Not
long after I'd arrived in Spain, I commented to a friend that
the country's new roads and motorways were a marvel. "Just wait
and see what happens when they need to be maintained", replied
my glum friend. Well, a report's been issued claiming that Spain's
roads are now in the worst condition since 1985 and forecasting
there'll be an 'apocalypse' next year if something isn't done
immediately. The guilty parties are, of course, La Crisis and
the subsequent austerity measures and I don't expect any early
change. I almost look forward to seeing what shape the apocalypse
takes. Does anyone offer pot-hole insurance?
Click
here if you want to know the 10 worst streets in the UK for broadband
speed. And note that all of them have a higher speed than me and my
neighbours. Courtesy of a couldn't-care-less Telefónica.
Spain
is Different 4:
- Spain has bullfighting and bull-baiting. Most other countries don't.
- Spain is reported to be the least homophobic country in the world, except perhaps for those countries (including Sweden) which weren't included in the survey.
- Spain may be the only country in the world where you need to employ a professional (a gestor) to get through the reams of bureaucracy that face you.
BTW
- A reader has pointed out that we all have Chip & Pin cards in
Spain but that most retail outlets don't yet have the capability to
operate them properly. This is why I wrote that I don't understand
why this is so. It's years now.
Another
reader has pointed out that Galicia(Galiza) is not Spain. This
could mean a number of things, from Galicia (like Cataluña)
deserving secession, to Galicia not sharing any of Spain's cultural
characteristics. But I guess he/she meant that Galicia doesn't share
all of these. And, possibly, that Galicia is more Celtic than
anywhere else in Spain. Though this is contentious.
Which
reminds me . . . A local church held the annual San Cibrán festival
last Monday, during which those with mal de ojo tried to rid
themselves of this by walking under a statue of the saint. Three
times. I've always translated mal de ojo as
'the evil eye'. But can there really be people in this day and age
who believe in this? Maybe it just means conjunctivitis. BTW - This
ceremony also involves people chucking stones over the church roof -
presumably from only one side. I don't recall there being anything
about this is the Bible, so, maybe it's a Celtic tradition . . .
Fotos here.
Finally
. . . We've all had amusing experiences of odd suggestions from
Google as to what we might have meant. I searched "dominic
lawson black and white" yesterday and got back their question of
whether I wasn't looking for lawson black nad white puffin.
So, what's a nad when it's at home? Other than an abbreviation
for gonad.
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