Picking up a
visitor at Santiago airport yesterday, I noticed yet again that,
while investing millions in a new terminal, they couldn't afford to
pay a native speaker to check the English. So we have Place here
instead of 'Stop here'. And the pay machine for car parking says
Cashier's Parking. Not even Cashiers' Parking. That's
exclusivity for you.
Why am I not
surprised that little old Galicia has had a disproportionate increase
in driving fines in the first 6 months of this year? Do we have worse
drivers than in other regions? Or are our traffic police simply more
vigilant? If that's the right word.
A few years
ago, a reader (Moscow) assured me the British economy was
essentially a pack of cards built on shifting sands and would
eventually collapse, taking the (worthless) pound down with it. In contrast, the
members of the eurozone would progressively coalesce and the EU would
sail off into the wide blue yonder, leaving the UK beached in the
shallows. Well, maybe he's right and it's just a question of time but
it doesn't look like that right now. The British economy is up 3.2%
on last year and an astonishing 820,000 jobs have been
generated. Projections are equally good for the next 12m, which is in sharp contrast with the stagnating eurozone which is "flat and
teetering on the brink of debilitating deflation." I don't think
Moscow still reads this blog but, if I'm wrong, I'd welcome his
latest thoughts.
Finally . .
. In my war against the flying rats of Veggie Square, my new water
pistol is very effective at getting them to quickly depart the scene. One of the waiters in my regular bar has suggested I replace the
water by bleach. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for this but am mulling
it over.
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