A Bit of a Warning?
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs.
The Queen paid a
visit to Caceres the other day. Sorry, I should probably be more precise, I
don’t mean the ex-journalist who is the darling of all the fashion magazines, but
the one who, like me, can’t get rid of that stubborn accent from elsewhere. In
these days of having two kings, two truths, two popes etc, things can indeed
get a bit confusing. But as the refrain about the legendary Spanish generosity
goes, donde comen tres, comen cuatro (where three can eat, so can four). Even in these difficult times when
hospital beds are being cut back and people are expected to retire after they die, why
not have two queens? And if the trains out to this part of her realm aren’t to
her liking, well let’s send a helicopter to pick her up. Anyways, don’t feel bad if you
didn’t know about her visit, I only found that she was here when I saw the
police towing my neighbors’ cars away for security measures, and I live in the
old town. I had suspected something was up as I walked home and noticed more
police that pedestrians but my suspicions were confirmed when I overheard an
officer talking to a neighbor. The poor guy had just found out that his car had
been towed away and the policeman was telling him that he shouldn’t be upset
because he hadn’t been fined, though I’m not sure his taxi fare to pick it up
will be included with the helicopter in the budget. It seems that la doña
Sofia was here to attend a concert that in part was sponsored by the town hall
and el Grupo Ciudades Patrimonio de la Humanidad de España. I found myself
wishing that Iberdrola, the electricty company or even the water comany had also been part of this and the in
the process they could have shown the town hall the way that they actually
inform residents about something that is going to affect them a day or two in
advance. The fact that TVE (Spanish National TV) was here with the queen will surely help promote our
fair city but I’m sure that this wasn’t a state secret and a few signs the
night before would have appeased even the most virulent republican.
