Spain
is famous for her artists - Velasquez, El Greco, Dalí and Picasso
among them - but, of course, not everyone likes everything. George
Orwell observed that "Aldous Huxley notes that people in El
Greco's pictures always look as though they are in the bellies of
whales, and professes to find something particularly horrible about
the idea of being in a 'visceral prison'.
France
was, I believe, the first EU country to breach the 3% budget deficit
rule. And to get away with it. She was then followed by Germany. Both
of these countries are now defying Brussels agin, over its demands
for structural reform and austerity measures. These, apparently, are
OK for southern states like Portugal, Greece and Spain but not for
their northern Europe brethren. The 'little people', I guess. Click
here for our Ambrose's overview of the situation in France and
Germany. "Eurozone strategy" he avers "is in tatters
after economic recovery ground to a halt across the region and France
demanded a radical shift in policy, warning that austerity overkill
is driving Europe into a depression."
Reading
Theodore Dalrymple's So Little Done, I came upon this
paragraph. It's part of the confession of a serial murderer who'd
worked in the Housing department of a local authority: It was
standard practice to lose the first copy of all application forms
which a client filled in and then deny all knowledge of ever having
received them. This soon sorted out the serious applicants from those
who were merely bored and had nothing else to do. The latter gave up
after the first attempt. This reminded me of my experience with
Pontevedra's car dealers, none of whom followed up on my visits to
them, despite taking contact details and noting my requests for
information. At the time, I felt this must be due to some sort of
screening process. Only if you came back were you really interested.
The
latest big corruption case - up to €2bn - centres on an-ex chief of
the Andalucian Tax Office. It prompted the thought that the Spanish
papers should have a special section - supplement even - for all the
corruption cases meandering through the courts. But then I realised
this would be 95% of the paper, leaving only the front and back 2
pages for news and sport, respectively. Or 3, if we include all the
ads for brothels and the independent hookers.
Finally
. . . Thanks to a drug side effect, I have a very slight tremor.
This doesn't bother me in in any way except that it's more than
enough to cause my hypersensitive laptop's tracking pad to open
unwanted pages while I'm reading another. So, God help anyone who's
using my internet history to devise 'appropriate' advertising. Here's just one example of an unwanted page. Consciously anyway.
House
for Sale in Pontevedra
My
neighbours are moving to Madrid and selling their lovely house. Lots
of pictures here. Brief description: South west orientation.
Completely renovated. In a development with swimming pool, extensive
green areas, place for parties, excellent community environment.
€395,000.
Details
4
floors
322
sq m constructed, 283 sq m usable
5
double bedrooms
3
bathrooms
Plot
of 336 sq m
Terrace
of 336 sq m plus
Garage
Completely
furnished
Excellent
condition
5
built-in wardrobes
Lumber
room
Covered
laundry room
Central
heating
Private
garden
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