19th October, 2019.
It’s officially official: I actually forgot to phone my landlords, yesterday.
About my boiler!
It sounds like it’s going to need replacing at some point … !
I’ve managed to email them, though: and can always follow that up on Monday.
So long as I set up a reminder!
~≈†≈~
In the midst of all that … ?
In the midst of all that, Parliament is meeting today: on a Saturday.
The first Saturday meeting since the Falklands War.
It’s so MPs can vote on the Leaving deal Boris Johnson and the EU have brokered.
I’m not sure I follow all of the ins and outs.
I can only hope we — you and me, the voters of the UK — get a vote in a second referendum.
I know I’d be voting remain, again.
Just as a final thought?
The ‘~’ sign is a tilde.
I keep thinking it’s the only written symbol named after an actress* …
~≈†≈~
Let’s move on, shall we?
Yesterday’s Teaser saw Badwolf†, Olga‡, and Debbi^ putting in their answers: with all three scoring five out of five.
Let’s see how everyone does with today’s questions, shall we?
Q1) Ferdinand 2nd married Isabella I on 19th October: of which year?
Q2) Which of the pair ruled Aragon?
Q3) Which of the pair ruled Castile?
Q4) The pair were known as the Catholic … what?
Q5) Finally … ? The pair’s marriage eventually led to the formation of which country?
Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …
Q1) 18th October saw the founding of the British Broadcasting Company. In which year?A1) 1922.
Q2) In which year did it become the British Broadcasting Corporation?A2) 1927.
Q3) What’s the world’s largest international service?A3) The BBC World Service.
Q4) The BBC’s commercial arm — responsible for international distribution and sales — is called what?A4) BBC Studios.
Q5) The BBC is largely funded through what: international sales, adverts or a TV license?A5) The TV license.
Here’s a motto …
“Tanto monta, monta tanto.”The pair’s motto.
And a song …
Apparently, music like that would have been common at Ferdinand and Isabella court.
Today’s questions will be answered in tomorrow’s Teaser.
Have a good day.
* Am I the only person thinking Tilda looks like she’s going to give us a brief rendition of Bulletproof?
† I know what you mean, Anneª: there’s only a few good remakes! It’s the same with sequels. (No-one I know went to see the remake of The Italian Job! And Tim Burton’s of Planet of the Apes was a bit shaky …)
‡ It’s not surprising, Olgaª. The benefits system is bad enough, sometimes. Add new — and untested — technology to the mix, and someone’s going to suffer. Facial recognition’s another: I think this sort of thing’s common. And you’re right about boilers. Unfortunately? From what I’ve seen in my street, they only get replaced when they fail completely. (Oh, I’ve a Teaser about Catalan independence coming up. I’m hoping it’s not too contentious: I know how sensitive it is.)
^ They’re odd, Debbiª, let’s put it that way … !
ª I think I could’ve phrased that international service question, a bit better!
1469,Ferdinand II of Aragon & Isabella I of Castile,Ferdinand II of Aragon & Isabella I of Castile, Catholic Monarchs, Spain.
ReplyDeleteQ1) 1469
ReplyDeleteQ2) Ferdinand
Q3) Isabella (somewhat controversially, but hey, what’s new!)
Q4) Monarchs
Q5) Spain (Mind you, their dynasty died off a long time ago).
Perhaps if they realise the repairs cost more than the boiler is worth. I had an insurance on it, but it comes a point when they say it's not worth repairing and they usually offer some discount when installing the new boiler... Oh, probably not that controversial for people outside of the country. It's all a bit weird, because the issue is far more complicated than the article suggests (yes, the division of taxes is unfair, especially when you think about the Basc country, which got a more advantageous deal, but then, perhaps the government is or was, more scared of what they could do, and they were also cleverer when negotiating. I think there is a very ingrained culture in Spain of not allowing any discussion or talking about certain things (yes, the famous pact of silence, indeed), which do not sit well with true democracy. If you just follow the story of Franco's body and the huge hullaballoo about removing his body from el Valle de los Caídos, it's easy to see that a lot of people still think what he did is right and refuse to have an open discussion about it. He allowed Germans and Italians to use Spain as a test for their planes and bombing, that indeed was quite useful to them in the war later, and beyond the Civil War (that of course, as any war, is far from pretty, no matter which side you look at), he (well, and his governments) disposed of anybody they saw as a threat or anybody who dared question the status quo.
A difficulty right now is that they have imprisoned (or they are in hiding) the true political independentist leaders. It took forever to agree on a government, and, to tell you the truth, Torra is not very good at it. The government has imprisoned the people they should be talking to, rather than talking to them (and even some who aren't directly involved in politics). I'm sure there are capable people around, but would you put yourself forward if you know you're likely to end up in prison? Perhaps things could have been done better, but I wonder how. There's so much talk about the constitution, but the way it was written and passed was pretty underhand and many things (the monarchy, for instance) were not up for discussion. And, laws should be open for discussion. They are written at a certain moment to suit the circumstances at the time (look at the American constitution. Common sense should count for something). Anyway. I've never been big on politics and I missed much of what happened while I was away but seeing people pull together for something is nice. Whatever it might come out of it.
Thanks for asking, by the way.
Not much to say this time around. Trying to take it easy. :)
ReplyDelete1. 1469
2. Ferdinand II
3. Isabella I
4. Monarchs
5. Spain