So,
up to Pontecaldelas this morning, to get official evidence of my sale
of the property on which the city is trying to tax me. While the girl at
Reception printed me off a copy of the Escritura
de CompraVenta
(7 euros), this is how our chat went:-
Is
there a document which you sent to the Catastro that I can have a
copy of?
No. The
only thing we send is the Escritura. We do it routinely.
Yes,
I thought so. So, why haven't they registered the change of
ownership? It seems strange to me.
Yes,
strange but not that odd. It happens frequently. But we've no idea
why.
So,
I have to go back to the Catastro in Pontevedra and give them a copy
of the Escritura you've just given me.
Yes.
Is
there any other way I can tackle this problem?
No.
Thanks.
Here's the 7 euros.
My
return to the Catastro
on Monday will be the fourth office I've visited to solve this simple
problem. You might wonder why it arose in the first place and whether
it could be addressed by phone or snail-mail. But you wouldn't if
you'd lived here for 12 years. Or even 12 months. Though you might
have concluded that, if you don't have the time and the understanding of Spanish I
have, you'd we well advised to give the problem to a gestor
– an animal that doesn't exist, I suspect, outside the Hispanic
world and which came into (profitable) being because of the
bureaucratic nightmare that is Spain at times. Though not when it comes
time to make your income tax return. Odd, that.
Our
city council has announced it's going to reduce the number of lanes
on our biggest bridge from four to three, turning the remaining one
into a pedestrian and cyclist lane. So it's official, cyclists are
not only allowed to use pedestrian walkways but compelled to.
Smack
on time comes a report from Nigrán, down past Vigo, where the
council has installed many miles of dedicated cycle lanes, alongside
the main road. Cyclists are not satisfied. In fact, they're up in
arms, claiming that the lanes are dangerous for both cyclists and
pedestrians. 'Too narrow', they say. With reflectors in the tarmac
which are bound to cause accidents. Not to mention all the obstacles
with which the lanes are strewn – large rubbish containers and
bus-stops, for example. And an absence of signage. I dunno; some
people are never happy.
Here's
an Economist guide to measures being taken by the European
Central Bank, finally acting like a true central bank, to secure
the future of the EU's weakest economies and, thus, to save the euro.
With or without Greece. This was published a week ago but it hasn't
really been overtaken by the events of the past few days. There's
bound to be another article in the latest Economist but I
won't see this until some time next week. If ever. I like the point
that the more the ECB does to safeguard the eurozone in the short term –
reducing the fear of collapse - the less incentives the
politicians have to make the substantive changes that would safeguard
its long term future. Presupposing it has one.
I
keep preaching the quality of Galicia's 'new' white wine, Godello.
See here for a professional view. I stress that I am not responsible for the pun in the last
line.
Just
as I was writing this, a youngish woman touched me on the shoulder
and smiled at me. I had no idea who she was and with blushing face,
had to ask her to remind me. She turned out to be one of the
waitresses from the Siglo,
my old watering hole. I apologised profusely and stressed I'd never
seen her with her hair down or with the large tattoo on her shoulder.
She was nice enough to forgive me.
And
now I've just been tapped on the shoulder again. But this time by a
younger, (even) more attractive woman. But at least I did recognise
her, the daughter of the owner of my favourite tapas bar. What with
all these challenges, it's a tough life.
Talking of which . . .
Finally
. . . More women. Here are ten fotos I've taken of women in their 20,
30s or 40s, to Illustrate the phenomenon of the 16/20, 16/30 and
16/40. That is, women who look 16 from behind, etc., etc. I would
defy you to guess the correct age of any of them.
Anyway,
this research is now at an end. Even though it's been very useful in
giving me a shortlist of a hundred young women for the town's
Briefest
Shorts of the Summer
contest.
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