Dawn

Dawn

Friday, April 17, 2009

Much media attention has been given today to a new Spanish product hailed as the elixir of youth. It’s said to have the equivalent goodness of 45 bottles of wine or 45 kilos of grapes and its name was prominent in the TV news bulletins this morning. One wonders what clinical testing it’s been through and whether it would be allowed on the market in the USA – or even, say, France. But no matter. It’s now had millions of euros of free advertising and it was no surprise that the company executive looked pleased with himself, when interviewed. It will presumably now fly off the pharmacy shelves.

Talking of France . . . I see that President Sarkozy has been indiscreetly critical of at least three national leaders, including President Zapatero of Spain. The oddest thing, though, is that he’s said to have put forward the Italian buffoon, Berlusconi, as the model to follow. Perhaps it was all a bit of black Gallic humour. But it’s certainly being taken seriously here, where it’s well known that some French folk take the view that ‘Africa begins at the Pyrenees’. There was a nice cartoon in one of the national papers showing a worried Sarkozy asking an angry-looking Zapatero “You’re not stupid enough to think I really said you aren’t intelligent, are you?”.

I talked yesterday of the slower pace of life here. Or at least of the lack of urgency. Today I received bills from my medical insurance company relating to dental appointments last October. Good job I’m not dead.

It seems that Telefónica have started their nuisance 1452 calls again. I hope they like listening to my radio. But the more interesting news is that the company’s CEO is in court on charges of insider dealing with his previous company. Perhaps I should give him a call to offer support and to ask whether he wants to change his internet provider.

As I occasionally bang on about the universal Spanish commercial practice of fleecing your customers - or even prospective customers - by forcing them to use a premium phone line, I was pleased to see that a number of airlines operating here – including Easyjet – have been criticised by the Consumers’ Institute for being less than honest and clear with their customers. That should do the trick.

En passant, I see it’s the time of year when the Euroblog awards are adjudicated. And I’m always in favour of anything with Euro in the title . . .

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