A report last week said that Spain had moved up the international ‘transparency’ league. Which was good news, though I believed at the time this owed more to greater availability of data than anything else. Now, this week, comes a report which endorses this suspicion, stating baldly that corruption is increasing here. You can read more in this article but here are a few pertinent comments – “TI’s 2008 report excoriates Spain for numerous corruption scandals and property abuses that have undermined the public’s faith in state institutions and led to the widespread belief that all politicians and business people are crooks. Despite a certain amount of public tolerance of corruption, there is a growing belief amongst Spaniards that corruption is on the increase and spreading in government and business. 60% believe the government does nothing or very little to stop corruption in the property sector and 10% believe the government actively encourages it. 63% believe political parties are corrupt, 41% believe lawmakers are corrupt, 54% that companies are corrupt, and 44% that the media is corrupt. Turning to public services, the same pattern emerges. 40% consider the judiciary corrupt, 29% the police, and 37% the tax authorities”. As someone has written - “The outlook is depressing”. But perhaps the end of the construction boom will bring a natural end to much of the skulduggery.

The PSOE cabinet appears to contain a number of youngish members who give the impression of being a little wet behind the ears. One such is the Ministress for Housing - Beatriz Corredor. Addressing the country’s real estate promoters, she’s implored them to have a sense of responsibility and to put their shoulder to the wheel to overcome the crisis. Assuming they can avoid bankruptcy, of course.

Talking of corredores . . . The TV commentators thought the Pamplona bull-run this morning was fantastico and fenomenal. What rot. It was all over in less than two minutes and the only incident was some guy getting his shorts ripped. This is not what I want from my annual foray into Spanish TV.

It’s not hard to find evidence of the insanity in British society that’s developed over the last 20 years or so. Today’s example is that of The National Children's Bureau issuing advice to play-leaders and nursery teachers that they should be alert for racist incidents among youngsters in their care. Allegedly, this could include a ‘racist’ child as young as three who reacts badly to being served unfamiliar foreign food. Or to put it as the NCB does:- “The children might react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying 'yuk'". To which the only sane reaction can be – Yuk! Using this test, at least 98% of Galicians are rabid racists, such is their reaction to foreign muck.

The pint of shandy was not the only over-sized product which I stupidly allowed myself to be sold in Madrid last week. Following my daughter’s advice, I asked a pharmacist for a particular sun filter and handed over almost 19 euros for it. Last night, I discovered down in Pontevedra that there are two smaller sizes and that the 8 euro bottle would have been enough for my meagre requirements. Things wouldn’t be so bad if the stuff didn’t go off in under five years . .

Galicia Facts

I now discover there’s a twelfth local rag. The Xunta has taken to producing a bulletin all of its own. And it’s riveting stuff.

Property construction in Spain takes at least two years, often more. Which accounts for the ‘overhang’ which will impact on the market for at least a couple more years. Anyway, the ones behind my house are proceeding at even more of a snail’s pace than usual and will not now be occupied within three years. Possibly even longer as they are a testament to developer greed. As you can see, they're not terribly wide:-

But at least they're wider than the gardens which give onto a concrete wall. Behind which lies the original granite which was so noisily broken up over six months, two years ago.

Redolent of 19 century industrial towns in Britain. And this is a snob area!