I suspect I’ll soon be able to paper at least one room with lists of local mayors who’ve been prosecuted for corruption in Spain. The funny thing is how so few of them seem to hide their wealth. The latest report features photos of a rather large house with a Porsche in the garage. Or perhaps this is just an impression gained because it’s the idiots who revel in their ill-gotten gains that get to feel a hand on their collar.

Spain’s local government may well be very corrupt but at least it’s cheap. In contrast, I see the UK’s average annual Council Tax has risen to 1,500 pounds, or around 2,200 euros. I’d guess few Brits feel consoled by the fact local government is rarely corrupt, merely self-interestedly bloated. And expensive. And who’s to say this isn’t a form of corruption?

I’ve taken yet another step into the cybersphere and signed up for Google Reader. Now I just have to figure out what it’s all about.

If you are one of those people who believe punctuation is rather overrated, take a look at this sentence from a UK quality paper. And ponder how you would feel if you were 1. Elle Macpherson, or 2. her libel lawyer:- Mulcaire admitted unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages left by a number of men including the publicist Max Clifford and supermodel Elle Macpherson. By the way, this is not a cue for whoever it is who, at times like this, writes to say my grammar, punctuation or spelling aren’t perfect either. For one thing, I don’t have proof readers.

Galicia Facts

The heavy rains of the last couple of weeks have brought terrible floods to towns on our coast. These are blamed, in part, on the deforestation caused by August’s devastating fires but the Voz de Galicia has also pointed the finger at what it calls ‘ferocious urban development’. Those mayors again.

One particular consequence of the floods is a gaping hole in the middle of one of our main roads. Into this, around midday on Wednesday, fell a maintenance van. The police were called and a car raced to the scene. And promptly launched itself into the hole. So the police erected barriers around it. Guess what happened then. . . . Go to this link for a picture of this scene from the Keystone Cops. And to the ‘Albumes’ link on this page for another shot of the hole [No. 15]. Plus several others, including the coffins floating around a funeral parlour.