A couple of songs by Faerground Accidents

Un altra troballa gràcies als misteris de Twitter. Suposo que hi ha milers de grups nous sortint a Anglaterra, però per casualitats que no acabes d'entendre - perquè tu has seguit tal, o has parlat de tal - de sobte un dia et trobes amb un grup de Sheffield per Twitter i escoltes les seves cançons i penses, wow! Vivim en un món on la sort té molt a veure, si el grup x cau al twitter del nou George Martin en comptes de Brian Cutts, ves a saber com acabaria ... mentre esperen aquest cop de sort, només els queda l'opció de continuar fent allò que els agrada i juga a totes les opcions de publicitat que poden trobar.... 

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Another pretty amazing group I've found thanks to the whims and quirks of Twitter. There are probably thousands of new groups out there just waiting to be discovered but by chance this is one of the few to fall into my lap. Maybe I followed someone who follows them, or entered a key word related to this group, or whatever... but somehow I ended up finding this twitter account and listening to their music. A crazy mix of great music and black humour lyrics, just up my street. I think only a northern-England group could pull this off! Who knows where destiny takes us - if the same tweets sent out into the dark reach the twitter-feed of the new George Martin, the sky's the limit. If they reach mine, well, I just hope my followers enjoy them as much as I do - and I'd encourage the band to stick at it, doing what they enjoy and playing the social network publicity show for all it's worth. 

Ups and downs of Sheffield life - Live for the moment #TheSherlocks

No sóc d'aquells anglesos que marxen del país però al lloc on aterran volen veure la televisió anglesa, comprar productes anglesos, tenir més interes en les eleccions angleosos que els d'aqui etc. Si estic en un lloc (com a Catalunya), prefereixo pensar en la vida aquí. Per això, durant anys i panys he evitat, o simplement no-buscat, estar gaire informat del que passa al Regne Unit, però ultimament gràcies a les xarxes socials, m'hi he posat una mica més al dia. Principalment sobre noticies locals dels llocs on vaig cada estiu per visitar familia etc. No m'importa gaire si les anglesos volen a Cameron o Miliband, però si que m'importen noticies com aquesta que he trobat gràcies a Twitter....

... a la ciutat de Sheffield, s'ha fet en els ultims anys, i decàdes, molts canvis sobretot en la part comercial. Com a gairebé tot arreu, el centre de la ciutat perd el seu interes mentre la gent prefereix anar a comprar als nous centres comercials a les afores on pots menjar McDonalds, comprar als Marks & Spencer's o anar al cine (com a tots els centres comercials del món, vaja). No obstant aixo, hi ha rincons de Sheffield on petites botigues independents i originals s'han aguantat i encara funcionen. Són unes petits joies per a la gent que les usa, on pots comprar i xerrar una estona, i encara gaudir de ser una mena de "common person" com diria Jarvis Cocker. Concretament hi ha una que ens encanta, una botiga super-petita, un laberint eclectic ple de petites sales amb llibres, revistes, i discos de música que no trobaries a cap lloc més de la ciutat. Es diu Rare & Racy. Pos, resulta que l'ajuntament de Sheffield ha donat el OK als propietaris dels edificis on es troba aquesta botiga i algunes més del mateix estil, per a tumbar-les :( Aqui teniu un bon article al The Guardian, i es pot seguir la campanya per a salvar-les al Twitter de @SaveDevStreet

Bé, no tot son noticies dolentes. Gràcies als misteris de Twitter, no sé com, vaig trobar aquest nou grup de Sheffield dels que estic segur que en sentirem parlar...

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I'm not the typical English person who goes to live abroad and spends his days watching the BBC, reading the Daily Mail, buying English products or showing more interest in the UK general elections than the local news of his place of residence. If I'm here, I'm here and this is my life. I wouldn't say I've made an attempt to avoid English news and contacts over the years, but I have definitely not sought them out... however, thanks to the ease of social networks, over the last few years I have begun to show an interest in local affairs of my birthplace, especially as there are places we go back to every year. I do find it useful to know what's going on in Whitby, to encourage Barnsley record shops to stay open, or to follow Sheffield artists etc.... 

so I was shocked to read this news the other day. Sheffield city centre, like most English cities, is struggling to stay alive when everybody prefers to go to out-of-town commercial centres where you have all the big name shops and entertainment you can find in any other centre. The only way the city centres can stay alive is by offering something different, original independent one-off shops and cafes for the few of us who don't want to spend every day in McDonalds or HMV. The area of Sheffield around Devonshire Street is one such place- an oasis of eclectic offerings to make anyone's day. However, a couple of weeks ago I heard that Rare & Racy, the most amazing record (and more) shop, was going to be knocked down with the OK of the Sheffield City Hall - as well as some other cool shops. The full news story is here in The Guardian.

