Happy to hear from (and see) you gain! Best wishes from sunny Spain, where the cow poo smell is completely different.

Congratulations! https://youtu.be/480Jet6aonc

¡Feliz Navidad!

Just read it now. Best wishes. Mucho ánimo, amigo.

"That is, a man who lives in music and expresses everything, serious or not, sound or superficial, by means of music, because it is his native language. Beyond doubt Gershwin was an innovator. What he has done with rhythm, harmony and melody is not merely style. He is an artist and a composer; he expressed musical ideas, and they were new" None other than Arnold Schömberg, after Gershwin's death.

'nobody knows anything' A very good reason for the old, conservative, good sofrosine.

About the TSB mess. https://youtu.be/sAn7baRbhx4

Here you have Riccardo Muti explaining what a conductor does. Worth listening to if you can avoid to laugh. In case his english sounds too demanding you'll fing some very useful spanish subtitles. https://youtu.be/rUMBUgX60ec

Finally the day has come. https://www.ft.com/content/fbd72acc-cdfb-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc

Somehow feeling proud myself. https://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/29741/london-attack-skateboard-hero-granted-uk-s-highest-ever-honour

Sir, Thank you again for caring so much for us. I guess this is quite a tyresome matter for anyone alien to it (also for the ones who have to suffer it daily). When the Basque Country gained its settlement, the catalans were offered a similar one, and they rejected it. It seemed then more important for the nationalists to gain power than to collect taxes, something never quite popular. The basques have always been more clever. About the backlash mentioned, it is a quite complicated story: 1. The nationalist regional government, since its cration, pretended to speak to Modrid in formal terms of equal to equal, althought the Supreme Law for all the spanish people was (and still is) the Spanish Constitution. 2. When a socialist government came to power in Catalonia, and when later the socialists also came to power in Madrid, there was the agreement to make a new Autonomy Bill for Catalonia. It was a de facto modification of the Constitution but without saying so. They were, so to speak, too clever by half. 3. Because of the bad design of our system, this Bill went to be approved in referendum by the catalan people before it came to be revised by the Supreme Constitutional Court (because it was appealed by the Partido Popular). 4. When some, very few, articles of the new Bill were annulled the rhetoric of the equal to equal negotiation became useless: it was clear that Catalonia was as much ruled by the Constitution as any other part of Spain. And then began the 'sovereignty movement' that brought us where we are today. An increasing part of the catalan population became convinced that the only way to have full autonomy was by leaving Spain. More than a backlash in power, that as a matter of fact was quite increased, it was a myth that crumbled: the catalan nation in equal terms with 'Spain' (sic). 5. The problem is that to leave Spain by a referendum is not legally possible without changing the Constitution. And the catalan nationalist party, affraid of the more radical parties to get control of the situation, choose the radical rhetoric of the opressed nation and many people, until then moderate middle class nationalists non pro independence, followed them. And so, tomorrow a part of the population will try to vote, while the police, following the instructions of the Court of Law, will try to prevent them to do so. The situation is even more complicated since the catalan region has its own police, wich has been modelled by the nationalist regional Government. And the radical non pro independence left has also called for the vote: the worse it gets, the better it is for them. A bloody mess, as you may imagine. Excuse such a long story. I'm not able to make it shorter. And, finally, have in mind that, whatever happens tomorrow, this is only the beginning. Best regards.

Thank you for your interest (and for having enough patience to read such a long story). Today anything, meaning anything, is possible. Let's hope just for the bad. I guess my solution would be very close to yours. PS: The BBC keeps on saying that this is a conflict between the Madrid Government and the Catalan one. It's simply not true. We have also separation of powers here and if something is illegal or not it is up to the courts to decide. And also the courts are the ones sending the police to stop it.

In case you have nothing better to do (and probably even washing the dishes would be better) a quite long history of the catalan situation from an angainst secession point of view. https://hayderecho.com/2017/09/26/the-catalan-problem-for-dummies/

Hey! I see you care for us. Thank you. Some people here are gone mad. And they are not very clever neither. We are having to choose between the bad and the worse. I can't help you with the translation. Does it mean: waiting for further news?

Sorry to hear about your hernia. Maybe some repressed thoughts on Corbyn got in the way? Here we had Zapatero. He was less dangerous because he is totally dumb and even so he did quite a damage. Nver mind about the operation. I had just the same when I was half your age now (yes, always ahead of my time) and it's really a very minor intervention. They did't even put me to sleep. Suerte y al toro, as we used to say here (now it's not very PC).

Asked (by me, actually) if the christians will disapear, the catholic french philosopher Rémi Brague (wich I recommend very vividly) smiled and said: 'Maybe, but europeans are disapearing faster'.

Thank you. Be sure I keep coming as often as I always have (and not only for the funnies). I was just trying to keep away from the comments section but since you seem no to mind I'll occasionally embarrass myself.

Family man. https://twitter.com/Holbornlolz/status/844819031165042688

Like old George said, some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them.

Sturgeon and Adams seem to look very happy about it too. Desn't it worry you?

Best wishes! Maybe some music will do. https://youtu.be/SCcEQnBvydk

I've thought that maybe you'd like it. http://www.openculture.com/2016/03/3900-pages-of-paul-klees-personal-notebooks-are-now-online.html

I don't see what you mean. For me that's the heavy stuff. You should see me on sunday mornings.

Now you know why you must hire a spanish nanny. http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-style/news/princess-charlottes-debut-outfit-gifted-by-nanny-maria-borrallo-201575?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=elle&utm_campaign=partner&src=spr_TWITTER&spr_id=1448_178339448&linkId=14073081

Happy to oblige. I still owe you for plenty of links.