QUEL
SURPRIS!: Spain's Constitutional Court has unanimously decided that
the Catalan Parliament's pronouncement of a motion for independence
is illegal. The response from Barcelona seems to have been a
semi-Gallic shrug and a 'So what?'. Plus a finger gesture.
SPAIN'S LABOUR MARKET:
I can't say I fully understand this creature but I do know there's a
widespread view that it's the most rigid in Europe and, say some, the
most dysfunctional in the world. Essentially, there's long been a
two-tier system, in which older, cosseted workers have rigid
contracts, decent wages and great security but younger workers get a
pittance and have no security at all. When President Rajoy boasts of
'lower' unemployment numbers (but still higher than when he came to
power) he neglects to tell us that over 90% of new jobs are temporary
and pitifully paid. Anyway, you can see what Fortune has to say about
things here. As the headline says: Spain’s labor rules discourage
companies from hiring young people - or anyone, really - as permanent
employees.
CAR
HIRE IN SPAIN: The Times columnist, Matthew Parris, warns of the
trick played by cheap companies who hand over the car with a tankful
of petrol/gas. While they might well give you credit for the residual
fuel, they charge you an 'admin' fee of as much as €45 for doing
so. He tried sucking all the fuel out but was charged 'a whopping
fee' for crediting him for the 2 litres he didn't manage to extract.
FINALLY
. . . WHO'D HAVE BELIEVED IT: A friend tells me that the blues song I
cited yesterday - St James Infirmary Blues - is thought by some to be
based on St James Hospital in Tollemache Road, Birkenhead. Less than
a hop, skip and jump from where I was born in Devonshire Place. It's
also said to have originated in an old (and explicit) English
maritime song called The Unfortunate Rake. There's an a capella
version of it here. Allegedly, the song also evolved into The Streets of Laredo. In fact, there are numerous derivatives and you can hear
them all here. Including an anti-war anthem called The Green Fields
of France. You could spend an entertaining hour or more there,
deciding on your favourite version of the blues song. For me, it's
Clapton and Dr John. Or maybe Hugh Laurie. Or possibly the version by
the wonderfully named Fess Williams and His Royal Flush Orchestra. Or
maybe that of George E. Lee's Novelty Singing Orchestra. Oh, I dunno. Pay
your money and take your choice. Ain't the internet a truly wonderful
thing?
And the obligatory foto: The most beautiful and intelligent 3-month-old baby in the entire world. My granddaughter.
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