Keep the customer satisfied - si vols! #Tortosa #Amposta #PetitsDetalls

Bé, ben passat i arxivat ja l'esperitu nadalenc, puc tornar a queixar-me? En pocs mesos a 3 o 4 actes o situacions ens hem quedat decebuts o emprenyats amb l'organització d'un acte public o d'una empresa que hauria de saber-ne més. Si ho poso tot aqui, dormiré més tranquil!

1. Al final d'agost vam gaudir de les Festes locals de Tortosa, molt divertides, pero Deu-n'hi-do els problemes de puntualitat dels actes, cosa més fort encara quan es tratava d'actes on havia d'anar o volia anar les xiquetes de 8 anys que feien de "pubilleta". Per exemple, tan costa organitzar un corre-foc? Crec que va començar amb 40 minuts de retard! Els balls de cada nit també, una mitjana de mig hora de retard.

2. Al novembre vam patir un problema surreal. Vam anar a Amposta a una fira de playmobils amb unes diorames molt xules. Vam anar en divendres perque era dificil anar el dissabte. Al cartell, deia l'horari i el fet de que hi hauria diversos punts de venda. Pos, resulta que el divendres només n'hi havia un punt de venda allì, però el més surreal és que els organitzadors no els deixaven vendre! Els havien dit que no podien vendre fins dissabte quan hauria arribat els altres venedors! Jo vaig insistir que els meus xiquets (i jo) haviem vingut expressament amb molta il·lusió i només voliem comprar 2 figures, ja que el dissabte no podriem tornar a venir. Però, no. Fins i tot el representant de l'organització aquella tarda se'ns va fotre, dient que "no passa res, home, demà pots baixar en un moment que tampoc és tan lluny Tortosa." (evidentment, baixar a Amposta, aparcar, comprar un playmobil, i tornar a pujar, seria una hora de temps + el gasolina;  que se sap aquell home en quant valoro jo una hora del meu temps?!). En fi, encara esperem resposta al mail que vam enviar a l'ajuntament queixant-nos.

3. Problema paregut ens va passar al Nadal Jove a Tortosa - el tipic lloc ple d'activitats per a que els xiquets puguen jugar un mati durant les vacances. Normalment no hi anem mai pero a la nostra filla li havia tocat una entrada gratis i com que el primer dia era diumenge (de 11 a 13.30, 17 a 20.00 segons la pagina web de l'ajuntament), i era un mati que no teniem res que fer, pos, a anar-hi. Deixem de jugar amb els veins, canviem de roba, agafem el cotxe i hi anem - allì ens diuen que no, el primer dia s'obrirà a la tarde només! Missatge enviat als regidor de Tortosa, també espera resposta!

Queixa 4: gent que monta un activitat, i obren un compte twitter o d'email o facebook pero despres no contesten les consultes! Per exemple, hem vist que hi ha una pista de gel a Lleida i hem enviat 2 missatges amb preguntes, però sense resposta.

Queixa 5: una botiga del nivell de Disney - no ens funcionava bé la pagina on-line per fer una comanda abans de nadal. Vam enviar 2 mails demanant ajud. Ens han contestat esta setmana, el 15 de gener!

En fi, que tenen en comú tot aixo (o museus que no tenen pagina web en anglès etc)? Que no cuiden el client.

.....

Looks over shoulder - checks Christmas is well and truly gone, festive spirit no more. Great, so we can go back to Moaning Mood. Here's a few local problems we have experienced recently, but which probably serve as examples for a universal problem - public bodies or private firms who don't look after their (potential) clients:

1. Last August, we were in Tortosa for the local festivities. A great time was had, but the punctuality was incredibly bad! Many activities started 30 or 40 minutes late!

2. In November we went to a toy (Playmobil) fair in a local town. There was supposed to be stalls selling Playmobil stuff but when we got there they told us, as only one seller had turned up the first day, they wouldn't let them start selling until the next day - so as not to be unfair to the other sellers! What?! I complained and said what I thought, and the organiser basically laughed at us and told us to come back the next day. Luckily I had the kids with me otherwise he'd probably be still trying to get a Playmobil octupus out of a part of his body where the sun doesn't shine. The kids did learn a few choice Catalan insults.

Wrote to the local council who were involved in the organisation and still waiting for a reply.

3. Similiar thing. A kids' activity was advertised as starting on the Sunday before Christmas, and running from 11.00 to 13.30 and 17.00 to 20.00. So we got ready and went the first morning only to be told that the first day they'd only open up in the afternoon!

Organised by Tortosa council, so I tweeted the councillor in charge .... still waiting for an answer.

4. Fed up with folk who set up an online contact scheme but don't bother answering. For example, we found out there was a temporary ice rink in a town in Catalonia and sent two messages asking for certain information. Still waiting for an answer.

5. Even King Disney fail here. Experiencing problems with their online shopping webpage before Christmas, we sent two mails asking for help. Got the answer this week - 15th January!

So, the common theme here is "the customer is always right" seems to be an old-fashioned concept for far too many people!

Scarborough Fair - Jove Cor Flumine / Simon & Garfunkel

La setmana passada va començar el nou concurs a TV3, Oh Happy Day, i ho vam mirar gairebé tota. Normalment no sóc fan d'aquest tipus de programa perquè sempre em queda el dubte de fins quin punt és real o "trucat", i tampoc són massa justos ja que el criteri per fer un bon programa de la tele no és e, mateix criteri per triar un bon cantant etc. 

Però ho vam mirar principalment perquè actuaven un grup coral de Tortosa i les Terres de l'Ebre (suposo que la majoria de cantants són de Tortosa, i la directora d'Amposta), el Jove Cor Flumine. Coneixem un bon grapat d'ells, tots joves i amb ganes de passar-ho bé. Trobo que van cantar molt però molt bé, i a més a més van triar una de les nostres cançons favorities, Scarborough Fair. Aquí la teniu, i desprès una versió dels Simon and Garfunkel d'aquesta cançó tradicional.

