Dawn

Dawn

Sunday, June 10, 2012


In a country with many cultural influences - one of them the Middle East - it's not too surprising that Spain should try to save face over the bail-out it's seeking from the EU. So, it's not really what we all think it looks like - a shameful, embarrassing bail-out. No, it's only a loan. And a very soft one at that. Click here for what (some) Spaniards are saying about down in the calle.

And now . . . The fruits of my ginger beer research:-
Crabbies:- Tastes of ginger, with no hint of bitter beer/ale. 4.0% alcohol. Appealing.
Naylor's:- Bitter ale with just a hint of ginger. 4.4% alcohol. Unappealing.
So, nothing like each other.

I'd like you to know this research cost me. I put the Naylor's bottle next to me on the sofa while I wrote my comments on it. A short while later, I heard a distant Spanish voice telling me there was no reply to the number I was calling and that I could leave a message. It took me a while to realise this was coming from my mobile phone, underneath the bloody beer bottle.

I believe the law on prostitution is much the same in the UK as in Spain, though brothels are a far more a feature of (the edges of) Spanish cities than they are of British cities. I mention this because the British government has announced it will be closing some London whorehouses during the Olympics and my suspicion is that the opposite would have happened in Madrid. But I may be wrong.

My friend Alfie Mittington has been educating us in his blog recently on Spanish banks. To supplement this, here's an article which addresses something which some of us have been talking about for years - the greed, cronyism and corruption within the regional savings banks (cajas/caixas). Scrutiny of these institutions is said to be rising but I suspect the perpetrators are still sleeping soundly in their beds. And will go on doing so.

Finally . . . I bring you the word flense. New to me, it means 'To slice the skin or fat from a carcass, especially that of a whale'. Synonyms: Flench: Flay; Skin

No comments: