Rain rain rain, and HALLOWEEN, pluja, pluja, pluja i HALLOWEEN!!

I woke this morning, thinking we were going into BCN to meet a friend, but it had rained and rained and rained all night long.  And was fixing to rain all morning.

As I had woken at 4am (fun wow!) I was up and eating breakfast in plenty of time.  Considering the rain, and the transit strike, we called it off.  I went back to bed and slept for 2 hours more!!!! 

Excellent.

Decorations went up, there are kids downstairs, very few trick or treaters, but as this is not the custom here, not a huge surprise.

Going walking tomorrow with a different friend, then try again for BCN on Friday.  A Castanyada - a traditional event here, roasting chestnuts with friends and family,  on Saturday and maybe, just maybe, going sailing on Sunday!

What a wonderful weekend, a four day weekend too!

Happy Halloween folks!

He despertat aquest matí amb la idea que l'Home i jo aniria cap a Barcelona per trobar-nos amb un amic, però que ha plogut i plogut i plogut per tota la nit, i tenia pinta de ploure per tot al matí també.

Que hagi despertat a les 4 de la matinada (que bé!) he baixat per esmorzar amb temps a sobre.  Però, comptant la pluja i una vaga de transport públic, hem decidit d'anar-hi un altre dia.  Llavors, he tornat cap al llit i he dormit per dues hores més!!!

Excel·lent!

Hem decorat la casa, ara mateix hi ha nens a casa, molt pocs nens picant la porta, però no és un tradició aquí.

Demà aniré a caminar amb un altre amic, i divendres intentarem un altre cop d'anar a BCN.  Anirem a una Castanyada dissabte, i si tinc molt de sort, aniré a navegar amb vela diumenge!

Quin pont fantàstic!

Happy Halloween tothom!

Exhausted

Hoping for 6 hours sleep tonight, it'd be nice...8 would be a dream, here's hoping.

Going to bed right now.  9:30pm.  If I get 5 hours, tomorrow is going to be a very long day indeed.

I did make it home on the bike with a PB of two minutes despite a headwind, so that was cool.

Goodnight all.

O

Estic esperant per unes sis hores aquest nit, 8 seria fabulós...

Vaig a dormir ara mateix. a les 9:30.  Si tingui 5 hores, demà farà molt llarg.

He tornat a casa avui 2 minutes més ràpid que mai, amb el vent a contra direcció.

Bona nit tothom, 

O

Speed tour of BCN, una visita ràpida.

Into BCN this morning early....this was a serious tour.  Then I met a friend and she recommended a particular drink at a particular granja (type of cafe), should I have time.

He anat a BCN aquest matí, aviat....un tour seriós.  Però he trobat una amiga i m'ha recomanat una beguda especifica en una granja especifica, si tingués temps.

Arrived, marched down to Decathlon, doors opened at 9:30, I was second in. Looked at the saddle bags for bikes, didn't like either of them, looked for pants for walking in the hills, didn't like any of them.  Left.  Hmmmm, the next store doesn't open till 10am, and it is 9:37, that granja wasn't too far away.

He baixat, he caminat cap a Decathlon, que obri les portes a les 9:30....he entrat segona.  He mirat les bosses per penjar a sota el seient d'una bicicleta.  No m'agradava ni un, ni l'altre, he buscat pantalons per anar a caminar, no m'agradava cap. He sortit i he rumiat que la pròxima botiga on he hagut d'anar no obrirà fins a les 10, i era les 9:37.  Aquesta granja no era molt lluny.

I had a suise, which if I had been more organised I'd have taken a picture of, think of thick dark rich hot chocolate, thicker and darker and richer than anyone outside of Spain (Catalunya?  I don't know) has ever seen.  Top it with a slab of whipped cream.  I do mean slab, it was so think it had shape and heft, like half way to cheese.

He tingut un suise, i si fos més organitzada, hauria hagut fet una foto.  Un xocolate calent tan negre, tan ric, tan bo tapat amb una cullera gran de nata....ohhhhhhh

Dip a croissant in.  amb un croissant.

Oh. my. goodness.  Deu n'hi do!


 I couldn't finish.  Must go back with Youngest.  No podia acabar.  Haig de tornar amb la Petita.

Off to the next store to fine Bellatrix Lestrange clothes for Youngest's costume.  Success, and all was on sale.    Llavors, cap a la pròxima botiga per comprar roba per fer la disfressa de Bellatrix LeStrange per la Petita.  Exitós i a rebaixa!

Heading out of town 1 hour and 10 min after I arrived.  Freakishly efficient, and I even got the suise in!  He sortit de BCN 1 hora i 10 minutes desprès de quan he arribat.  Una eficiència molt estrany i fins i tot he tingut temps pel suise!

ridiculously windy. Un vent de ridicul

Too bad wind is invisible.  The photos just don't show it.

Llastima que el vent és invisible.  Les fotos no ho poden il·lustra.

Went to the mountains today, Cim Comabona.  It was crazy cold.  So cold that when I wiped my nose on my mitt, the snot froze in 2 seconds before my eyes.  I don't know what temp that is on a more regular scale, but this Canadian girl can tell you that's it's frickin' cold.  Anyone from out in Manitoba care to calibrate that for me?  Toronto just doesn't get there.

He anat a les muntanyes avui, el cim Comabona.  Feia un fred..... tan fred que quan m'he mocat amb el meu guant, els mocs es congelen en dos segons, ho he vist.  No sé quina temperatura feia amb una escala regular, però que sóc canadenca, us puc dir que feia MOLT de fred.  

And the wind.  Unreal.  Honest to goodness, it was blowing up the mountain so hard, in the last bit, that you can see there, that I was blowing up hill.  I wasn't climbing at all, I was braking the entire time to try and control my speed and direction, then had to fight my way back down.

I el vent!  Irreal.  De debò, bufava tant, pel ultim tram, que podeu veure allà baix, que estava volant amunt.  No he pujat, he estat frenant simplement per controlar la meva rapidesa i direcció, i a l'hora de baixa, he hagut de treballar.

Never in my life.  Mai en la vida.

They reported 160 km/hr winds on the Costa Brava.  I can believe it.  A la Costa Brava deien que han tingut uns vents de 160K/hr.  Ho puc creure.

BRRRRRRrrrrrrr.

Though also totally hilarious.  Hilarant.

Closest you get to fall colours here in Spain, still lovely, but not quite the same as Canada.
Els millors colors del tardor que he vist aquí mai, maques, però no tenen res a veure amb els de Canadà.

