Weather…. my favourite subject, and as I look out of my window you would not believe the view that greets me. The cloud and mizzle is so bleak that I can hardly see the hills a couple of km away. This is really not August/Summer weather, and might well be the tail end of Hurricane Bertha! (By the way, is mizzle actually a recognised word – a cross between mist and drizzle?) This is not really great bullfighting weather either. 

Sorry, this is just a bad attempt to make a link between my weather comment and the bullfighting ‘festival’ this weekend in Pontevedra. Yes, our provincial capital still allows this annual spectacle – I will not call it a sport, as that might imply that the bulls have a sporting chance, which clearly, they do not. Over two weekends at the beginning of August ‘La Corrida’ takes over the city, and is typified by the young supporters (peñas) who move around in groups wearing brightly coloured t-shirts, usually emblazoned with some witty slogan or other. This part of the festival is harmless enough, although I should add that as the day progresses, then the consumption of alcohol tends to become a factor in their general behaviour. Enough said.

So, why is this a Dull & Boring weekend (apart from the gloomy weather)? Well, yesterday, 9th August, was officially Dull & Boring Day, celebrated by the ‘twinned’ towns of Dull in Perthshire, Scotland and Boring in Oregon, USA. The two small towns joined together back in 2012, and this year it was to turn of Boring to host the celebrations. They did so in style, with an ice cream feast and a lone piper…. they really need to visit Spain to see how a fiesta is done properly!

Oh, and by the way, there are actually another couple of places waiting to join in all this fun – the Shire of Bland in New Zealand, and the small town of Yawn in Louisiana.

Weather…. my favourite subject, and as I look out of my window you would not believe the view that greets me. The cloud and mizzle is so bleak that I can hardly see the hills a couple of km away. This is really not August/Summer weather, and might well be the tail end of Hurricane Bertha! (By the way, is mizzle actually a recognised word – a cross between mist and drizzle?) This is not really great bullfighting weather either. 

Sorry, this is just a bad attempt to make a link between my weather comment and the bullfighting ‘festival’ this weekend in Pontevedra. Yes, our provincial capital still allows this annual spectacle – I will not call it a sport, as that might imply that the bulls have a sporting chance, which clearly, they do not. Over two weekends at the beginning of August ‘La Corrida’ takes over the city, and is typified by the young supporters (peñas) who move around in groups wearing brightly coloured t-shirts, usually emblazoned with some witty slogan or other. This part of the festival is harmless enough, although I should add that as the day progresses, then the consumption of alcohol tends to become a factor in their general behaviour. Enough said.

So, why is this a Dull & Boring weekend (apart from the gloomy weather)? Well, yesterday, 9th August, was officially Dull & Boring Day, celebrated by the ‘twinned’ towns of Dull in Perthshire, Scotland and Boring in Oregon, USA. The two small towns joined together back in 2012, and this year it was to turn of Boring to host the celebrations. They did so in style, with an ice cream feast and a lone piper…. they really need to visit Spain to see how a fiesta is done properly!

Oh, and by the way, there are actually another couple of places waiting to join in all this fun – the Shire of Bland in New Zealand, and the small town of Yawn in Louisiana.