Up in the hills above Madrid this weekend, a small multi-age group held what will probably be the last public act of homage to Franco in Spain, commemorating the 32^nd anniversary of his death. Under the new Law of Historical Memory such displays will shortly be banned. I wonder if it’s illegal to worship the Devil in Spain. I guess it is. But it will be rather ironic if it isn’t.

Early in 2005, I commented that ‘Building a house in Spain is a long and frustrating process’. I added, though, that work was proceeding apace on a couple of new houses being built near me and that they might just be finished in under the two years I guessed was the Spanish average. In April 2006, I went so far as to estimate that one might be ready for occupation in three months and the other in six. Nineteen months on, neither of them has yet been completed. And I rather doubt this will be achieved before the looming third anniversary of the start of construction. While this is not good news for the buyers, it does rather inspire me with confidence I will win my bet on the earliest date anyone moves into the houses being built on the other side of me. Right now, the Portuguese labourers are, as usual, working flat out but I have grounds for believing things will rapidly decelerate once the shells are finished and the emphasis shifts to work which calls for coordination of various sets of craftsmen. But vamos a ver.

I’ve long been using Google Reader to give me quick access to all the sites I read of a morning, but I discovered by chance this weekend two more Google facilities:-

Google Alert: These are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. I’ve selected Galicia and await my first weekly batch. Click here, if interested.

Googlism: Using this, you’ll be able to find out what Google.com thinks of you, your friends or anything. Interestingly, it appears to think I am a famous British criminal.

Anyway, here – shorn of references to Poland and to a bank in Argentina - is what Googlism says Galicia is:-
a top seafood exporter
a leading region in agriculture
often misunderstood
tucked away in the north
an area comprising grass and granite that has a rugged coastline
always surprising
a viable alternative to the big cities and more well
the shearing of the beasts
a nationality of almost 30 . .
the greenest region of the country
a region located in the northwest corner of spain
undergoing political and economical development
an ideal location for lovers of nature
closely linked to the sea and its cities
time for dark green pimientos de padrón
often called españa verde or green spain
of little importance
probably one of the most beautiful autonomous regions of Spain
located in northwest spain and covers 2,957,509 ha.
green
cultivated with as much loving care as the grape vine
such a varied small country that ranges from the high mountains to the quiet beaches of . .
the latest to be added to golden bough’s ever growing celtic repertoire
classified as region objective number 1 by the european union
the place
'celtic'
a world in itself
the centre of autonomous government and a site for many professional associations and organisations which makes santiago a city
a small country in the north west of spain which has its own language
a very mountainous region with large tracts of heathland broken by gorges and fast . . .
not spain
the spanish autonomous region with the highest production of cow's milk
one of the 17 autonomous communities that make up the spanish state
considered in spain as "the country of a thousand rivers" despite the fact that their natural quality is very poor due mainly to agricultural practices and septic tank/leach fields which cause nitrate . . .
inviolable and is made up of 75 delegates that go to represent the four provinces of the autonomous community

As for poor Pontevedra, the response is - Sorry, Google doesn't know enough about Pontevedra yet.

I hope you have better luck.