For the record, que ho tingui apuntat

A fantastic day.

A run with the dog

Mushroom hunting with youngest, we found some amazing ones too.

a nap

time spent hanging out with the man

painting

friends over in the evening, including an invite to go sailing next weekend!

and going to climb a mountain tomorrow.

Sweet.  honestly.  sweet indeed


Un dia més maca....

He anat a córrer amb el gos

He anat a caçar bolets amb la Petita, i hem trobat uns quants impressionants també.

Un migdiada

He passat temps amb l'Home

He pintat

Hem tingut amics a casa aquesta tarda, que hagi inclòs una invitació d'anar a navegar al cap de setmana que ve!

I demà, vaig a pujar un cim.

Que bé, sincerament, un dia dels somnis.  

What was supposed to happen, que hauria hagut de passarn

I was due to be away for the weekend climbing a mountain in France, but then someone mentioned the forecast was supposed to be cold.  I had a look.  Sat, 1 degree,  rain, 70 km/ hr winds, feels like −20.  and you're wet.  Sunday, −8, 65 − 70 km/hr wind, snow.  This is what I would more simply call a blizzard.

Teòricament, aquest cap de setmana hauria hagut d'anar a pujar una muntanya en França, però algú em va dir que farà fred.  He mirat els temps.  Dissabte, 1 grau, pluja, 70 km/hr de vent, ho sentirà com si fos −20 graus i estas mulat. Diumenge, −8 graus, 65 − 70 km/hr de vent i neu.  En Canada això és diu un blizzard i la gent?  Alguns morir.

And that's at the town below the mountain we were to be climbing.  Aquests temps?  Són per la poble a baix de la muntanya.

I bailed.  I've had to be out in that sort of weather, cause I had to be. Know what?  It hurts.  Not something I want to do recreationally, not even talking about getting lost on the top of some mountain.
He dit que no vaig.  He hagut d'estar en temps com així, perquè no vaig tenir cap opció, però, saps què?  Fa mal.  No és una cosa que vull fer al nivell recreatiu, i això no toca la tema de perdre-nos cap amunt d'una muntanya.

It may have been a bad sign when the lone Canadian says it's going to be too cold.  Potser no era un bon senyal quan la única canadenca deia que farà massa de fred.

We've changed plans, going somewhere more local on Sunday, just for the day. Hem fet un canvi de plans, anim a un lloc més a prop el diumenge, per un part del dia.

Should be more fun, to say the least.  Hauria de ser més divertit, a mínim.


Brrrrrrrrrr

A good use of unemployment, si estigués aturat...

or, 'the hills are alive with unemployed cyclists...la la la laaaa'

o, hi ha molta gent al muntanya aquests dies.

You all know, and have heard endlessly, that unemployment in Spain is ridiculously high, the stats say 25%, and amongst the people I know, that easily plays out, if not more cause it doesn't include all the self-employed that are just barely scraping by, or not.

Tothom saps les estadístiques sobre els números de gent sense feina, que està un numero tan alt que és ridícul. Un 25% i entre les persones que jo conec, el numero està correcte, senzillament, en realitat em sembla que ha de ser més alt, perquè no compte els autònoms que quasi no poden viure, o menys.

The upside to all this is the sheer number of people who have taken the opportunity to hang out in the mountains, on their bikes, running walking, taking their dogs out.  It is such a great way to manage the difficulty of the whole thing.  The numbers of people out in recent years has definitely climbed, though my evidence is anecdotal.  The reality is that I mostly have mornings free, and so I can usually go out.  Before, not so many folks, some retirees, who are still out there, but few others.  Now?  It's getting hard for a girl to take a bathroom break.

El punt fort de tot això és el numero de gent que estan aprofitant la oportunitat d'anar a la muntanya, a fer bici, per córrer, caminar, o fer un passeig amb el gos.  Està una manera de gestionar la dificultat tant fantàstic.  Saludable i sensible.  El numero de gent ha pujat força en els últims anys, encara que la meva evidència és anecdòtic.  En realitat, normalment tinc temps lliures als matins i normalment puc sortir.  Abans, no hi havia tanta gent, alguns jubilats, que encara hi són, però poc més.  Ara?  Trobo difícil trobar un lloc per anar al lavabo!

There's always some sort of silver lining.  No?  Sempre hi ha un punt bon, no?

Chuck and I went walking, Jo i en Chuck, hem anat a caminar

Left this morning before light, and had climbed quite a long way up in full dark, no flashlight.  It was weird and good, walking in some areas, it was so dark I couldn't see where I was putting my feet, and part of it was on very (read extremely) uneven trails, if you've ever gone walking with me, you'll be able to imagine it!

He marxat aquest matí abans de l'alba i he estat pujant a la muntanya aquí en la foscor, sense llums.  Era estrany i fantàstic, en uns parts, feia tan fosc que no podia ni veure els meus peus, i alguns parts són trails (camirols) molt mal fets...si mai haguessis anat a caminar amb mi aquí podries imaginar.

Took this picture of the sun coming up over the sea....  Aquí tens l'alba sobre la mar.....

Chuck and I walked an out and back, the idea was about a 20K out and then obviously a repeat to come home, after 15K, Chuck was trailing and whining.  We took a break, he whined and napped, I decided that we'd gone long enough...my desire to carry the dog for 5K cause I have to get to work is low.

En Chuck i jo hem anat per una ruta d'anar i tornar, el plan original era de fer un 20K per anar i, evidentment, una altre 20 per tornar, però després del primer 15K en Chuck ha quedat al darrere de mi, plorant.  Hem fet un descans d'una mitja hora, en Chuck plorava i feia una migdiada, i jo he decidit que hem anat prou lluny, tinc molt poques ganes de portar el gos per l'ultim 5K perquè hagi d'anar a treballar.

We hung out for half an hour!!!!! then meandered back, stopping and hanging out pretty often.  It was a pretty hot day honestly, and Chuck's enthusiasm faded with the heat.  He has basically been sleeping since we got back.  Indeed is sacked out beside me right now.

Hem descansat per una mitja hora!!!!  i hem tornat molt xino-xano parant sovint, fent poc.  En realitat ha fet força de calor avui, i l'entusiasme d'en Chuck ha anat baixant en paral·lel amb la pujada de la temperatura.  Ha passat la resta del dia més o menys dormint, i està dormint aquí al meu costat ara mateix. 