I just hope they see sense and reverse this decision. If not, I expect to see Sir Yorkshire Pudding throwing his full weight behind the campaign to save these shops - a campaign you can follow, for example, on Twitter at @SaveDevStreet

To finish on a brighter note, also thanks to Twitter I have discovered this new group who are surely going to be BIG one day soon...

Getting into the spirit

You might just have to be from South Yorkshire to get this! / Potser si no ets de South Yorkshire, no agafaras l'humor!

Sort of back to work now...

Ok, ja tornem a estar aqui, almenys en cos. La ment encara està mig de vacances - i si afegim que fins el 15 de setembre els xiquets no comencen l'escola i jo només treballo de tarde-nit, pos, encara farem alguna cosa més; festes de Tortosa, platja, alguna piscina ....

Hem passat 3 setmanes a Anglaterra, i ara toca tornar a adaptar-nos als horaris/menjar/ritme de vida/temps aqui ja que 3 setmanes donen per molta desconexxio!

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Finally back here again - back home? Who knows, as "home" is a tricky concept! After 3 weeks in England where we completely disconnected from our normal life, now it's the time to adapt once more to timetables/eating habits/work hours/weather etc here. Luckily it's a soft landing for me as, even though I started work yesterday, the kids are still off till the 15th and I am only working afternoon-evenings until then, so there'll be plenty of time for beaches and playing still... and maybe a bit of blogging as we have many things to mention regarding our holidays!

Update on Catalan Issue #CorreL'estiu #Pepetimarieta

By popular demand, the "monthly update on the Catalan Issue" for non-Catalan readers returns... what's new? Very little actually. First, re-read the last few posts on Catalonia I've written. OK, done that? 

Well, the 9 November referendum is still on the cards according to the Catalan govt and about 80% of the populace. Mr Rajoy and the main two political parties in Spain insist it isn't.

Catalonia is in the process of passing a Catalan law which will provide a framework for the referendum to be legal. Spain insists it's illegal according to their constitution.

Catalonia is already manufacturing the ballot boxes (out of eco-friendly card). Spanish "experts" say the police would be sent out to remove them. The Catalans have their own police force, though. What would happen?

Maybe Catalonia will do a clever swap, changing the (illegal?) referendum for a (legal) snap election with a coalition of parties proposing a Unilateral Declaration of Independence? External big-wigs like the EU and the US government don't like this route apparently - they want a negotiated settlement.

Meanwhile, the civil society pro-indy organizations are setting up another "over-one-million-people" activity in Barcelona on 11 September.

Watch this space....

UPDATE: I'm among the motley crew on the beach in this photo.

Meanwhile, a bit of summer fun....

Non too subtle metaphor of the day

Tenim un conill a casa. Hem apres que si li dones una gavia ampla i comoda, i li poses menjar i aigua fresca, ja pots deixar la porta oberta - el conill mira lo que hi ha per fora i torna a entrar sense cap problema.

Crec que si li tanquessem en una gavia mal-feta sense donar-li res a canvi, només insults i cops de pal, l'historia seria diferent i el conill aquest només estaria somniant el dia que pugues trencar la gavia per a escapar.

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We have a pet rabbit now. We have learnt that as long as you have a large comfortable clean hutch, with plenty of food and water, you can leave the door open - the rabbit will have a little sniff outside but is happy to live in its hutch.

If, on the other hand, we stuffed it in a hutch unsuitable for its requirements and instead of fulfilling its needs, we just offered it insults or beat it with a stick, we'd be in a completely different relationship and there'd be no way of keeping that rabbit for long.

Valentine - Richard Hawley

What a song! What a singer! What a video!
Another great Yorkshire artist of course ...

