by Sarah Ada (NYSRA) to encourage people to get/keep reading!

She does it right - Dr Feelgood #hospitals

Ultimament he tingut l'oportunitat d'usar diferents serveis publics tant a Catalunya com a Anglaterra. Encara que l'objectiu d'aquest blog no és d'anar pel cami de les comparisons, com he explicat algun cop, potser podria dir 2 cosetes, però sempre al nivell d'anecdotes sense importancia - deixant els estudis seriosos per a la gent que es pensen ser experts.

Avuí, parlarem de metges i hospitals. He anat a diferents serveis aquests mesos, tan a Tortosa com a Barnsley i la primera cosa que he de dir és que, malgrat les retallades, els serveis i tracte sempre han sigut bons. Que s'ha d'esperar per a que et visiten? Pos, si, però realment no difereix gaire de les meves experiencies anteriors. No dubto que a les grans ciutats els col·lapes siguen més grans, però on he anat jo, pos, l'espera de sempre.

Papers - a Anglaterra com que no en tenim de DNIs ni ganes de tenir-ne, tant al metge com a l'hospital, m'han tractat sense veure cap document oficial - simplement, omplint un formulari amb alguns datos personals. A Tortosa si no portes el carnet de la seguretat social, uf!

Aparcaments - a l'aparcament principal de l'hospital de Barnsley es paga per aparcar, tant els pacients com els treballadors. Aixó fa que molts treballadors vagin en transport public o aparca més a lluny i van caminant. A Tortosa no es paga. Alguna gent diu que falten aparcaments, però no estic d'acord. En part és per la situació dolenta de l'edifici, pero principalment és per les poques ganes de caminar. Hi ha un aparcament bastant gran dins dels terrenys de les muralles antigues, a 5 minuts caminant, pero poca gent l'usa. Aixo si, la gent aparca dalt de les voreres en tots els voltants de l'hospital i aixi els visitants i pacients hem de caminar pel mig del carrer!! WTF! Si, la gent malalta no pot caminar molt de troç, però també la gent que si que pot caminar, o els visitants, o els treballadors, ho podrien pensar i aparcar ells més a lluny, deixant espai per aquella gent que ho necessita, en comptes de pegar voltes en cotxe a vore qui pot arribar més a prop. Quan jo era jove i mons pares em portaven a l'hospital a visitar gent, és de les primeres coses que em van explicar - d'aparcar una mica apartats ja que natros no ens cal estar a la porta mateixa.

Voleu sentir Doctor Feelgood?

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So, recently I've been using various public services in Catalonia and England. As I said once, the objective of this blog isn't to write witty deep comparisons between the two countries, but maybe the odd trivial anecdote:

Today - health services. Having visited doctors and hospitals in both Tortosa and Barnsley, I'll start by saying I'm reasonably pleased. Despite all the cutbacks and job losses, waiting times and services seem to be not too different from recent years. Well done workers! Maybe in bigger cities, the expected collapse on health services is more noticeable.

Identity - luckily English people still don't have ID cards, so I didn't have to show one to get served in England, I simply filled in a form with a few personal details (name, address, age, religion!). Back here in Tortosa, if you don't show your ID and/or social security card, you're in trouble!

Parking - Catalans may be shocked by the fact that you have to pay to park in Barnsley Hospital car park - and that also applies to workers. I suppose many must use public transport to avoid this, or I know people who park a little further away and walk. It seems tough to have to pay, but if it's the only way to keep a few places free for those who can't walk so far ...? People believe Tortosa Hospital has a parking problem. As it's built on top of a hill in the town centre amidst the old castle walls,  it is true that it is strange with several very small (free) car parks  shoved when they can fit them. However, there is a large carpark a 5-minute walk away which people hardly use, preferring instead to park on the pavements! Thus, yours truly has to walk down the middle of the road to get there!

Enough, before I get grumpy, here's Doctor Feelgood:

Hole in my shoe - Neil #The_Young_Ones

Fa poc m'he adonat d'un xoc cultural anglès-català arrel de la programa de comedia dels anys 80, Els Jovens (The Young Ones). Resulta que el personatge "hippy", el Neil, no parava de cuinar i menjar llenties a totes hores. Per a mi, vivint a Anglaterra en aquests moments, era "normal" - l'estereotip d'un hippy, algu que menjaria llenties bullides sense res més.Un bon acudit, que es repetia a cada episodi! Jo no havia menjat ni vist mai llenties en aquests moments - potser tenia 15 anys - i de fet el primer cop que els vaig menjar va ser en un pis igual que el dels Jovens, quan un amic universitari "alternatiu" ens els va fer. Llenties bullides en agua, i ja està. Era com menjar formigo calent.

Es veu que aquest serie excel·lent despres es va emetre aqui a Catalunya i em consta, i ara ho puc comprendre, que a molta gent no li veia la gracia en l'acudit corrent de les "llenties". Clar, aqui és un menjar normal de la gent "normal", que tothom aqui menja llegums cada setmana, i no son avorrits ni dolentissimes perque es veu que a Catalunya les cuinen ben cuinats, seguint uns receptes molt bones. Potser s'hauria d'haver emes una explicació de aquella diferencia cultural per entendre millor la serie.

De fet, és una bona mostra de que sentir les traduccions o tenir un nivell d'anglès alt no és tot, si no arribem a comprendre realment la cultura de l'altre pais.

Bé, per a demostrar que finalment he entes que els no-hippys també menjem llenties, i ben bones, pos, hem comprat 5 kilos, de la Mecca de les llenties - Le Puy :)

Vinga, Neil ....

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Many years later I've only just found out about an interesting social-cultural difference between England and Catalunya which came to light thanks to the 1980s TV comedy The Young Ones. Remember Neil the hippy and his diet of "hippy food" - lentils! A running joke in the series as Everyone knows that only hippies eat (or ate, back then) lentils. In fact I think I had never eaten lentils before seeing this programme, with my first time being at university in a stereotyped hippy/environmentalist supper of boiled lentils. Disgusting they were.

Well, it turns out that pulses, including lentils, are a very common staple food over here in Catalonia - like Mars Bars in the UK! From my experience people eat pulses a couple a times a week - and not just boiled. No, in elaborate delicious dishes with all kinds of scrumptious ingredients. There is no hippy connection whatsoever! So, apparently the "lentil joke" fell flat week in week out with locals here who didn't see the humour at all in boiling lentils for dinner!

Just goes to prove, there's more than a good language level needed to fully understand the ins and outs of another country.

Anyway, I now eat lentils on a regular basis (as do many English people nowadays - eh, its 2013!). And I ain't no hippy! Just happened to buy 5 kilos of the stuff this week ....From Le Puy in France, apparently the "top place" for lentils.