Colin Manning

I was on the bus the other day and it passed a number of people waiting at a bus stop because the driver believed the bus was full. The bus wasn't full. In fact, there were even seats but this was a reasonable conclusion for him to come to because there was a big crowd of people bunched up the front. I guess some people prefer to stand. But why don't they stand then at the back so that more people can get on the bus.

As if my day hadn't been multi-cultural enough, I went to a Brazilian bash tonight. It was the drinking tail-end of a capoeira weekend. It was great fun. The DJ was good. The live music was superb, and the dancing was fantastic. As if my re-integration weren't tough enough, the people working behind the bar were Spanish. I found myself worrying about whether Heineken is masculine or feminine. Heineken sounds masculine, but ceverza is definitely feminine. Is it un pinto or una pinta? I went with pinta. Brazilian parties are not where married men go to avoid temptation, but I wore my wedding ring on one hand and my super gay watch on the other. I made it home safely, but not before concluding that, more or less, the entire population of Brazil is going straight to hell. And I successfully deferred the decision to join them.

I went to a dinner today in Bishopstown GAA as part of the Onam Festival organized by some members of the Indian community of Cork. The food was tasty and good fun. It was vegetarian because some Hindus are vegetarian. I thought it would be very hot but it wasn't. The flavours were wonderful. Thankfully our hosts organized forks for my buddy and me. The deputy mayor was the guest of honour and he was a bit late. That meant there was a bit of waiting. I was looking forward to the dancing but left before it started. I met some very nice people. All of my Indian friends have left Cork now. I'd forgotten how welcoming, hospitable, and kind Indians are. I know it's a bit much to draw conclusions about one billion people based on having met only a few of them. But I don't care.

The wine museum in Peñafiel is quite missable.

I survived the Chañe fiesta. It was hard work. Despite the reputation Irish people have for drinking we are not a patch on Spaniards. Of course the reputation Irish people have for drinking is so great, that most Spaniards simply conclude that I am a poor excuse for an Irishman. My sister-in-law was one of the reinas de la fiesta. This meant that she got a new dress but had to perform a few official duties. She was more concerned, however, that with only days to go she and her buddies didn't yet have a peña. I thought my nickname of reina sin peña was hilarious, but no one else found it funny. Peña is a difficult word to translate. The best I can do is shebeen . A peña is a drinking den where teenagers go to drink, smoke, and make out. In Spain parents accept that their kids are going to drink. They don't just give them money for this, they often give them real estate too. In Chañe most peñas are disused farm buildings. Not so long ago people kept their farm animals in the...

Spaniards are not big newspaper readers. The tabloid end of the news market in not in print at all but on television. Spanish TV stations are awash nightly with B-list celebrities and their comings and goings -- often from the airport. The sight of a celebrity walking away from the camera, ignoring a "journalist" repeating the same question over and over is a nightly occurrence on TV. Footage, that in most markets would be considered useless, makes it to air in Spain. A celebrity not giving an interview is still "news" worthy. But today Spanish journalism reached a new low. Perhaps it was the panic. Or perhaps it was the familiar territory of MAD-T4 that caused a lapse of judgment. Today after a plane crashed on take off at Madrid Barajas Airport I saw family members of passengers on TV not giving an interview. One distraught woman was being pursued as the left the terminal building. Celebrities court the media. The don't get to complain when the attenti...

I am both happy and sad that Ella Elle L'a is No.1 in Spain. I am a big fan of the original France Gall version from her album Babacar . I think it is one of the greatest pop songs of all time. It is also one of the few French songs that have been popular in the English speaking world ( Voyage Voyage , and Joe Le Taxi come to mind). That this tarted up dance beat cover by Kate Ryan has made it to the top is interesting. It proves that you can force something to be a hit if you play it often enough. While the Baila Chikki Chikki EuroVision song promised to be the ubiquitous summer hit this year, interest waned very quickly after the contest itself. In addition this song was only available for sale on iTunes. This of course makes sense. The business of selling CDs has long since died in Spain. Members of the target market for a song like this probably don't even own CD players. And it's a long time since they paid for music in any format. But if a dance remix of th...