Price Tag - Barcelona Messengers #choirs

Bé, un cop acabat el concurs del Oh Happy Day, encara que tradicionalment no he sigut gaire fan dels cors de gospel, hem seguit alguns dels grups que més ens va agradar durant el programa. De fet, gràcies al programa hem vist que no tot és musica d'esglesia, i els xiquets van guadir aprenent noves cançons i cantants de l'historia recent - cançons que anaven des de Video Killed the Radio Star fins al Rossinyol!

Un dels grups que ens va agradar més, per casualitat és l'unic (a banda dels Flumine) que ha vingut a cantar a les Terres de l'Ebre, Els Barcelona Messengers. A nadal els vam anar a vore a Ulldecona i vam gaudir d'un concert excel·lent.

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As you may or may not remember, before Christmas we were following one of these TV show/competitions to find the "best" choir in Catalonia. Our local group put on a good show but unfortunately got eliminated in an early round - but we kept watching the show week in week out. I've never been much of a fan of gospel or church music but these were choirs for the modern age, churning out pop, rock, folk songs and doing a bl**dy good job of it. Anyway, we really liked this group and actually got to see them sing live in a local concert over the Christmas holidays ...

Bombolles - Els Pets

Another cool album from 2013, which we got at Christmas and are listening to a lot now - L'Area Petita by Catalan group Els Pets (literally means 'the farts'). Here's the first single, Bombolles.

Miles Kane again :)

No puc dir quin ha sigut el "LP de l'any 2013" perquè evidentment no els hi he sentit tots. Tampoc puc dir quin és el "LP de l'any 2013 dels LPs que tinc", perquè alguns possibles candidats només els vaig rebre al  desembre, o a Reis, i encara no els tinc controlats - per exemple, Els Pets, Billy Bragg, Arctic Monkeys ...

No, lo que puc dir és "El LP del 2013 que he escoltat més i que m'ha agradat més ara per ara". I és "Dont forget who you are" del Miles Kane.

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So, can't really say which is the "Best album of 2013", as I've only got half a dozen of them. Can't even decide which is the "Best 2013 album in Brian's collection" as I only got some of them at Christmas and still haven't given them enough time and attention. Examples of recently-acquired stuff  include, Billy Bragg, Els Pets, Arctic Monkeys. So no, I'll announce the "2013 album I've listened to most and liked best so far".

It's Don't Forget Who You Are by Miles Kane.

On Ira - Zaz

On the list of Good Things France has given the World, we find at no.4  ..... Zaz!!

This too shall pass - OK Go

Yet another great video which I just had to post. And the song ain't bad either! By the way, the whole video's done in just one tracking shot.

On top of the world (2) - Moon landings and other wacky theories

Tornant al video d'ahir - quantes cosetes heu vist? Jo he trobat uns quants, i Google unes altres ...

Per a començar, ajuda saber que una de les teories sobre la no-arribada a la lluna es basa en que va ser el director Stanley Kubick qui va gravar la pel·lícula del fals atteratge - teoria que es va embolicar més amb el documental fals (un mockumentary) sobre aquests "fets". Els creients en la teoria aquesta també pensen que Kubrick va deixar pistes en la pel·licula El Resplandor (The Shining).

Bé, primera imatge, lo xiquet en el tricicle - una copia de l'imatge del El Resplandor. A més, porta un barret d'alumini per protegir-se dels suposats rajos que envien els russos.

minut 0:07 - nom de la botiga, anagram gairebé de  Stanley Kubrick

0:11 Nom al jersei del xiquet (i despres veiem que està als vestits dels astronauts; SNOGARD => dragons (nom del grup) al reves.

0:13 marca de la tele, Monolith - recordant la pel·licula 2001.

0:17 el paper de la pared té el mateix dibuix que la alfombra a The Shining. Aquesta alfombra de The Shining, en teoria tenia el mateix dibuix que el centre de control de NASA. Fins i tot a la Shining, el xiquet porta jersei de Apollo 11 i es fica al mig de la pista.  

0:25 numero de la casa, 2001! 

0:33 VW Beetle, com la pel·li The Shining

0:36 Foto de Paul McCartney

0:40 maquina d'escriure de The Shining, 2 besssons de The Shining, i un simbol masonic a la pared.

