Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.
Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
- Christopher Howse: 'A Pilgrim in Spain'
Covid
The AZ vaccine: We await the critical views of the EMA on Thursday. Meanwhile, medical opinions differ widely on the significance of the (very low) number of cerebral blood clot cases. One does wonder how much is down to science and how much is down to politics.
A couple of pertinent comments:-
- There is an irony here. The evidence suggests it is unlikely clots are a side effect of the vaccine, and that even if they are it will be through very rare conditions. But they are a known side effect of the disease the vaccine seeks to prevent: Covid.
- The 'precautionary principle' is meant to denote an abundance of caution - an excess of safety, even at cost of inconvenience. But that presumes that doing nothing is safe. In a pandemic, it is anything but.
For me, the main facts are:-
1. Cases and deaths are reducing in the UK, while they're rising in Germany, Italy and, especially, France.
2. The delay my first jab has now been extended. It'll be several months before I can get the second jab and then travel to the UK to see my about-to-be-born 4th grandchild.
France: Politics again, ahead of presidential elections?? Leading doctors accused President Macron of costing lives by ignoring their calls for a new national lockdown. Epidemiologists said delaying a 3rd lockdown would result in “catastrophe” and poured scorn on claims that Macron has become a self-taught specialist in infectious disease.The leader of the Paris regional council has said the capital and its suburbs are in the middle of a “violent 3rd wave that is going to take lives”.
It's not a great time to be a political leader but, in contrast, bureaucrats and police forces are having a high old time.
Cosas de España
Lenox Napier is convinced we're seeing a decline in the fortunes of the ‘centrist’ Ciudadanos party almost as rapid as that of its growth a few years ago. Maybe it should be re-named the Montaña Rusa party. It's been suggested by the party's leader that the PP is using its infamous black-money piggybank to bribe Ciudadanos MPs to turn their coats. Which everyone will naturally regard as plausible.
Wikipedia has pages in many languages, of course, but I must confess to surprise in finding it has not only Galician but also Asturian versions, eg on rollercoasters. Asturiano. Galego. I'm not sure there's much difference.
Cousas de Galiza
We wait to see whether there'll be new relaxations announced today, specifically as regards the hours bars and restaurants can open. And whether an inter-barrio travel ban will return for Semana Santa at least.
Last Sunday, I sat with friends under a hot sun in my garden, tomando unas copas. When they commented on the unseasonal warmth, I joked that next week we could be there freezing our proverbials off. Sadly, I was right. For this was yesterday's warning: El anticiclón que congelará Galicia: Las temperaturas mínimas irán descendiendo de manera progresiva hasta alcanzar valores negativos a finales de semana. So, from above 20 to below zero. I blame AGW.
Maria's Tsunami: Day 43
The EU
Will the precautionary principle - enshrined in French and EU law - doom the EU over time? No risks equals no advances, it might be said. Effectively, sclerosis. Of course, some would argue this is already happening. Hence the 'sluggishness' of the EU in various fields. AI and electric vehicles, for example.
The UK and Brexit
Well, at least one committed and right-wing Brexiteer - Richard North - would wholeheartedly agree with the comment of the left-wing columnist, Polly Toynbee, that the Brexit deal was 'astonishingly bad'.
Spanish/English
A Spanish friend sent me a message containing the word agusto. I finally figured out this wasn't a typo for agosto but for a gusto. But this was not before Google had translated as 'satisfaced'. I can't find this in any dictionary. But Google's own Ngram has it as very much a 19th century word.
English
A Guardian columnist wrote yesterday of suicidal 'ideations'. Another rather uncommon word, I think. Or until rather recently, it seems. A fashionable alternative for 'thoughts'?
Finally . . .
A funnier than usual spam email: African priest helps white man gain 6 inches[15cm]. In height?