A toast to your good health

 ¡Salud! Sláinte! Cheers! 

Best Christmas wishes to everyone. 

We will be back January 8th 2025

Happy New Year!

Happy reading and Merry Christmas!

 Wednesday 18^th December will be our last meeting of 2024.

Time to sing the traditional song attributed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Auld Lang Syne. (For times past)

 

Last Wednesday we touched on a subject that will make us all sit up and pay attention. Here is a summary. 

 

Data Centres which house our storage systems need a massive supply of water and electricity to create the air conditioning that keeps the temperature cool in these buildings.

These are physical building in our towns. The euphemistically named Cloud

‘And the water must be soft.’ Belino told us.

‘Can it be recycled?’ Antonio asked. Belino said that he  didn’t have that information.

Salvador quoted a national paper saying that Big Tech in Talavera de la Reina planned to produce 248 megawatts using 504, 000,000 litres of water for an installation for Meta.  The Hydro graphic Department of the Tagus in Spain doubted that it would be possible to provide that amount of water and the company had to reduce its expectations.

Antonio said the number of megawatts is not important, what is important is the water supply. ‘So there is always a river nearby to supply the water.’ Obviously local communities worry about the impact the presence of data centres will have on their water and their grids

  Belino countered that it is of importance because that amount of electricity can only be supplied by fossil fuels such as gas or petrol.

Salvador mentions the clean energy Aerothermics which he has in his house explaining that it refrigerates the hot air in summer and heats the cold air in winter providing hot water all year round. Pedro explains that it takes the air in and out constantly.                           

Alicia has heard that data centres need to receive a constant supply of water and Big Tech may consider building nuclear power points to provide a source of energy to maintain the desired temperatures.

Pedro gave us the example of the Metro Madrid data centre that uses the equivalent in one year of all the houses in Spain in one day. He told us that some data centres rent the space, a room or a rack depending on the company’s needs. This is known as Hosting and Housing. Others own their buildings.

Alicia suggests that we need governments to assess the impact of data centres on the environment.

 Salvador believes governments should regulate the abuse of power supplies, the same way as they regulated the use of drones.

As for the car industry, Belino said that electric batteries cannot supply our needs because of the vast amount of copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt needed. He also told us that another hopeful idea, the use of Green Hydrogen is not viable again because of the scale of the problem.

Antonio told us the humorous story about a sprawl of cables under the ground all over Paris that were used fifty years ago but not anymore, A huge mess which is known as La Machine,

 We would like to think it will sort itself out the way changeovers have done in the past.

 ‘Think out of the box,’ Antonio said.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

 

SEASON'S GREETINGS

 

The Mystery Of The Opposite Sex

 Some things are inexplicable. For example the female fans who scream at the concerts of their idols. The Beatles stopped giving concerts because the fans drowned out the sound. It was frenetic, Apparently fans of female mega  artists such as Taylor Swift do not react in the same way.

Also inexplicable in 2024 in Western society is the increased violence against women as we all were made aware of on news programmes around the world to mark November 25^th  International Day to stop Violence Against Women.

Our conversation will revolve around the power of music but it will also be about how we need to understand what is and is not appropriate behaviour in the twenty first century, just by speaking and listening to each other.

November 27^th 2024

How migration really works

 https://youtu.be/89jS8FRkRCI

This is a good starting point for our debate on Wednesday Nov 6th 2024 at 6:30 p.m. on Belino's suggestion.

Recent News

Claudio Rodríguez Library

  
 The town library received a donation of books from The British Council library, more than they could handle, so we were allowed to enrich our collection. We brought back classics of English literature along with abridged versions for students of English. They have found a good home.

ASEDOW is very grateful to the library staff for thinking of us when disposing of this surplus book stock.

Every Picture Tells A Story

 Curiosities from around the world.

You are invited to share your picture and give a talk.

Be prepared!

 Salvador will take us to Thailand.

See you  Wednesday  9/10/24

Do you see the beauty in Brutalist Architecture?

 Bring back the Le Corbusier inspired buildings.

Built to house the multitudes of homeless after the Second World War, the concept of affordable housing is every bit as relevant t today as it was in the 1950s.

The housing shortage, especially for workers in the hospitality sector, workers in holiday resorts could be addressed.

We could have valuable and valiant initiatives, just like La Maison Radieuse.

Ethics over Aesthetics.

What do you think? Tell us.

Wednesday  October 2nd 18:30.

Rezé

September 25th 2024

 After a long and very hot summer here in Madrid, our association invites you to join us tomorrow from 18:30 to 20:00h at 18, Av Baunatal,  Floor 1, Room1.