0:49 simbol del "all-seeing eye", la teoria que els franco-masons ens controlen.
0:51  237 = nombre de la habitacio de The Shining = distancia, en miles, fins la lluna

0:59 pas de viatnants, del LP Abbey Road dels The Beatles

1:03 la matricula del cotxe canvia, i ara diu "Ben is dead" (Ben s'ha mort); a un dels cotxes de Abbey Road dels Beatles van posar la data de neixement de McCartney, una pista de la teoria que deia que McCartney s'havia mort.

1:06 0009 LAH =>  HAL 9000, de la pel·li 2001

1:44 Mono com en una pel·li de Kubrick 

2:16, al clipboard, posa SK - Stanley Kubrick :)

Segur que hi ha més cosetes, a banda d'una ambientació bonissim - els russos, Nixon, els hippies, Easy Rider etc :) Enjoy it! 

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So, about yesterday's pop video: to start with, it's worth knowing that some people believe the Americans never landed on the moon, and one of the branches of this "conspiracy theory" claims that film director Stanley Kubrick actually filmed the "landing" in Hollywood. This is complicated even more by the false documentary (mockumentary) Dark Side of the Moon which claims to prove this theory - but is itself one big fake!

Kubrick-moon believers also believe that in the film The Shining he put clues as to his involvement in the "moon con".

Anyway, here's what yours truly and Mr Google have come up with - but there's probably loads more to see ...

First image, the tricycle is like the one in The Shining. And the tin foil hat is great, many Americans believed the Russians were bombarding them with some kind of rays and wore tin foil for protection - apparently.

Minute 0:07 - The name of the shop is a rough anagram of Stanley Kubrick

0:11 Name on kid's jumper (and astronauts' gear) is Snogard, an anagram of the group's name - Dragons.

0:13 TV brand Monolith, remembering the film 2001.

0:17 Wallpaper has same pattern as the carpet in The Shining, which itself is supposed to be based on a plan of NASA launch pad. Kid in The Shining even wore an Apollo 11 jumper!

0:25 House number - 2001

0:33 VW Beetle - like in The Shining

0:36 Photo of Paul McCartney

0:40 Typewriter from The Shining, twins like in The Shining, and masonic symbol on wall

0:49 the "all-seeing" eye symbol which some link to the supposed running-of-the-world being carried out by the masons or other secret groups (Brian's comment: pretty bad job they're making of it!)

0:51 237 = room number in The Shining = distance to moon in miles

0:59 Abbey Road LP sleeve

1:03 Car registration number changes to "Ben is dead". Another wacky 60s' theory was that Paul McCartney had died and the Beatles showed this on the Abbey Road cover - Paul shoeless, and his birthdate was the registration number of a car.

1:06 0009LAH => HAL9000, the computer in Kubrick's 2001 film

1:44 monkey in another of Kubrick's films

2:16 SK on clipboard - Stanley Kubrick.

Apart from that, the music is great, and Nixon too! Pretty sure there's more stuff hidden in there, but I'll leave that to you ....

On top of the world - Imagine Dragons #CoolVideo

Em sembla que els Imagine Dragons han passat una estona molt divertida fent aquest video - ple de referencies a coses que van passar, o no van passar, als 1960s o 70s ... a vore quantes coses veieu? Demà posaré el que he vist jo i els que he trobat amb l'ajud del Google :)

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Looks like this group had a hell of a good time making this video. Packed to the brim with subtle references to things that happened - or didn't happen - in the 1960s and 70s. See how many you can spot. I'll post what I've noticied (some alone, some with the help of Mr Google) tomorrow :)

Radioactive -Imagine Dragons #Ceuta #Melilla

A monkey in Gibraltar.

Ceuta and Melilla border controls

Gibraltar border controls.

 A map.

Bé, m’han demanat si, després de Gibraltar, puc escriure 4 ratlles sobre Ceuta i Melilla! Bé, poso una mica d’historia – em podeu corregir si cal!

Quan els cristians van reconquistar la peninsula i van fumar fora als moros, van continuar fins el nord d’Africa. Aixi van conquistar Ceuta al 1415 i Melilla al 1497. Originalment Ceuta era de Portugal però per rotllos de reis etc va passar a ser espanyol – un cop s’inventes el concepte del païs d’Espanya (finals del segle XV). Al finals segle 19 i principis del segle 20, es va obrir “barra lliure” pels europeus a Africa i França i Espanya es van repartir el Marroc. Encara que Marroc va assollir l’independencia al 1956, Espanya es va quedar amb Ceuta i Melilla – i Perejil!