Grape vines....for wine, and below his Chuckiness cooling off and getting a nice muddy drink at the same time.  Tastes better this way than from the bottle it would seem.

Vinyes, per vi, clar, i en Chuck refrescant-se i bevent alhora....ben ple de fang....sembla que l'aigua té més bon gust així, no?

A long, slow, fun beautiful and scenic walk.....highly recommend it to anyone who wants a longer walk.  7.5 hours round trip, 30K.

Un dia lent, divertit, preciós, amb vistes impressionants.  Ho recomanaria moltíssim per un passeig una mica més llarg.  7.5 hores anar i tornar, 30K

Lovely day.  Quin dia més maca.

Speak to the hand, Parla a la má

Classes were a little crazy today, not only did they have to speak to the hand but the hand was not listening either.

Les meves classes ha estat una mica bogues avui, havien de parlar a la mà, però a més, la mà tampoc escoltava.

calm to chaos, tranquilitat a caos

I was calmly waiting in the kitchen, about to have a snack at around 11:20.  My buddy who I'm doing the language classes with, I'm helping him with English, he's helping me with Catalan, was due in 10 min.

Then I heard the man wipe out upstairs.

Soft swearing noises...

I ran up.  His d*mn slippers, that have no tread at all.  This is the about the third time he's fallen because of these slippers, but will he go buy new ones? no.

Grumbling, I flew out the door, got $ at the bank, put cash into Youngest's phone and the mans, ran to the shoe store, got new slippers.  Only possible in a small town this...and got home by 11:30 as buddy was walking up to the house, passed him, went in, got the man to try on the new slippers, burned back out the door to toss the old ones definitively O.U.T.  OUT.

Got back, buddy's looking somewhat confused in the entryway, and the man is getting ready to go out the door row a run...when he informs me that the dog stinks cause he rolled in some, well, you can imagine what.

Man's got to hang around and speak English with Buddy while I roar upstairs (why you might ask didn't the Man simply wash the dog himself, I asked myself that too, afterwards - falls in my domain it would seem)  strip off, fling the beast in the tub and suds him up, then dry the dog off, myself off and the bathroom off before dressing again and soaring back downstairs to start the language classes, only kinda late.....

Buddy asked me if I was stressed, no I said, thrown into chaos.  happens sometimes, no?

Estava esperant, tranquil·lamant en la cuina, a punt de esmorzar a un quart de dotze, i cinc.  Un amic meu, amb qui faig un intercanvi de classes d'anglès i català, arribaria en un deu minuts.

I he sentit l'Home cau a la primera planta.

Paraulotes sortint.

He pujat, corrent.  Les seves sabatilles! No tenen cap dibuix, i estava el tercer cop que ha caigut per culpa d'aquestes sabatilles....però no aniria MAI a compre-les de nou. Clar que no.

Rondinant, he sortit de la casa volant, he anat a la caixa per diners, i quan hi era, he posat saldo al mòbil de la Petita i de l'Home també, he anat a la botiga i he comprat les sabatilles.  Tot això es pot fer només en una poble petita perquè he arribat a casa a les 11:30 seguint el meu amic, li he passat, he entrat la casa, l'Homa les ha posat per mira la mida i sortia un altre cop per llençar les sabatilles velles.  

Quan he tornat un altre cop, l'Amic ha quedat a l'entrada una mica confós, i l'Home estava preparant-se per anar a córrer, i m'ha informat que el gos, en Chuck, fa pudor perquè s'ha ficat en, mira, en merda.  

L'Homa havia de quedar-se una mica més temps per parlar en anglès amb l'Amic i jo he volat amunt amb el gos (perquè l'Home no l'ha rentat el gos el mateix és un altre pregunta, que m'he preguntat desprès, em tocar, em sembla)  m'he despullat, l'he llençat a la banyera, l'he rentat, l'he assecat, m'he assecat, i he assecat el bany, he reposat les meves robes i baixava un altre cop (volant, clar) per començar les classes...una mica tarde

L'Amic m'ha preguntat si fos estressada....no, li he dit, llençat al caos, això passa a vegades, no?

Sleep, Dormir

I slept till 9:30 this morning, and I feel like a fgreaking GODESS!


He dormit fins a les 9:30 aquest matí i em sento FANTÀSTIC!

ugh

I feel that the act of catching 50+ year old men in the act of eying Youngest does not outweigh my dismay at their behaviour.  Their flinch and rapid looking away only serves to highlight the fact that they know what they should not be doing.

ill. Malalt

Youngest is under the weather, shivery and weak and not so hungry, and I have never in my life had a cold that came on so quickly.  Here's hoping it goes away as fast.

To bed with meds.  Now!

La Petita no es troba bé, té fred, es troba feble i no té gana, i jo, mai en la vida he tingut un refredat que ha arribat tan ràpidament.  Espero que indiqui que se'n va tan ràpid també.

Ara vaig a dormir amb medicina.  Ara!

looking at the time, mirant l'hora

I have a choice tonight.  Blog or paint.

Today, paint wins.  Hope you had a great one.

O

Haig de triar.  Blog o pintar.

Avui, pinto.  Espero que hagis tingut un molt bon dia

O

The post I am not sure I should post. No estic segur si hauria de penjar-h

My mojo is slipping.

Teaching mojo that is, and I am now working hard at heaving it back into place.

I've been teaching for a lot of years now, teaching English for a bunch of years now, and to some extent it is repetitive.  Different students, different group dynamics, but I am firmly rutted and need to boot this in the butt.

SO:  getting my mojo back:  steps/goals.

1. think positively, honestly, this makes such a difference.
2. sweat the homework, put in the time coming up with cool classes, it pays off.  Students are happier, I am happier and presumably, so is the boss.
3. sweat the relationships, with co-workers, employers and students
4. make it a priority.
5. get goofy/creative, it keeps it interesting

Ultimately this boils down to commitment, it seems to me. 

I remember once reading the phrase, "Love is a verb, it is something you have to do".  I really do believe that, it is not something that you just float on, rather something that you do, daily. If you want to keep it going.

Teaching is a verb too.  

Time I work on that, even if this entire post reads like one long cliche.  

Now, how do you say mojo in Catalan?

El meu entusiasme per ensenyant m'està escapant

Ara haig de treballar per reposar-lo.

