Slow movement

"Slow city" or "slow town" is an international network of towns. The movement Slow proposes, a way of life that prioritizes the quality and teaches how to relishing the life.

Furthermore, the philosophy of the calm life, which claims the pleasure of the small things and the respect to the nature as opposed to the frantic rhythm that imposes our nowadays life.

The Italian journalist and food writer Carlo Petrini was the founder of this movement.

Actually there are Cittaslow National Networks in England, Wales, Germany, Norway, Poland and Portugal.

In our country, Pals, Begur and Palafrugell, are the first towns that have requested their adhesion to this international association.


The association tries to create a new urban model based in the 'good live', which means having services and solutions that allow to the citizens to enjoy in a simple way of their own city.
In addiction, the adhered towns have less than 50.000 inhabitants, and they give support to local products.

As the manifesto of the association says, 'to live in a calm city is a way of being, more human and ecological, more supportive with the present and future generations.

The Slow City manifesto contains over 50 pledges, such as:
-cutting noise pollution and traffic,
- increasing green spaces and pedestrian zones,
- backing farmers who produce local delicacies and the shops and restaurants that sell them,
- preserving local aesthetic traditions.

The logo of this movement it’s a snail.
“The snail was chosen because it moves slowly and calmly eats its way through life.”

Once upon a time that a snail and a turtle had a day the fatality of being startling. When the snail went to the hospital injured badly, the doctorasked him:«But what was happened?». And he put face of stupefaction when one of the slowest animals of the planet answered to him: «I do not know, everything happened so fast».

Ban smoking in public places

Last Sunday I saw in a newspaper an advertisement about passive smoking or a second-hand smokers. In it, you can see a little girl and this sentence:

“This girl smokes a packet every day. Because every time that someone smokes in front of a cild, she or he is to be forced to smoke. Choose spaces without smoke".

First of all, I think that smoking in public places should be banned, because it is unfair on people who don't want to inhale the smoke of other people.

Secondly, there are some arguments for the ban, for example:
-Passive smoking is dangerous
-A majority of people favour a smoking ban
-A ban would encourage more smokers to give up
-People have a right to protect themselves from smoke inhalation
-Smoking is a habit which is addictive

We all know smoking is not healthy. Unfortunately when smokers are able to smoke in public buildings they can make other people sick.
I think that smoking should be banned in public places especially restaurants. why should nonsmokers have to take in other peoples smoke when they are eating.

Finally, not allowing smoking in public places and office buildings is a very good rule. I believe this for several reasons. Not only will banning smoking improve people’s health, it will also increase worker productivity and reduce conflictivity

Cleanliness & Pollution

Much of the pollution that is emitted to the environment from our homes has as origin
the domestic products of cleaning.
A good administration of these or an adequate replacement of them will contribute in an effective way to decrease our nature's impact.

The manufacturers strive to fabricate products of attractive colours and, even, with smell of flowers. But, we can trust that their ingredients are good for the environment?
The manufacturers invest more time and money in surpassing their environmental deficiencies.

In spite of everything, the choice of cleaning's products keeps being far from environment criteria. For example:

“I choose the one that costs cheaper” or “that is not expensive and smells well", or "that with littlt amount it will serve many times"...

In opposite to these products there are some natural products that everybody can fabricate in their own home, they are quite effective and practically innocuous for the environment. Most of these products are based on combinations of vinegar, alcohol, lemon, bicarbonate, perborate and ordinary soap.

For reasons of health, mainly, and also for ecological consciousness some people start to brief in order to eliminate the chemical products at home.

Mini saga

She's sitting in a corner, crying.

She has never been this scared in her life.

She could remember her mother saying that crying was never the solution, but she didn't know what else to do.
Suddenly, she heard the voice, calling out again. Her nightmare was becoming real.

Private health vs public health

In our country the most important problem about the public health is the saturation of this service. As a result many people have an alternative to the public health, previously they have to hire a private insurance.

Firstly the advantages of the private health are:
- people don’t have to wait to make an appointment. There isn’t a waiting list.
- also people can choose the doctor they prefer.

In addition the sick person can go the specialist directly without the need to go to the family doctor.
Furthermore, there is hospitalisation in single rooms with bathroom, and bed for relatives as well.
However private health is very expensive, therefore a lot of people can’t pay this service.
On the other hand, public health has more human and technical resources, more qualified doctors in operations and surgery of risk.

In addition primary attention is doing tasks of control the health and prevention of illnesses.

There are pros and cons about if it’s better private or public health, but in my opinion health service should be public and the best for all of us.

Mileuristas

It was in August 2005 when a girl called Carolina wrote and sent a letter to the newspaper El Pais, in which she used the mileurista term (I don’t know if there is a similar term in English).

Maybe the concept already existed in many people’s mind but until that moment nobody had used a name for it.

The mileuristes term applies to the person who was born during the 70's. They are part of the demographic boom of this country and they have had a complicated entry to the working world. One of the most relevant thing is that their salary is not superior to 1.000€ .

The other fundamental thing when describing the mileuristes is the training. They have University career, many times they have masters and postgraduate courses and they speak different languages.

However they find jobs that are below the training they have

One of the big problems that they have is the impossibility to leave parent’s home because of their low salary and the cost for renting or buying an apartment.

I’m sure that we know some young people who they are mileuristes.

Henry Moore

Three Points (1939-40)


Two Piece Reclining Figure (1960)

I wanted to start my composition with some Henry Moore’s quotes, which describe very well all his large work.

“A sculptor is a person who is interested in the shape of things, a poet in words, a musician by sounds.”

“It is a mistake for a sculptor or a painter to speak or write very often about his job. It releases tension needed for his work.”

“The observation of nature is part of an artist's life, it enlarges his form and knowledge, keeps him fresh and from working only by formula, and feeds inspiration."

I really loved the Henry Moore exhibition last Friday in Caixa Forum, a beautiful place to show us so many sculptures about this artist. The guide was very useful to understand his work. How the observation of nature influenced to Herny Moore’s art. For example the Two Piece Reclining Figure remain you a landscape near to the sea.
Another sculpture that impress me, was Three Points, I understood that represent the Gernika’s horse. Henry Moore has a sculpture in the Gernika village called Large Figure in a Shelter.

In the exhibition you can see also some pieces that Henry Moore called his “library in natural ways” or “objets trouvés” where you can be contemplate: shells, bones, fragments of silex and other objects found in the landscape of Perry Green. These found objects were the inspiration of a creative process that he always started with small scale models of plaster or of clay.

Henry Moore followed during his entire trajectory a personal path in search of forms and own outlines, suggested by the observation of the nature, by the study of the landscape and of the human figure.

I’ve never seen before anything of Henry Moore. After I went to the exhibition I tried to find information about him and his art.

In conclusion, I enjoyed a lot!