Meals past, and meals yet to come!

In a shameless attempt to boost page-views in his blog Toni has decided to include a description of a visit to Can Roca from a couple of years ago.  To be fair, it is in Catalonia, in Gerona, but all the other restaurants in his blog are from our town of Castelldefels.  Still, it will be worth it, if only to try and re-live the taste sensation of that night!  

We still talk about some of the extraordinary examples of the culinary art they we were encouraged to experience.  To say we simply ‘ate’ them seems somehow sacrilegious!  I can’t remember now whether it was the first or second ‘best’ restaurant in the world, but I know that I will never forget the meal.  I’m not sure that I could stand eating like that on a regular basis, but as a one-off it was wonderful.  You can (if he has put up the information yet) read Toni’s description and see photos of some of the dishes here: http://catalunyaplacetoeat.blogspot.com.es

And you would make him very happy if you left a comment!

The judicial shambles that Spain calls its system of justice has taken another turn further to the scandalously ridiculous by it being announced that crucial papers in the Barcenas Case have been ‘lost’!  No one believes this.  Everyone believes that it is a shameless governmental stitch-up by the criminals in PP to try and get away with the glaring crimes of theft that they have committed in the kleptocrasy that they have established during their time in power.  PP destroyed the hard drives of the computers in their illegally financed headquarters in Madrid shortly before a police raid to impound them.  They have lied about illegal payments made to members of the government; they have lied about payments made by big firms to the party; they have lied about their opponents; they have lied about police crimes and they have effectively brought the status of ‘politician’ down to a level where a drunken drug addict pimping his daughter would have a higher social standing than any minister in this disgusting government.

            But we are all punch drunk with the enormity and the relentlessness of the evidence of the pusillanimous mendacity of the government which is broadcast daily.  The Barcenas case rumbles on, but no one important (or indeed guilty) has been put in prison.

          I’ve given up counting the number of PP mayors who have been accused or convicted of theft and corruption.  Nothing has been done to the senator who used public money to fly to the Canary Islands to meet his lover and he is brazenly standing as the PP candidate for president of his region!  Bankers walk the streets – that is a metaphor because they wouldn’t dare walk the streets, they would be torn to pieces by the poor that they have created by their greed and the people whose money they have stolen.

            It is easy to feel depressed when thinking about the present situation and, in my darker moments I wonder if there really are enough people revolted by the present unacceptable situation in Spain to turn to the only party that I can see offering anything like a new vision for the country, Podemos.  I hope.

Anyway, enough of that, the sun is shining, we are about to go the ‘Bucket Place’ for lunch (see Toni’s blog tomorrow!) and I am about to make a concerted effort to get the TMA done.  I want it out of the way so that I can concentrate on the EMA which, at the moment is in a bit of a blocked state as none of the pieces of location information have yet come my way.  I do have various plans to cope with the information never appearing, but it would be nice, to say the least if everything was able to come together.

The poems continue, or at least the notes which eventually become poems with any luck continue.  The ‘Tree’ poems which seem to have become something of a speciality of mine, almost replacing the ‘Swimming Pool’ as my major source of inspiration, are waiting to be written – all it takes is turning the pages of my notebook back and getting on with it!  Simply said, not quite so simply done.  But at least the pencils are sharpened, the paper stacked and there is electricity to power the computer, so all systems can be go.

            My poems are found at: http://smrnewpoems.blogspot.com.es 
in draft form, but at least they are there to be edited and that gives me the comfort of presence.

          The guests at the meal in October are beginning to sort themselves out and, although it is the best part of ten months away, I am looking forward to it immensely.  I only hope that ‘Flesh Can Be Bright’ lives up to my expectations.  
I am still looking for a third artist to add the art work to the ‘Autumn Trees’ poems, but, with any luck that is almost in hand.  It will then be a constant process of prodding to make sure that everything gets done in time for publication.  With just me and the printer there is enough worry, but when you add a further five collaborators then worry becomes exponential!  But life-enhancing!

The zest to go on holiday seems to be ebbing away, if zest can ebb, and I am disappointed.  I will try and re-stimulate interest and hope for the best.

Now, the TMA.  But, perhaps a spot of lunch first!