LLAVORS:  objectius:

1. haig de pensar en una manera molt positiva.  Ajuda molt
2. fer els deures, gasto els temps necessari per fer classes molt guai.  Val la pena, els alumnes estan més contents, jo també i deu ser les meves caps també.
3. treballo al nivell de relacions, amb col·legues, caps, i alumnes
4. ha de ser una prioritat
5. fer coses creatius encara si fossin ximpleries

Finalment, això vol dir que m'haig de cometre.

Recordo llegint, un cop, una frase que va dir que "amor és un verb.  És una cosa que has de fer".  Ho crec, no està una cosa on vas flotant, més aviat, és una cosa que fes, cada dia.  Si volgués que continuí.

Ensenyant és un verb també.

Ja ha passat l'hora per començar de treballar amb això.

in which I debate doing a tri. Quan rumio si vull fer un triatló

I have always blown of triathlons as something I want nothing to do with, for a couple of reasons.

1. cost, all that equipment
2. the swim, all those people climbing all over you
3. the run, as in I have always sucked at that

But now triathlons are more common, there are mini-tri's (also called sprints, which is scarier).  A 0.8k swim, 20K bike ride and a 5K run.  I could complete that course tomorrow without training.  We're not talking winning here, just completing.

An Olympic tri is scarier:  1.5K swim, 40K bike ride and a 10K run.  Is it just me, or does that seem a big step up.

OK, the swim, I always blew off the idea of a tri absolutely because of the swim, mostly the thrashing and hammering from the other swimmers.  Then we talked to a friend this summer who'd done one, he said that it's simple: let the pack get in front, then get in.  Much calmer. Seemed reasonable.

The run, as exhibited this last weekend, I am getting better at that.

The cost.  I'd have to find a tri where I could use a mountain bike, as that's what I've got.  I could consider changing the tires to slicks, but buying a tri bike, NOT.  For the swim, I've got the basics and how much can goggles and a swim cap cost...though there is the wetsuit.  The run, got that done.

Hmmm, now there is just the question of desire.  Still on the fence on that one.

Then again, I just got a look at the equipment list, fancy helmets, $600 wetsuits....maybe not.  Though Decathlon has shorty wetsuits for less than 30 bucks, that'd get me through most of the winter in the Med....and there isn't that much wrong with the helmet I've got.

Sempre he negat en rodó la idea de fer un triatló.  Tinc algunes raons:

1. el cost, hi ha tant equipament.
2. nadant, per culpa de tota aquesta gentada 
3. córrent, que no he fet bé mai.

Però ara, els triatlons són més comú, hi han triatlons -mini, (que també es diu esprint, que trobo més intimidant).  Nades per 0.8K, amb bici per 20K i corres per 5K.  Ho podia fer ara, sense entrenant. No vull dir que guanyaria res, simplement acabar la cursa.

Un triatló olímpic està una altra cosa.  1.5K de nadar, 40K de bici i 10K de córrer.  A mi, ho sembla molt més difícil, no?

LLavors, nadant, mai volia fer un triatló per culpa de l'etapa de nadar, una gentada totes colpejant per anar més endavant.  Però aquest estiu passat, vam parlar amb un amic que va fer un triatló i ens va dir que hi ha una solució molt senzilla, deixa anar la majoria dels competidors, i després d'aquest moment de caos, vens tu.  Sembla raonable.

Corrent, com he vist aquest cap de setmana passat, estic millorant.

El preu, hauria de ser un triatló que em deixa utilitzar la meva bici de muntanya, perquè està la que tinc.  Podria canviar les rodes per les del carrer, però no compraria una bici per fer triatló.  A l'hora de nadar, ja tinc les coses bàsiques, puc trobar diners per una gorra i ulleres per nadar...però hi ha el neoprè.  Per córrer, ja tinc tot.

Ara haig de pensar del meu nivell de desig.  Encara, no estic gens segur.

Deu n'hi do, he acabat de mirar una llista del equipament que necessitaria, cascs super guai, un neoprè de $600, potser no.  Però Decathlon ven un 'shorty' per menys de €30, podria ser suficient per l'hivern al Med.....i el casc que ja tinc, funciona.

Sweet day. Quin dia més maca

I am busy pretending to myself that I am a person who sleeps all night, every night.

Woke this morning (at 5 am, obviously) and went up and painted.  THAT was a relief, no more lying abed trying to get back to sleep.  Unfortunately, I was so tired I needed a 20 min nap at around 9 before going out rowing with the Man.  Felt better after that, and a lot less grumpy.

The row was nice, as was the 4K walk to get there.  I cannot say that I pulled my guts out, but it was fine. I am not in LOVE with rowing, but they are a great group of people and I can do it with the Man.  Also good to do some upper body work....ya know, cross training!

Another nap this afternoon, limited to half an hour, from which I woke up as cranky as a bear with a sore butt, provoked by the opening of hunting season hear.  LORD how I hate hunting season.

A lovely walk with Youngest, and now, instead of going to bed at 10, hoping to get enough sleep, I finished my book, which I enjoyed, and am posting and then I am going to paint some more.  I have also set an alarm for the morning so I am sure to get up in time (optimists live longer, they say).

It is nice to be up here with my painting stuff around me again.  Good lord, why did that take so long?

Ara estic mentin a mi mateixa que estic una persona normal qui dorm per tota la nit, cada nit.

He despertat aquest matí a les 5 (clar) i pujava a l'alter i pintava.  Quin alleujament!  No he passat més temps estirat al llit intentant de tornar a dormir.  Desafortunadament, he tingut tant de son que havia de fer una mini migdiada (de 20 minuts) a les 9 abans d'anar a remar amb l'Home.  M'he trobat molt millor desprès de dormir i no tan rondinaire.  

Remant ha anat bé, tant com el passeig de 4K per anar-hi.  No puc dir que treballava molt, però anava bé.  No estic encantada de remar, però són un grup de gent que m'agrada molt i ho puc fer amb l'Home.  També està bé que faci treball els muscles del cos, en addició d'els de les cames.  

He fet una altra migdiada aquesta tarda, limitada a una mitja hora, i he despertat enrabiat, com un ós amb un cul que li fa mal, provocat perquè avui estava un dia de caçar.  M'odio la temporada de caçar.

He fet un passeig molt bonic amb la Petita a la muntanya i ara, en lloc d'anar a dormir a les 10 amb l'esperança de dormir moltes hores, he acabat el meu llibre, que he desfruitat, estic escrivint aquí i pintaré una mica més.  També he posat l'alarma per demà que pugui ser segur que despertaré a temps.  (Diuen que optimistes viuen per més temps.)