Entre les dos ciutats són uns 150.000 persones. Evidentment la majoria de gent que hi viu volen continuar sent espanyols, que vol dir que són ciutadans de la UE, igual que la gent que viu a Gibraltar vol continuar sent britanic. Que importa més, les reclamacions sobre la sobirania d’aquests llocs, o la voluntat de la gent que hi viu?

Mentre a Gibraltar la policia espanyola té un fart per registrar cotxes i bicis plens de tabac, les fronteres de Ceuta i Melilla són noticia mundial per les tanques de 6 metres de filferro i soldats armats que impedeixen que la gent d’Africa hi pugui passar. Els que si que poden passar amb facilitat són els europeus que viuen a Africa i volen  anar-hi per a comprar pernil i altres productes pareguts!
Mentre a Gibraltar la foto tipic és d'un bobby tipic anglès, molt amable i simpatic (normalment), la de Ceuta i Melilla és dificil fer una foto sense que surti un militar o un monument de Franco.
(La cançó no té res a vore en res de tot això!)

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Following on from the success of my blogpost on Gibraltar, my fan club have insisted I write a few lines on a similar case – the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla in north Africa. I'll try not to get kicked out of Spain in doing so - although that is in fact every Catalan's dream !

These two cities, and other bits and bobs – mainly uninhabited small isles – have been Spanish ever since Spain itself has existed as a concept, that is to say the end of the 15^th century. Before that Spain did not exist - the Iberian peninsula was made up of different kingdoms (Aragon, Catalonia, Castile etc), some forming temporary alliances, others fighting each other.

And how did the cities become Spanish then? Well, as you may or may not know, or can Google, the Moors conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula between the 8^th and 14^th centuries. As the Christians reconquered the lands, especially in the 14^th century, they eventually crossed over into north Africa also, with the Portuguese king conquering Ceuta in 1415 and the Spanish conquering Melilla in 1497. The King of Spain also became King of Portugal in 1580 as used to happen through marriages and alliances etc, but in 1640 for some reason the two countries separated once more. However, Ceuta chose to remain Spanish.

When the Europeans shared out Africa between themselves, in the 19^th and 20^th century, Morocco was basically divided out between France and Spain. Morocco became independent  in 1956 but Spain kept hold of the two cities for strategic reasons.

Between them, Ceuta and Melilla occupy a mere 12 square miles with a total population of around 150,000 inhabitants. They are both in the European Union, being Spanish. And, as is the case with Gibraltar, the vast majority of their citizens do not want to change the present situation. So, however much Morocco may lay claim to them, who’s to say the 150,000 citizens can’t make their own mind up? 

A chief difference with Gibraltar – for obvious reasons – are the frontiers. The Spanish police spend a lot of time and effort trying to hinder people’s access to Gibraltar, and Spanish citizens spend a lot of time and effort trying to get in to smuggle cigarettes out hidden in their bikes, mopeds, car wheels etc. (for fairness, I must add that many Spanish citizens enter Gibraltar to work). However, the Ceuta and Melilla borders have a double 6-metre high fence of barbed wire manned by armed soldiers who have no qualms about shooting folk trying to get in. 
People who do get in easily though, and often, are the Europeans and/or non-muslims who live in Morocco and feel the urge to eat pork or get drunk.
While the typical photo of Gibraltar are monkeys or the smiling happy traditional English Mr Plod, in Ceuta and Melilla it's difficult to take a snap without a Spanish soldier walking past. There are thousands there, as well as lots of monuments and street names relating to Franco and his coup d'etât. Given that Franco was based in, and led his invasion from, north Africa he was (is?) a bit of a hero here.

Another difference is to be found in the fact that England conquered Gibraltar in 1703, but 10 years later Spain officially signed Gibraltar over to England for perpetuity in exchange for England dropping out of the War of Spanish Succession, whereas Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish basically through right of conquest but I don’t think Morocco has ever agreed to it.

The moral of the story; using history you could argue till the cows come home about what “should” happen, but who’s to say we have the right to boss 30 or 150,000 people around telling them which country they belong in? 

