In Spain, and bulls

Well, I arrived in Spain OK, via various queues. The wireless in the hotel is working, sort of. Hopefully the university will be better tomorrow.

I flicked through the channels on the TV in the hotel, and came across some bull fighting. Now, being English, and therefore Fond of Animals, this is not something I've ever been greatly enamoured of. But I thought it was worth watching, just so that I knew what was going on. Overall, I can't see it taking off in Britain, although there would be some amusement to be had from them trying it at Headingley, as anyone who's sat in the Western Terrace could appreciate.

I think part of the problem (apart from the sock-down-the-trousers posturing) is that the poor bull reminded me of Jack, the cat. One way of keeping Jack entertained is to wave things around at him, and let him pounce on them, bat them away, chew them etc. The various bull-fighters do something similar to the bull - the main difference being that I have absolutely no intention of sticking any sharp objects into Jack (alas, he doesn't always reciprocate in this). By the end, I felt like I wanted to go up to the bull, put my arms round its neck and give it a big hug. Poor thing. Poor me if I ever try it. The social embarrassment alone would be enough for the bull.

The rest of Spain is better, though. Good food and wine already. I just have to work for it for the rest of the week. I'll try and post some photos of Asturians pouring cider later in the week.