Spanish views from a small town

So begins a new year, but with the same old problem. All over Europe, the rates of infection are skyrocketing. In many countries there is a strict isolation, of one type or another. Except in Spain, where each autonomous community decided on doing their own thing. Here, in Galicia, it was like last week, which helped the total numbers go up. On the 31st, curfew extended to 1:30 AM, and travel between closed and open townships allowed until tonight at 11 to visit family. So, with the holiday of Epiphany still next week, January promises to be hot. We ate alone, again, though the three of us were just fine. But, instead of dressing up and going out with friends, our daughter went to bed at two in the morning. She and her friends agreed not to get together until contagion goes down a bit. One of them had a close shave within her family, and almost got in contact with someone who tested positive a day later. So, they decided to wait a while to meet again, even if it's just to sit in on...

The year ends tonight. There is a palpable relief in the air, with the knowledge that the coming 2021 will be much better than the outgoing 2020, which, like a meme I recently used, seems written by Stephen King, and directed by Quentin Tarantino.  But will next year be so much better? It will definitely begin badly, at least in regards to the pandemic. In our little corner of the world, I have the feeling we will be isolated within our townships until well into the spring. It will be another lost spring. Already, Seville has cancelled its Feria de Abril, as well as its Holy Week processions. The concert we were going to go to last June was moved to this coming March. I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be pushed forward into the next winter, if not outright cancelled. This year was supposed to be a hallmark year. Twenty years already into the new century. Yes, there were the usual problems; the death knell of democracy in the U.S., the gradual dismemberment of the E.U. beginn...

Every January 1st, we watch the New Year's Day Concert from Vienna. It's become a tradition in our home to watch it as we get lunch underway. Every year, I revel in the shots from different areas in Vienna and the Austrian countryside, accompanied by beautiful music. Every year I envy those sitting in the Golden Hall. Every year, I entertain thoughts of someday visiting Vienna, and if I'm very lucky, sitting and listening to that concert. But sitting there is not that simple. First, you have to create an account with the Vienna Philharmonica, and sign up for tickets for one of three year-end concerts, between February 1st and the 28th. The three concerts are the Preview Concert, on December 30th, the New Year's Eve Concert, on the 31st, and the New Year's Day Concert. The prices are different, and are not that inaccessible. For the big concert on January 1st (the program is the same for all three), prices range from €35 to €1,200. I would imagine, however, that the ...

Janus has arrived, showing us his backward-looking face at the moment. Not until a couple of weeks from now will he show us his other face, when we finally realize we are in another year and already have a few "this year" moments under the belt. As usual, I am the first one up. Not even today do I sleep late. At nine, I dutifully get up to check on my father next door and feed the animals. There are three indoor cats, and three new outdoor cats, and one dog, that don't care what day it is. They expect to see their food bowls filled every morning no later than nine thirty.  The morning is cloudy for the first time in a week and a half, at least. There are no human sounds anywhere. What late revelers there are, are probably still inside the partially closed (or recently opened) bars eating churros dipped in thick, hot chocolate. Those that haven't dipped their livers in pickling juice all night, of course. Towards midday there will be more traffic, but not much.  ...

December 31st and the year is at an end. These are days for reflection on what has gone before and awaiting what will come in the next year. When I was growing up in Boston my parents and I watched the news on WCVB. There was a Lifestyle commentator and critic who, every December 31st had a tradition. His spot on that evening would always consist of him saying, very fast, brand names of things that had been fashionable the previous year. It lasted less than a minute, and toward the end he would begin to slow down and would end at a normal speed. There were no sentences, simply names. That is the memory I have. A compilation of the year in our daily lives. But this is an artificial ending. Every day is the end of a year. December 31st is simply the end of the calendar year. And it's only wherever the Gregorian calendar is followed. Yes, it's now a civil calendar and used internationally so that everyone knows what day the other is talking about. Still, there are broad areas in...