Spanish
life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
-
Christopher Howse: A
Pilgrim in Spain.
Life
in Spain
Cataluña
1: Just about the only thing that one
can predict with any confidence is that Madrid's next challenge will
be widespread civil disobedience, especially among Catalan
bureaucrats and media employees. And very probably among the local
forces of order as well. Cracking heads or even just arresting folk is not going to solve that one.
Cataluña
2: Having now read the papers I see
that this resistance is already underway or at least imminent.
Cataluña
3: The number of companies to have
'left' the region now stands at 'more than 1,000'. As reader Maria points
out, this very likely reflects pressure from Madrid on
operations based in the region.
President/Prime
Minister Rajoy: Here's a Guardian
profile on this stubborn Gallego, renowned for his preferred
strategy of doing nothing until – if ever – he really has to. If that's too long a prospect for you, here's a sort but accurate sentence: The prime
minister’s decision to deal with Catalonia as a legal rather than a
political issue has strengthened accusations of intransigence and
prompted vows of resistance from independence supporters who are
planning a peaceful campaign of civil disobedience.
The Bigger Picture: Here's The
Guardian again with a view on how the
Catalan imbroglio affects the EU. The paper observes that the latter
is suffering another existential crisis and that it's the UK's job to
help it overcome it. Interestingly, The
Times agrees on the existential crisis but concludes it's the perfect time for the
UK to jump the sinking ship. Guess where I am . . .
Meanwhile, here's
good news for us Brits resident in Spain. Long expected by some of us, on the basis that we bring a lot of bunce to Spain.
Which
reminds me . . . A reader asked if I'd given the NHS all the details
of my Spanish residence, his/her point being – I think - that I
should not been given free treatment. In fact, I did declare everything
and was not asked to pay. Maybe this is because: 1. NHS personnel
don't think 'commercially'; and 2. If I had used my EHIC card to get
free treatment, the costs would have been billed to Spain. And then
billed pack to the UK under the per capita lump sum per British resident
that the 2 governments operate. I think.
Driving
in the UK. I can't help noticing that
drivers here don't need the endless speed signs that one gets in
Spain, even on the autovias. This is particularly true of the UK motorways – where there are none at all - but, even on A and B roads, UK
drivers are (sometimes) only told Roundabout Ahead and maybe Slow Down, rather than given a rapid sequence of 80, 70, 50, and 40 signs as they approach
one. The other thing, of course, is that folk here know how to go
round roundabouts. . .
Finally
1: I had a feeling of empathy or
deja vu
when I read this description from a UK columnist on corporal
punishment at home:
I am not entirely sure where I stand on
this issue. Like most working-class kids of my generation the rod was
not often spared in my household, metaphorically or literally. My
mother kept a set of canes, left over from a failed vegetable patch,
in the kitchen, and used them with some glee and vigour. At school
too, I was caned fairly regularly for being an utter arse.
He's stolen my recollections! But I have to go further and say I was strapped even in the 6th form of the grammar school I attended, when it was impressed upon me that this was a signal honour as it had never happened before. Except I don't think they used the word 'honour'. As you can see, it all did me no harm . . . .
Finally
2: I went for a follow-up appointment at the hospital today, to
check that the antibiotics had worked. Which they have. It was reported recently that NHS medical staff will soon have to ask you what sexual
orientation you have, and my pre-prepared answer was going to be: I'm
not entirely sure, as I'm only aged X, and have only tried one so far. Put me down as a
'Don't Know'. As
it happens, they didn't ask me this, even on the questionnaire they
gave me. So I expressed my disappointment on the form and gave the
answer I would
have given them if they had asked. I hope it makes someone smile one
day.
Today's
Cartoon:-
A tribute to M Macron . . . .
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