...

As a rule I never watch reality shows on TV or these talent, singing, dancing, competitions. Mainly through lack of TV-watching time, combined with serious doubts as to how "real" these programmes are, and the fact that they are never fair - the TV producers are looking for a good show, not the best artist.

Anyway, last week we broke our rule and watched Oh Happy Day, a show where 9 Catalan choir-groups compete - choirs, but with a modern edge, singing songs by the likes of Queen and Adele!

We watched it basically as a youngsters' choir from Tortosa were taking part and we know the conductor (do choirs have conductors?) and half the singers. They were up against some tough opposition - semi-professional groups, music students etc - but did pretty well. Let's see how they get on next week when one has to be eliminated ...

To put the icing on the cake, they sang one of our favourite songs - Scarborough Fair - which you can see below, followed by another version of this traditional song by the one and only Simon & Garfunkel.....

Més literatura en música - Richard Cory

Edwin Arlington Robinson va escriure la poema Richard Cory l'any 1897. Tratava d'un home ric i "important", admirat per tothom, que acaba suicidant-se. Simon and Garfunkel van escriure la seva, nova, versió de la poema per una cançó que van gravar l'any 1965 pel LP Sounds of Silence.

Aqui tenim la cançó amb la lletra de Paul Simon, i despres la poesia original.

....

Richard Cory, a E.A.Robinson's 1897 poem about "money can't buy you happiness", was re-written (same idea, different words) as a song by Simon and Garfunkel for their 1965 album, Sounds of Silence.

The Song:

The Poem:

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,"Good-morning,"

and he glittered when he walked. And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place. So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

So long, Benet Espuny

La Marfanta ens diu que ha mort el gran pintor, Josep Benet Espuny, a l'edat dels 90 anys. Una gran perdua com a artista i com a persona.

......

One of the great Catalan artists Josep Benet Espuny passed away at the weekend. We lose a wonderful artist and person.

Simon and Garfunkel amb So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright.

A Bridge Over Troubled Water

Després de molts d’anys d’esperar per fi s’ha fet un pont al Delta conectant Deltebre i Sant Jaume. Em sap mal no haver portat els xiquets encara amb un dels transbordadors tradicionals, però pel que entenc encara funcionar un pels turistes (com jo). I si no, sempre ens quedarà Miravet!

L’Ebre ens ha portat molts de malsdecaps en el passat. Més ben dit, no l’Ebre sino la gent que ho voldria saquejar. Bé, un pont sobre aigues trasbalsats, de Simon i Garfunkel – any 1970.


To travel between the two main towns of the Ebro Delta, Deltebre and Sant Jaume, you had two options. Although the towns directly face each other over the water, you either had to take a 40 km round trip to find the nearest bridge or use the “ferry” shown in the photo. After a long wait, a bridge has finally been built this year to connect the two towns. Luckily one of the traditional ferries will keep working, for tourists, so we’ll still be able to show the kids how we used to meander across the Ebro’s waters.
Given the Ebro’s recent history, here’s Simon and Garfunkel with A Bridge Over Troubled Water from 1970.

A Hazy Shade Of Winter - Simon & Garfunkel

Sembla que l’hivern ha arribat per fi. Per celebrar-ho, Simon & Garfunkel amb A Hazy Shade Of Winter (Simon), gravada a l’any 1966, després sortiria en el LP Bookends. I unes imatges de la neu que algú va gravar a l’universitat de Sussex (RU).

Time, time, time, see what's become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities
I was so hard to please
But look around, leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hear the salvation army band down by the riverside,
it's bound to be a better ride than what you've got planned
Carry your cup in your hand
And look around, leaves are brown now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hang on to your hopes, my friend
That's an easy thing to say, but if your hope should pass away
It's simply pretend that you can build them again
Look around, the grass is high, the fields are ripe,
it's the springtime of my life
Ahhh, seasons change with the scenery
Weaving time in a tapestry
Won't you stop and remember me at any convenient time
Funny how my memory slips while looking over manuscripts of unpublished rhyme
Drinking my vodka and lime

I look around, leaves are brown now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Look around, leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground...

April, Come She Will - Simon & Garfunkel

La cançó April Come She Will compara la curta vida d’una relació d’amor amb el pas dels mesos de la primavera i estiu - naixent a l’abril per acabar morint, igual que l’estiu, al setembre. Per mi, aquesta peça evoca molt els sentiments del final de l’estiu. Comença un “any nou” pels que no hem sortit mai del mon acadèmic, però el més trist és que s’acaba un any, amb la seva dosi de melancolia que això comporta ja que el temps no s’atura per ningú.

April, Come She Will (Simon), de Simon & Garfunkel, inclosa en el LP Sounds Of Silence de l’any 1966.

Ajuntarem la lletra ja que és una obra mestra de poesia, al meu entendre.

April, come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain;
May, she will stay,
Resting in my arms again.
June, she'll change her tune,
In restless walks she'll prowl the night;
July, she will fly
And give no warning to her flight.
August, die she must,
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold;
September I'll remember
A love once new has now grown old.

Traducció ràpida però no poètica (sorry) ...
Abril, ja vindrà
Quan els rius estan creixent i plens amb la pluja
Maig, ella es quedarà
Descansant en els meus braços de nou.
Juny, ella canviarà de cançó
Passejant inquieta, rondarà per les nits;
Juliol, volarà
Sense cap avis abans d’aixecar al vol
Agust, morirà
Els vents de la tardor ja son freds;
Setembre, jo recordaré
Un amor, que era nou però ara vell.