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Sunday, December 31, 2006

Thoughts from Galicia

I have some German guests for a week. This morning they complained my neighbours had kept them awake by partying until 5am. What could I say? Welcome to Spain and buy some earplugs for the next party tonight?

For December, the most interesting citations which brought readers to this blog were: Vitasexual and northcliffe megalomaniac

Galicia Facts

The regional government has spent 2 million euros on a new representative office in the embassy quarter of Brussels. I wonder whether the German Landers all have these. I’m pretty sure the British counties don’t. Unsurprisingly, the Xunta foresees a 50% increase in the number of staff at the Fundación Galicia-Europa.

Until the November rains and floods, Galicia had one of the driest years on record, confirming [it’s said] the phenomenon of regional warming. Over the last 30 years, the average temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees. The future, we’re told, holds the prospect of more ‘adverse phenomena”. You have been warned.

As of yesterday, deaths on the road had decreased by 8% here in Galicia. This is very welcome but I suspect it’s not as good as the national achievement and I can’t see the premium we pay for car insurance coming down much.

Galicia’s ‘dispersed’ population is 4 times the national average. A bit more specifically, the percentage of Galicians who live in villages of less than 10 house is 17, against 4 for Spain as a whole. This is said to contribute to several of the problems which have hit the region recently – fires, floods, fly-tipping and interruption in the water supply for example.

Finally, the regional TV channel tells us that ‘Tradition dictates New Year’s Eve be given over to musical galas and humour’. If I were a TV watcher, nothing could depress me more.

And on that sour note, I wish you all a 2007 which you both survive and, on balance, enjoy. What more could you hope for?

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