Why vaccine passports are a bad idea

What is a vaccine passport? As mooted currently in Andalusia / Spain, it’s proof that you’ve been vaccinated against Covid and, as such, certain civil liberties that are currently suspended should be returned to you. You’d be allowed to travel, to socialise, if you had one. Let’s think about that for a bit. What is the purpose of such a passport? Well, to divide society in “haves” and “have-nots”. I’ve had a jab – you Continue reading Why vaccine passports are a bad idea

The rats came for the water

I forced myself downhill and through the bushes. There was a call in the air, under the half moon and the stillness of the air. No, I did not know what drew me on, only that there was a call in the silent midnight air, a demand, a thrust. Everytime I came to a thorn bush, there was an impulse that made me ignore the blood drawn. When I came to a slope, I hesitated Continue reading The rats came for the water

When the mob came for the priest

It was the cat that awoke me. I started from my wicker seat, the one that my parents had bought me when I left the seminary. I was startled awake from my siesta, and my prayer book fell from my lap, and my glasses with it. I blinked at the broken spectacles. I scrabbled at the frames in fury, and only managed to cut my hand on the thick, broken glass. The welling blood on Continue reading When the mob came for the priest

The Hoopoe revenge

Tonight, then, would be the night. The Moon set against her sect, invisible tonight. Tonight would be the night. The sack bulged. Above, Saint Lorenzo cried his tears, pointing his invisible way towards the Holy Grail. That trail would have to wait for another night. I set out. The road was gritty, illuminated by the base lights of a base town. The gravel on the tarmac slipped underneath me; my sack bulged and I slipped. Continue reading The Hoopoe revenge

A night above Turre

Sorry, I spent the lockdown reading the collected works of HP Lovecraft and got carried away. David, August 2020, shortly before he was never heard from again – spell from Clem 849. Tonight was a night of music, not magic. Yet the full moon floated overhead. Silence, cut only by distant lorries and the sudden scream of a vixen. I put on my earphones and staggered through the night. The dead rosemary whipped at my Continue reading A night above Turre

Madeline McCann and the Vera connection

Local papers are excited after the Daily Mail revealed that alleged Madeline McCann killer Christian Breuckner drove to Vera in the weeks before the abduction, in the same vehicle police think he used in the attack. The story is a little involved, in traditional Daily Mail style, and I couldn’t be bothered to read it all, but it seems he picked up a couple in Málaga and drove them up to Vera, where he spent Continue reading Madeline McCann and the Vera connection

Interior minister caught out in lie over sacking of top police officer

A leaked document marked “top secret” published today in El Confidencial gives the lie to the claim that the firing of a top Guardia Civil officer overseeing an investigation into senior politicians was for any other reason. Minister of the Interior Marlaska claimed last week that he ordered the firing of Colonel Diego Perez de los Cobos for simple personnel reasons, and that it had nothing to do with the fact that the Colonel hadn’t Continue reading Interior minister caught out in lie over sacking of top police officer

Guardia Civil’s Nº2 officer quits in protest over fired colleague

General Laurentino Ceña, the second most senior office in the Guardia Civil, has quit his position with immediate effect in order to show his support for his colleague Colonel Pérez de los Lobos who was fired in murky circumstances after opening a penal investigation into senior politicians and the chap in charge of Spain’s pandemic response. Granted, the good General was only a week away from retirement and quit in such a way such as Continue reading Guardia Civil’s Nº2 officer quits in protest over fired colleague

So how is Pedro Sanchez recovering from his bad day?

The pact that PSOE and Podemos signed with EH Bildu to gain five abstentions in the vote to extend the last State of Alarm is surely one of the biggest errors in Spanish politics. Read my write-up on what happened here. In summary: PSOE agreed to get rid of all the PP’s labour reforms before the end of the state of alarm (and gave the Basque’s a wad of cash) in exchange for five abstentions Continue reading So how is Pedro Sanchez recovering from his bad day?

An afternoon with the baby

The Dyson was blocked. Seemed simple enough to fix. Was it? The wife had to work that afternoon. So I had to look after a hyperactive three-year-old and a kitten. Seemed simple enough. I thought I’d clean the house while I was at. The place was a tip. As Baby settled down to watch his TV, hugging the kitten, I glanced at the clock. It was only 5 pm, but it had been a long Continue reading An afternoon with the baby