A mi, em trobo molt contenta ser aquí amb les eines de pintar un altre cop.  Com és que he trigat tant de temps per fer-ho?

Helmets, Cascs

Went into town the other day in search of mountain running shoes for Youngest, so she can wear them to gym, run with me in the hills, and if she wants, come with me with on excursions, in normal temps.

We were also looking for a helmet for me, and some biking gloves.  First stop had only one brand of helmet.  Reasonable price, ridiculous helmet.  Now, I know they ride high on your head, but this was silliness.  Big yellow plastic mushroom sprouting off the top of my head.

Tried another place.  Flipped over the price tag on a randomly selected helmet.  199€, that 255 US dollars, or 251 Canadian dollars.  For a helmet.

I could get a bike for less than that.

This astonishing piece of engineering, I have to say,  looked just like all the others.

I cannot imagine, simply cannot imagine what the sellers, buyers, retailers and everyone else could possibly be thinking.

Fa alguns dies vaig anar a comprar amb la Petita, qui necessitava bambes per anar a la muntanya...que poden fer servir també a educació física i per venir amb mi a fer excursions!

Alhora, buscava un casc i guants per fer bici.  A la primera botiga només tenia un marc de casc.  El preu era força bé, el casc, de ridícul.  Mira, jo sé que els cascs de bici els portem molt amunt del cap, però aquest casc quedava com una tapa balancejada a sobre el meu cap.  Un bolet gran, plàstic i groc brotant del meu cap. 

Vam anar a una altra botiga. vaig llegir la etiqueta d'un casc, seleccionat per casualitat.  199€!  Per un casc!

Podria comprar una bici per menys.

Aquest exemple del art d'enginyeria semblava tots els altres.

No puc imaginar, simplement no puc imaginar, que estan pensant els venedors, compradors i tota la resta.  De que estant pensant?

Jubilant. Joiosa

I ran the 10K this morning, flat flat flat....which I don't really love, but it went unbelievably well.

They were a fit crowd, and as we're lining up for the start, I'm positioning myself at the back cause I'm hoping to get around in 1 hour, 30 min.  That has to be back of the pack time.  Unfortunately, everyone around me looks distressingly fit.  Distressingly fit.

I was worried they would drop me out the back within the first kilometer, and I'd continue from there alone.

Then I had a little sense and realised that lots of other folks think the same.  Maybe not about me, but think the same.

So, off we went.  And it was fine.  I found someone to run behind, and we went and went, but I passed him, I couldn't go that slow.  On one of the uphills, early on, before the second kilometer I came up on a girl, maybe 20, who was already walking.  I jogged by her, called out that she could do it, let's go!

Then I worried that the poor thing might be pushed to hard at the start, but I had dropped her and I wasn't looking back.  Eventually I found a woman to run with, just the right pace for me.  I tailed happily along behind her, till my watch buzzed to tell me my first split, which it does at 1 mile, or 1.6Km.  Turns out I'd run a 10:10, a personal best by a LOT.  That worried me, it is a typical problem, going out too fast and then blowing up at the end.  So I tried to slow down.  Next split, 10:05.  Hmmmm.  Well, as I felt great (relatively speaking) I figured I'd just keep going and pay the piper down the road.  I didn't have a single split that wasn't a PB and just as we came into the finish, after a good K of uphill work (not very uphill, but nonetheless) I rounded the corner, decided I could put on a little more speed and looked at the clock.  1:04!!!!!!

Never in a million years would I have thought that I could run a 1:04!!!  I was ECSTATIC!!!! And a long way from the back of the pack, indeed as I look around the net, that is a pretty respectable time for a casual runner.  (Though I am s.l.o.w.)

The man also did really well, he was hoping for 55 min (which his wife was somewhat scornful of) and he finished in 49:19!

Go the MAN!

YEAH!

And, icing on the cake?  My toenail didn't fall off!

I think Beth is right. Em sembla que la Beth està correcte

Yesterday's post commented on my sleeplessness, and overheating, Beth commented that maybe it's menopause.

Went and looked up a little more about that, and discovered I could tick more than a couple of the boxes.  She's probably right.

So

I'll embrace this as the new me, be glad of the internal warmth and find productive things to do with the extra time in my day.  And nap.  Cause I live in Spain, and I can and I love to.

10K run tomorrow!

En el que vaig penjar ahir, comentava sobre el meu insomni, i que tinc molt de calor.  La Beth em va comentar que podria ser la menopausa.

Aquest matí he anat a buscar més informació i he trobat que tinc més que un d'aquests símptomes.  Llavors, la Beth deu ser correcte.

Bé.

Jo sóc així ara, i pot ser bé també.  Haig de ser agraït del calor que ara tinc, i haig de trobar coses productives per fer amb les hores que tinc com un extra.  I fer migdiades.  Perquè visc en Espanya, i perquè puc i perquè m'encanta una migdiada.  

Corro 10K demà!

Weird, sleepless and overheated. Estrany, poca dormida i massa calin

Something odd is going on.  I have always been a cold sleeper, always.  LAY on those blankets!  Plus, I am a solid 8 hours a night kinda girl.

Not anymore it seems.

Suddenly, same number of blankets as the man, and after 4 or 5 hours, I wake up, and I'm good for the day!

Honestly, I don't even have bags under my eyes, and I feel fine.

I am getting lots of exercise, no caffeine at all, anywhere, and know what?

I hate sleeping so little.

Grrrrr.

Alguna cosa estrany n'està passant.  Sempre he estat una persona fredolica quan dormo, posava MOTES mantes.  A més, sempre domia un 8 hores al nit.

ara no.

De sobte, tinc mantes com l'Home, i desprès de 4 o 5 hores, em desperto i estic bé pel dia.  

Sincerament, no porto ulleres, i trobo bé.

Faig molt d'exercici, no caffeïna, però res i saps què?

M'odio dorment tan poc.

Grrrrr

What happened yesterday, and a bit about today. Que ha passat ahir, i una mica sobre avui

Today first, cause it is fast and easy.  Worked, the usual stuff, but got a LOT of exercise it.  20K round trip bike ride to and back, topped off with a 3K run as the dog needed out and I was already sweaty.  Had I known, I'd have gone for a swim too, and done a tri!