There you can have a leisurely talk  and meet the members.

Any of us can inform you about what to expect when you come to our weekly get – togethers.

Alternatively, write to us for all the information.

asedow@gmail.com         

A picture paints a thousand words

¡Hasta la vista!

Yesterday we enjoyed an end of school year drink together, those of us who could make it. We will renew our activities the last week in September. Wishing everybody safe and happy holidays in the company of Nature, friends and family.

Una tertulia

The Spanish love a tertulia, a good conversation. At the same time they can be very passionate about their views on football and politics so to have a good conversation the silent rule is to avoid these topics which in this day and age is not easy. Well, in any day and age. Still we try. We hold the conversation in English, a good strategy to bring people together from different walks of life. Using the English language to express opinions helps harness a natural tendency to be over dogmatic. Each of us brings our own repertoire of travel tales and humorous anecdotes as well as interesting proposals for discussion. I have always shared Washington Irving's view that you will find the greatest nobility in the ordinary people of Spain. See this for yourself. Come and enjoy our 'tertulia' on Wednesday. asedow@gmail.com

There are two sides to every story

 Shi Huangdi. The name of the Chinese Emperor who ordered history books to be burnt. He wanted history to begin with himself.

‘El Infinito En Un Junco’ has many interesting facts. This book recommendation came up in our talks  yesterday.

Papyrus plant Egypt

We touch on many subjects.

Yesterday we began by talking about the terrible plight of the people in Palestine and ended up talking about Peruvian oral tradition.

We had the same oral tradition in Ireland. Academics have been responsible for rescuing languages that were in danger of extinction, places where they did not use the written word to pass down folk memory.

Lady Jane Wilde, the mother of Oscar, was a Gaelic speaker. She helped collect the memory of the Irish people in her written publications and this goodness of spirit on her part no doubt contributed to her son’s humanity, empathy and storytelling ability.

Our conversations weave in and out effortlessly, making connections.

To join us, write to asedow@gmail.com

The connection between morals and art

 https://www.vqronline.org/essay/moral-prerogative-oscar-wilde-look-fairy-tales

We love this essay, The Moral Perogative In Oscar Wilde: A Look At The Fairy Tales by John Allen Quintus, which was published in 1977 in Virginia Quarterly Review and we really appreciate the easy access to the wonderful Virginia University publication.

We hope you enjoy it too.

Wilde Flowers

 April showers bring May flowers.

En abril aguas mil.

The beauty and variety of the wild flowers in San Sebastián De Los Reyes and at this time of year in Spain together with the scent of the lovely hawthorn, all induce me to make the pun  (yet again!) while paying  tribute to Oscar  Wilde by calling them Wilde flowers. I am sure he would not mind.

We can publish your pics too!

Some shamrock for St Patrick's Day

 

Arts and Crafts

Tomorrow we have the opportunity to listen to Luis expound upon William Morris, a person he admires greatly.

In fact not long ago Luis was our guide in the wonderful exhibition on William Morris in Fundación Juan March here in Madrid.

Tomorrow in our talks he will tell us about the Art of book binding too.

Wednesday 13th March 2024

Universidad Popular

San Sebastián De Los Reyes

18:30h

See you there!

"If I were asked to say what is at once the most important production of Art and the thing most to be longed for; I should answer; A beautiful house; and if I were further asked to name the production next in importance to be longed for; I should answer; A beautiful book."

William Morris (1834 - 1896)

Morris is mentioned in this clever dialogue between Cyril and Vivian. 'Why even Morrris's poorest workman could make you a more comfortable seat than the whole of nature can.' The Decay of Lying By Oscar Wilde

 

Ver un Mundo en un Grano de Arena

y un Cielo en una Flor Silvestre;

tener el Infinito en la palma de tu mano

y la Eternidad en una hora.

Un Petirrojo en una Jaula

pone furioso a todo el Cielo

 

Augurios de Inocencia

https://web.seducoahuila.gob.mx/biblioweb/upload/AUGURIOS.pdf 

 William Blake 1757 – 1827 was a poet, a painter and a visionary. 

At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a master engraver.

At the age of twenty one he earned his living as an engraver.

Booksellers employed him to engrave illustrations for publications such as Don Quixote.

Don Quixote: ‘I fight against three giants: fear, injustice and ignorance.’

Blake used the written word to highlight beauty, humanity and life.

Cervantes in the seventeenth century, Blake in the eighteenth century, Oscar Wilde in the nineteenth century. A treasure trove of Literature.

Auguries of innocence by William Blake

 To see A World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour

A Robin Red breast in a Cage

Puts all Heaven in a Rage

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43650/auguries-of-innocence