Notes from Monday
by Ben Curtis
A quiet start to the week as I recover from some sort of stomach flu that is a) either a virus that is doing the rounds or b) damage done by two cañas I really didn’t want last Thursday night but drank anyway. I think I’ve had it with alcohol, really.
However, I need to write something on this rainy Monday in Madrid, and have two recommendations, one churlish and Spain-related, the other quite the opposite on both counts.
1. It amazes me that a few Spanish people are still occasionally finding and leaving angry comments on the posts that caused me so much trouble late last year. The latest comment, where a certain MOWGLY brings Ireland into the equation, is a classic, and can be found about 45 comments down in this post. It’s easy to find, look for the CAPITAL LETTERS.
2. Having the energy to do precisely nothing all weekend, I downloaded an audiobook I’d been recommended, ‘Lady in the Van,’ by Alan Bennett.
Can you imagine letting a loopy old lady, that you really didn’t know, maroon her battered old van in your London driveway, and live there day in day out, all year round, for years and years on end? Most people would have had her committed at once, but Alan Bennett just let it happen and wrote about it.
It’s a true story, and this is how writing about reality ought to be. If you enjoy such things, or are interested in writing, I urge you to listen to this, read as it is by Bennett himself. Find it on audible.com or in iTunes. An hour and 20 minutes very very well spent.
Posted: April 7th, 2008 under General.
Comments: 8
Comments
Comment from Mark
Time: April 7, 2008, 5:34 pm
It sounds like “MOWGLY” has been having a bad day and has decided to vent his frustrations with a good rant after drinking too much of “the black stuff”! Why this anti-Ireland venom is being directed at someone from England, who has chosen Spain as a place to live over his native country is difficult to say?!
Comment from Irish eyes
Time: April 7, 2008, 6:05 pm
Agreed Mark, MOWGLY does sound like he’s having a bad day.
I assume he’s targeting Ben because he thinks the Republic is part of the U.K. which is a rather odd misapprehension to be labouring under if he’s living and working here.
Ah well, I’m sure some bar-room buddy will set him straight. Hopefully, they’ll do it gently.
Comment from Principio
Time: April 7, 2008, 6:28 pm
Agreed, Mark. As an American living in Canada, I think I will pen a long diatribe, using my poor Spanish skills, to insult Canada on a South Africa forum. That will show them!
Comment from luke
Time: April 8, 2008, 9:54 am
I’m half-Irish and I was greatly entertained by Mowgly’s comments. Every now and then you attract some wonderfully eccentric comments. Poor old Mowgly, I hope he learns to relax.
Comment from José Miguel
Time: April 8, 2008, 12:25 pm
As an Spaniard I’m ashamed of Mowgly’s comments.
Comment from frank
Time: April 8, 2008, 2:00 pm
“As an Spaniard I’m ashamed of Mowgly’s comments.”
No need to be really, José Miguel.
¡Hay de todo en la viña del Señor! We have our share of nutters as well! 
Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: April 8, 2008, 3:01 pm
Maybe Mowgli needs to learn to look for those bear necessities and forget about his worries and his doubts.
Comment from moscow
Time: April 9, 2008, 8:39 am
Come on, that Mowgly guy is a real classic, his comment to be cherished like a museum piece.
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