Avui primer, perquè és una historia ràpida i senzilla.  He treballat, com sempre, però he fet MOLT d'exercici.  Un 20K d'anar i tornar a treballar a la bici i a més a més, he anat a córrer unes 3K perquè el gos ha hagut d'anar fora i jo ja estava suada.  Si havia sabut, havia hagut anar a nadar i podria hagut acabat un tri!

Ho sento molt, però aquesta historia a baix està massa llarg per fer aquí en català també.  Ho faré, però apart.

Yesterday.

OK, a little back story so you have a clue what I'm talking about.  I am doing a trade, a language lesson trade.  The architect who worked on our house badly needs to improve his English, and fairly quickly.  I don't do free language lessons, so we're doing a trade, for every hour I help him, he helps me for an hour as well with Catalan.

SO, since he and I are currently talking to each other for about 6 hours a week, quite a lot of hours, I find it easier sometimes, and more interesting, to go walking for part of the time, so we do.  Chuck likes this aspect of things as well.

Yesterday, the architect (I may have to come up with something faster to type!) and I were walking up into the mountains here in the village and we were just coming off the end of a road to head onto a trail when we say a young man coming towards us.  I have to give you more back story here to understand all the implications of this.

There are a lot of people living in Spain who have emigrated from Africa, all over Africa. They are almost all fairly young, under 40, and almost all of them are men.  They are, quite simply economic refugees.  I have recently come across an area where many of them are living near here, and it reminded me of nothing so much as a very small part of the images you see of the Townships in S Africa, how they used to look, I've no idea now.  Tiny shacks, cobbled together from whatever can be found, narrow dirt alleys between them, clothes lines and TV parabolas.  My estimate is that anywhere from 50 − 200 people are living in there, depending on crowding conditions.  I didn't go in to ask.

Anyway, most of these men, though by no means all, work as day labourers.  Some of them have gotten jobs and papers, but many of them work selling purses and scarves in the tourist areas, or doing day labour on farms.  My assumption, and I do want to underline assumption, is that something similar to what goes on in much of the US also goes on here.  There is a parking lot somewhere where guys who are willing to work for the day show up, and people who want to hire them drive up and pick out 6 guys, or 8 or 2, they load them into the trucks and drop them off somewhere to work before picking them up at the end of the day and driving them back, hopefully with pay.

They guys, I imagine, don't know what work they will be doing till they get there and have little choice.  Please note, I image.

That said, there is a look to these guys, and the fellow we saw coming down the road towards us didn't have the look.  Snazzy shiny basketball suit, nice runners, sort of an amateur gangsta look, if you know what I mean.  Not the kind of guy you see walking in the hills.  The only place he could have come from was the abandoned factory off in a different direction.  Where they sometimes hold raves, where kids hang out to sell, buy and smoke drugs, where graffiti is EVERYWHERE, and it isn't great graffiti.

Turns out the Architect is working on a project for that property, and is friends with the guy who wants to do the work, so when we got a little further up into the hills and heard the sound of a generator and metal grinder at work, he was sure that someone was in there cutting out the beams to steal them.  Now I know things are bad in Spain, and that theft, even crazy stupid theft is going up and up and up, for instance a large number of people have died trying to steal high tension power lines, for the copper in them.  Here's the catch, they are trying to steal them while they are in use.  Not good for your health.  Sometimes they succeed.

So, knowing this, I could believe, on an intellectual level, in the possibility that some guys were in there cutting out I-beams to sell them, but had my doubts.  Turns out he was right.  He called the guy trying to get the work done, his client, and he wasn't working there, so they called the cops.  There were three guys working there, one doing lookout and two inside.  Those two were cutting away beams that were fully loaded with a concrete beam floor above, that they were standing under. There was a w.i.d.e. span and few columns.  They had one grinder, one hammer and two pairs of sunglasses as protective gear.  You can see what was going to happen with that floor and those guys, right?

Unreal.  They were all African guys.

The cops showed up, the guys had taken off to hide in the woods, where we had just been hiding waiting for the cops....too weird.

As we're standing around with the cops, for I know not what, one of the guys shows up.  The cops start asking him for his papers, and going through the knapsack, etc etc etc, we leave, the Architect and I.

I felt bad for the guy, honestly.  I assume, and I grant this is an assumption, that he may or may not have even known what he had to do that day, and he certainly wasn't the one who organized the deal.  There was, for example no truck.  How those three guys were going to get the beams, tools and generator through town without a truck, I cannot see.  On their shoulders?

And this guy was likely to take the fall.

Just seemed....unfair...injust.

The Architect did point out that if we hadn't called the cops, one or both of these guys might well have died or been seriously injured, they were already about half way through that beam.

It has left me unsettled.  We talk about 'first world problems' but that just highlights our ignorance of how some around us are living.  This is a first world, but those people are living in a different world, parallel to ours, crossing tracks with ours, walking many of the same streets, but profoundly different.

And not so comfy.

And that is unsettling.

no?

Today has been a wee bit unsettling. Avui ha estat una mica...inquietant

Nothing bad happened to us, or will, but it was unsettling and I don't have the time to write about it now, so very late at night.
Res mal ha passat amb nosaltres, ni passarà, però m'ha deixat amb un sentit d'inquietud i no tinc temps per escriure sobre la tema, està molt tarde.

More later, after I've thought it through some more.  Escriuré més desprès, quan he tingut temps per rumiar una mica.

Thanksgiving

We had thirteen people to Thanksgiving lunch today, including us, all Catalan and Spanish, excluding some of us!
A casa nostra avui han dinat tretze persones per Thanksgiving, nosaltres inclòs, tots Catalans i Espanyols, nosaltres exclòs.

I have to say that it went really well, the turkey was great, the various sauces turned out really well, the vegetables were delicious, and the pies, fantastic, we even located pumpkin for pumpkin pies!
Haig de dir que ha anat MOLT bé, el gall d'indi era boníssim, les salses han sortit fantàstic, els vegetals...deliciós, i els pastissos fantàstic.  Fins i tot vam trobar una carbassa per fer la pastís de carbassa.

It was calm and organised in the kitchen, everything coming together like clockwork, with Youngest helping as needed.
A la cuina, tot anava amb tranquil·litat i ben organitzat, tot sortia bé i a l'hora, i la Petita m'ha ajudat molt.

