Dawn

Dawn

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

When I came back to Galicia a couple of weeks ago to find the sun shining after weeks of rain, one of the pleasures lined up to welcome me – and second only to my blooming Jasmine – was the contented birdsong echoing around the garden. But that's now been replaced by the monotonously mechanical chirping of a granitepecker(Ave Graniti Irritato), as it levels the ground for a new house on the finca directly below my house. And which sounds like this.


This is ten seconds of it. Now try to imagine 10 hours, starting at 8 in the morning, the equivalent in Spain of 6 in the UK.

It's such a shame that the construction industry hasn't entirely collapsed. But thank God it's just the one property and not an entire development. The one on the other side of my house had the granitepecker operating for at least 2 years. Pointlessly, it turned out, as the houses remain unoccupied. Unsold even.

There's a grain of comfort for the besieged Spanish government this week as it stares, aghast, at the growing momentum for ('illegal') Catalan independence – Support for Scottish independence is at an all-time low of 30%, and the No vote is 21 percentage points ahead. In fact, no one now expects the referendum there to result in a majority for independence. As I've always said, the Scots are just too damn canny to fall for it.

And talking of peoples' attitudes . . . Here's a surprise – except to those of us who predicted it - “Public confidence in the EU has fallen to historically low levels in the six biggest EU countries, raising fundamental questions about its democratic legitimacy more than three years into the union's worst ever crisis. . . . Figures from Eurobarometer . . . show a vertiginous decline in trust in the EU in countries such as Spain, Germany and Italy that are historically very pro-European.” 'Raising' here presumably means 'endorsing'. You can read more here, in the Europhile Guardian.

Walking into town as the primary schools were coming out midday today, I noticed just how many of the kids were being taken home by grandparents, who play a vital role in helping Spaniards to manage their crazy split-day timetable. Will things ever change? Possibly but not in the next 10 years.

I once stood next to Gwyneth Paltrow in the Oxford Union, when her then-boyfriend was talking there. I didn't know it was her until my daughter later told me and my recollection was that she'd been a pretty ordinary-looking young woman. But now People Magazine has adjudged her the world's most beautiful woman. I wonder what she's on. Or with whom she's made a pact.

I never understood why Arsenal let Van Persie go. Perhaps they had no choice as his contract was at an end. Anyway, he's scored some tremendous goals for Manchester United – one of them against Everton – but at the weekend he volleyed home what may be his best ever. You can see it here (scrolling down the article)

Oh, dear. Déja-vu. Borussia Dortmund thrashed Real Madrid 4-1 tonight, following the massacre of Barcelona by Bayern Munich last night. Spanish football appears to have peaked. And German teams are now cocks of the walk. As I said the other day, this ain't going to go down well and I'd advise Mrs Merkel to stay away from Spain for a few years.

Mrs Merkel, by the way, says that she doesn't like the word 'austerity'. "I call it balancing the budget." she said. "This term 'austerity' makes it sound like something truly evil." Well, I guess it depends on where you're standing. And whether you're among the 27% of the working age population who's not working.” That infamous euphemism “Arbei macht frei” sounded pretty innocuous too. "Balancing the budget" is little but a EUphemism.

Mots Justes

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

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