The most desirable job
for young Spaniards is that of a teacher. As someone who has experience of the quality
and security of life of Spanish teachers, I must say I'm not very
surprised. And, as the father of someone who quit teaching in the UK after 8 stressful years, I can add that the comparison with Britain is stark. If you're
tempted to disagree, this recent (and disturbing) BBC podcast might
just change your mind.
Yesterday's elections
in Andalucia produced a minority socialist PSOE government which will
have to ally with one of the several small parties which made a
decent showing. These included Podemos(15% of the vote),
Cuidadanos(9%), IU(7%) and UPyD(2%). Spain's ruling PP party saw its
share of the vote fall to 27%, against 35% for the 'victorious' PSOE
party. So . . . . The end of 'two-party' hegemony and the entry of
Podemos into reality politics? Could well be. A harbinger of the PP's fall from national power? Let's hope so.
Those genetics tests of
the UK population . . . Here's an interesting perspective on what
they do and don't
reveal.
Well, the valiant
Porcos Bravos went down 1-6 to the Sheffield Stags yesterday,
possibly as a result of keeping Spanish hours the night before. This
result looked unlikely at the break, when it was only 0-1. But as
some sage said, football is a game of 2 halves and in the second of
these my gallant Galician friends were rather overwhelmed. Which was
a tad surprising as they'd won this Away fixture 8-1 last year.
Anyway, we were treated (well, I was; they probably paid) to a post-match roast
lunch in a fine Victorian hotel after the match and my drive back to
Manchester was via the charming Snake Pass. As ever, it was amusing to see the total disregard for set times of the Spanish contingent. I'm not sure exactly what time the 1 o'clock lunch started but it was well after 2.
Back at my daughter's
house, we played a Cluedo-based board game (juego de mesa) centred on characters from the Harry Potter books. I
found it far too complicated to understand so was astonished, at the
end, to be told it was aimed at 5 to 8 year olds.
Finally . . . My
son-in-law's (and my daughter's) surname is Lomas. On a bookshelf in
their house is one of those carved wooden name-pieces they go in for
in the Far East. I wondered whether it'd actually been done in China
or Hong Kong, as it reads Michael Romas. I kid you not.
Incidentally, I've
tried to get my daughter to sign her new surname as Lo Más but she's
not having it.
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