The only thing that was a little odd was that I had an audience.  You see, the Catalans have only seen Thanksgiving in the movies, so for them it was quite the cultural moment, and they were fascinated by the whole process.  They asked when I stuffed the turkey, took notes on making bread sauce, and I have never in my life had so many people watch me make gravy.
L'única cosa una mica estrany era la audiència que tenia jo.  Mira, els Catalans només han vist un dinar de Thanksgiving a les pel·lícules, llavors, era un moment d'educació cultural, i trobaven tot fascinant.  M'ha preguntat quan he farcit el gall d'indi, quasi feien notes per fer la salsa de pa, i mai en la vida he tingut tanta gentada miren-me a l'hora de fer la 'gravy'.

Honestly, like being on stage, but know what? It all turned out really well, I was DELIGHTED, cause I haven't cooked a Thanksgiving dinner very often, and it was good.  Some of the pressure was off cause of course they didn't know how it SHOULD be, but it went well.
Veritablement, com si hagués pugat un escenari, però, saps què? Tot ha sortit super bé, estic encantada perquè no he cuinat un dinar de 'Thanksgiving i estava bo.  Mira, una mica menys de pressió perquè els Catalans no saben com ho és normalment, però ha anat molt bé.

Phew!
Ara, descans!

Grossness below, consider yourself warned. Hi ha una foto una mica escarós, t'aviso.

Slightly gross picture below, not as bad as all that, but OUCH!

La foto allà a baix està una mica fastigós, però no molt.  OUCH!

Went for a short run today, waking my legs up while simultaneously tapering (is that possible?) and found a rock with the second toe on my right foot.  The white lines at the bottom are where the nail seems to have shattered, there is blood under the whole thing, but especially under the tip, where it was oozing out earlier.  

He anat per córrer avui, per despertar les cames i fer un 'taper' simultàniament (no sé si ho pot fer) i he trobat una pedra amb el segon dit del peu dret.  Les línies blanques a baix són a on l'ungla ha trencat.  Hi ha sang a sota tot l'ungla, especialment a sota al part amunt del ungle, a on traspuava sang més aviat.

Ouch.

Fa una mica de mal.

I'm being followed. Algú em segeix

Every since I've got back from TO, his Chuckiness is following me EVERYWHERE.
Des del moment quan tornava, en Chuck m'ha seguit a TOT ARREU.

The Man, Youngest and his Chuckiness flew over a week before me, and when I got here, he started following me around.  Which he does if he's feeling kind of insecure cause I've been away, but he usually does it for a day or two.
L'Home, la Petita i en Chuck tornava una setmana abans de quan tornava jo i quan vaig arribar començava de seguir-me.  Ho fa quan troba insegur perquè he estat fora, però normalment ho fa per unes dies per molt.

We're in week 3 I think. Ara estem a la tercera setmana, em sembla.

And he is still seriously following.  I sit down, he sits on my feet, I get up to go to the loo, he's outside the door when I come out, I have to be careful not to whack him with it.  If I stay in one place for long enough, he'll go and lounge around in the room, but the second I get up, up he gets.
I m'està seguint seriosament.  Si sec, seu sobre els meus peus, si m'aixeco per anar al lavabo, està allà a fora de la porta.  Haig de vigilar de no donar-li un cop quan obro la porta.  Si quedo en un lloc per una estona, aniria una mica més lluny per trobar un lloc una mica més còmode, però al moment que m'aixeco, el també s'aixeca.

Only thing I can figure is that he thinks I'm getting Alzheimer's.  You see, with Eldest in Canada, he must figure that I forgot her, and simply haven't noticed her absence, so he'd better stick close, just in case he gets misplaced and I forget too.
No entenc que està passant amb el, em sembla que pensi que tinc Alzheimers. Mira, és així.  Amb la Gran en Canada, ha de pensar que l'he oblidat, i simplement, no m'he fixat que no hi és, llavors, ha de quedar molt a prop de mi que no pugui perdre'l i oblidar-lo també

Sat down to type

Fell asleep.

Try again tomorrow.

Bona nit.

that 10K....it's gonna be looong, Aquest 10K? serà molt llarg

Went running today, as planned, pulled off very nearly 7K, as planned.  Hmmmmm, I'm thinking that this is going to be a very very long 10K.
He anat a córrer avui, com he planificat, he acabat quasi 7K, com he planificat.  Hmmmmm, penso jo que aquest 10K serà molt llarg.

The wonderful husband, when I came in the door, red in the face, sweaty and feeling pretty darned slow and hopeless greeted me with, "Wow, that was fast!"
 El meu marit, meravellós, quan entrava la casa amb la cara vermell com un tomàquet, suada i em sentia lent i sense esperança, m'ha saludat diuen, "Que rapida!"

A keeper, that one. Val la pena que quedi, aquest, no?

GOT IT! Ja ho tinc!

Got a new bike, and I LOVE it. OMGoodness, it is a beauty...almost as good as my beloved bike in Canada.  In TO I have a rigid Specialized Stumpjumper from the early 90s with a mixture of XT and XTR components, a seat that fits me perfectly, cages, lock, rack, water bottles....stickers, extended handles, I've cut down the handlebars, re-jigged the break levers, the chain and sprockets are starting to wear, but she is a beauty.

He comprat una bici nova i me l'ENCANTA.  És preciosa....quasi tan bona com la meva bici a Canada.  En Toronto tinc una Specialized Stumpjumer (rigida) del any 90? amb una combinació de components XT i XTR, un seient que està exactament la meva mida, gàbies per aigua, un candau, una porta-equipatge, enganxines, extensions per la barra on posis les mans que ho vaig tallar també, que no siguin tant ample, els frenes vaig canviar que sigui més senzilles per les meves mans que són força grans, però encara no tant gran com les d'un home.  La cadena i les plates ja estan una mica gastades, però....

The same bike new (not rigid, they don't do that anymore) is WAY out of my league financially.....but I got a super sweet bike:  Specialized Myka, HT, (hard tail, no suspension on the rear wheel) She is fast, agile, smooth, quick and FUN.  You should see my smiling face, I am DYING to go out and ride her.  SWEET!  They sold me a rack at a 10% discount, gave me a bottle and cage, installed both and replaced the pedals for ones that have cages, for free.  Plus in 2 months I can bring the bike in for a revision.  SWEET SERVICE!  And they weren't even FAINTLY patronizing.  Just plain good service.