Right, couldn't think of a song related to this so I'm going with this one for the cool video!

Tea - Jim Noir

I like tea, I like cool music videos, and I like great music. So ...

Hugh Laurie - Copper Bottom Blues

Fa uns dies vaig vore aquest documental, explicant el viatge /gir que fa Hugh Laurie i the Copper Bottom Band per les EEUU fins arribar a California i el vaixell el Queen Mary. L'objectiu és un homenatge a l'artista Professor Longhair qui havia tocat un concert de llegenda aquí fa 40 anys.

Els que heu seguit la carrera de Hugh ja sabreu que és un bon actor, i bon comediant, però el seu amor de veritat és la música. Ara fa un parell d'anys que s'ha dedicat a gravar i tocar blues, i de pas, explorar la seva historia. No us explicaré que passa al documental, ja que s'ha de mirar! Només dir-vos que és un fascinant viatge, que encara ens hipnotiza més quan ens ho explica una persona per la qual la música li representa tant.

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Saw this documentary a few weeks ago - Hugh Laurie and the Copper Bottom Blues band go on a tour of the USA with the objective of exploring the history of the blues and finally play a concert on the Queen Mary in California, just as Hugh's hero, Professor Longhair, has played 40 years before. 

If you've followed Hugh's career, you'll probably know that he is a decent actor, a pretty good comedian, but his real love is music. For the last couple of years he's been recording and playing blues and generally having a damm good time of it! This film is fascinating - whether you are interested in blues or just like hearing a real fan speak about their favourite subject.

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!

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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!

Birds of Chicago, plus loads more ... #Madfest (3)

Ultima, però no per això el menys important, de la trilogia d'apunts sobre Madfest. Lo que ens va agradar més d'aquest festival, potser és aixo de sentir musica de gent com tu o jo - vull dir, crec que m'agrada tant o més anar a petits concerts al poble per sentir un desconegut, que anar a la Gran Ciutat per sentir les Estrelles. Com hem dit abans, la majoria de concerts eren fins i tot gratis, de gent que passa la vida segurament fent una altra feina i intentant tirar endavant aquesta faceta de music. Per aixo, sempre que podem , comprem els CDs que tenen per vendre (o samarettes). Igual que no ens dona cap remordiment baixar musica de U2 gratis, trobo que els petits artistes que necessiten un cop de mà, mereixen això i molt més.

Destacarem un dels grups que vam vore per la nit - els Birds of Chicago, una combinació molt interessant d'estils i veus - pero també podem recomanar que mireu als Mambo Jambo, Lauren Tate, Plum Hall, Baghdaddies i, potser el grup més famos que van tocar, els Capercaille - segur que hi havia molts més també,. pero ja no vam tenir temps per a escoltar més. Com hem dit abans, a banda de musica, n'hi havia un munt d'activitats per a fer en els petits de casa també.

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Last but not least of the Madfest blogpost trilogy. Before we sign off, I think we should offer a final thought on this kind of event .. alongside the small concerts we've seen back home in Tortosa by local or just-starting-out artists, we've come to realise we enjoy them just as much, and probably more, than going down to the Big City to see a Superstar. I think I'd much rather see a small group in it for real, than the likes of professional people who've seen it all, done it all. Mainly for this reason, I believe these artists should be supported - save your bootleg downloads for U2 or Elton John, and buy the CDs and merchandise of this kind of artist! Which is what we did.

Anyway, we saw plenty of groups but the one we'll focus on in a moment is Birds of Chicago, mainly as we were left in awe by their amazing combination of styles and singing. Before their video, though, other groups we saw included (and are worth checking out with these links): Mambo Jambo, Lauren Tate, Plum Hall, and the Baghdaddies, as well as, probably the most famous group of the weekend - Capercaille. Plenty more, but we also had to spend time on all the other activities available, especially for kids :)

Le Vent Du Nord - #Madfest (2)

Continuant amb més música que vam coneixer al festival Madfest (llegir l'apunt anterior), aquí tenim a Le Vent Du Nord - un grup del Quebec que ens van encantar.
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By popular demand, let's have a few more recommendations from the music we heard at this year's Madfest (see previous post). From Quebec, Le Vent Du Nord. Great stuff, great people, great for dancing.