Rambla scrambla

You’re standing there watching a gang of hardnuts running a find-the-lady game. Your wallet’s safely in your pocket with your hand on it, and you know better than to get involved in this type of scam. What you may not know is that this is a new version in which the game is nothing more…

Trams

The local Spanish conservatives (PP) and Catalan separatists (ERC) are saying that the public launch on April 3rd of Barcelona’s gorgeous new light rail service (nother site) should be delayed, while the crumbly old Catalan nationalists (CiU) have only just stopped short of asking for each tram to be preceded by a man waving a…

Fresh growth

“Spring is here, spring is here, Life is skittles and life is beer,” sang Mr Lehrer, but first it’s time to park that old Ebro or Simca under an old olive tree (or a holly oak, or whatever takes the wrecker’s fancy): You can see these two rustbuckets (as well as a genuine iron mine)…

Hate plates

In the States civil servants get paid to censor vanity plates. Here are a couple that didn’t make it in Florida: I H8 GOD MY HO KIZ MY A ATHEIST (but only temporarily) And here are some that did: IAM GOD KICKAZZ (but only temporarily) Apparently Kentucky is the home of free expression, allowing HATE…

New drinks machine

Some more old nonsense from El Diario de Barcelona, 1894/8/22, quoted in Paco Villar, Historia y Leyenda del Barrio Chino (1900-1992): At the beginning of calle Conde del Asalto [ie carrer Nou de la Rambla], almost opposite the entrance of Crédit Lyonnais, a special beverages establishment has opened its doors, equipped with an entirely new…