La mateixa tipus de bici (no rigida, perquè ara no ho fan) està MOLT més cara del que puc fer ara, però he comprat una bici que és una vici....super bé.  Una Specialized Myka HT (hard tail, que vol dir que no té suspensió a la roda de darrer).  És rapida, àgile, i divertida.  Hauries de veure la meva cara, amb un somriure...tinc tantes ganes de pujar-la i anar!  Que BÉ!  M'han donat un descompte de 10% per la porta equipatge, m'han donat una ampolla per aigua i la gàbia i han muntat tots dos i han canviat les pedals per uns que portar punters (?) una mena de gàbia per els peus...gratuït!  També d'aquí dos mesos, em faran una revisió de la bici, gratuïta.  Quina manera amb els clients.  He anat avui amb unes poques ganes, de vegades els homes qui treballen en botigues de bicis poden ser una mica pesat, però no.  Simplement una manera amb els clients molt bona.

But I can't take her out for a spin yet.  I've signed up, yesterday, for a 10K race next weekend.  As I have done very very little running of late, this requires a little work.  Going to put in 7K tomorrow, and then take it from there, a 5K or two and a 3K probably next Tue or Wed.....then race day!  I was getting nervous about finishing in time, when I realised that I WALK 10K in less time than is allowed for running it.  I should make the cutoff.

Però no puc muntar-la i anar a jugar, encara.  Ahir, o abans d'ahir, vaig apuntar-me (i l'home) per una cursa de 10K per el cap de setmana que ve i que no hagi anat a córrer molt, últimament, tinc una mica de treball que haig de fer.  Demà faré 7K, i desprès un o dos de 5K i un de 3 dimarts o dimecres....  Estava posant-me una mica nerviosa amb el tema d'acabar amb els temps que ens deixen, i m'he fixat que puc caminar la distància en menys temps que ens deixen.  Em sembla que acabaré.

Small, quick, fast and fun.  Now THIS is commuting!  Petita, rapida, àgil i divertida.  Això és per anar a treballar.

Bike shopping, comprant una bici

I'm riding a borrowed bike at the moment, and it is ENORMOUS!  Don't get me wrong, it fits me in the sense that my feet hit the peddles in the right places and all that, but the frame?  I need a 17 − 18 " frame, in a mountain bike, and I SWEAR this has to be 23".  Truly, I have never ridden a bigger bike, and it is tall, as in pretty upright, as in, I am sitting up a lot, nice on the wrists, though with shocks, is that an issue?  Harder than necessary on the butt and downright squirrelly going uphill, there is just no weight at all on the front wheel.

En aquest moment, vaig amb una bicicleta que un amic em va deixar, i és ENORME!  No vull dir que no arribo, els meus peus arribant als pedals sense dificultat, però la quadra?  Necessito un de 17 o 18", per una bici de muntanya, i això, tu juro, ha de ser 23".  La veritat és que no he muntat una bici tant gran en tota la meva vida.  També és molt alt, i estic seient més com si fos una cadira.  Bé per els canells, però una mica més dur que sigui necessari pel cull i quan pujo, la roda de davant fa el que vol, per aquí, per allà, però no toca terra.  Una sensació molt incomoda.

Odd.  Estrany

Hoping to get a good lead on a bike tomorrow.  Espero que trobo una bona bici demà!

Cross your fingers for me! Creus els dits, d'acord?

Yeah, the economy here sucks, Sí, l'economia aquí és un desastre

But this is why most Catalans really want to leave Spain.  Not the letter, obviously, but the comments that the author is responding too.  He has my whole hearted agreement.

Però això és perquè tants Catalans volen sortir d'España, no la carta, clarament, però els sentiments que han ofès l'escriptor, i jo també.  Estic completament d'acord.

From Collectiu Emma, I quote in full from their site:  D'el pàgina Collectiu Emma.  He penjat tot que tenen allà.  Em fa por intentar traduir aquesta carta, si algú vol, ho intentaré.  Si sí, deixa'm un comentari.  

Letter to President Martin Schultz

(Signed by MEPs Ramon Tremosa and Raül Romeva, and former MEP Oriol Junqueras)

Dear President Schultz,

We are writing you concerning the public declarations realized b y Mr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, vice-president of the European Parliament, concerning a possible military intervention in Catalonia.

On September 28th, Mr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras participated in the program 'El Gato al Agua' in Intereconomía chanel, where openly proposed the suspension of Catalonia autonomics power and called the Spanish vice-president, Soraya Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, to prepare a general brigadier from la Guardia Civil should be sent to Catalonia in order to dissolve its autonomic status.

Mr. Vidal Quadras literally said "The called referendum (for Catalonia self-determination) is illegal. An institution of the Spanish Government, the Parliament of Catalonia, cannot take a decision against the current system. Other than going to (the Constitutional court), you have to do something else: Article 155 of the Constitution provides a mechanism to intervene an autonomic region, if that fails autonomy laws. (...) The militar, which I mentioned before, have to take over the power of the Mossos (Catalan Police). And that's it. And if people take the streets, it is ok, but they cannot live more than a month in demonstrations. The government, if they persist in this attitude of rebellion, must intervene to rebel autonomy. (...) We must make use legitimate and prudent proportional form of coercion."

We cannot accept under any circumstance that a Vice-president of the European Parliament calls for a military intervention against citizens of the Union who are demonstration peacefully its own thoughts. We remain you that all the demonstrations in Catalonia and the declaration of the Catalan Parliament are done through a strictly democratic procedure. These declarations violate the freedom of expression of many people in Catalonia and the normal democratic procedures in Catalonia and Spain. It is, indeed, a clear violation of the subordination of the military power to civilian and democratic decisions taken by citizens.

The threats of Mr. Vidal-Quadras are inappropriate and outrageous and a shame for the European Parliament, a truly democratic institution. As Vice-president of the European Parliament, Mr. Vidal-Quadras should respect the fundamental principals of the Union, reflected in the Article 3 of the TEU, where it state " 1. The Union's aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples." and " 2. The Union shall offer its citizens an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers, (...)"

As Members of this chamber, we do not accept any incitation to the used of military forces to resolved a conflict within the Union, and we call you, Mr. President, to firmly react to this declarations, reinforcing the foundations of the Union, which is guarantee the peace in Europe. The EU is a beacon of freedom and democracy as they are enshrined in articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty of the Union, and we call for your responsibility to guarantee a proper representation of the European Parliament throw their vice-presidents.

We ask you to ensure that Mr.Vidal-Quadras gives public apologies for this scandal. Otherwise, we trust you will take the necessary action to restore the honour of this democratic chamber.