Spanish
Tax Evasion: I was impressed to read this morning – HT to Lenox
of Business Over Tapas again – that the desperate-for-cash
Spanish tax office (Hacienda) has been using drones to find illegal
properties, extensions and/or swimming pools down in the South. Who'd
have thought it would come to this?
Other
Drones: Meanwhile, I'm negotiating with the company in Vigo to
buy a drone disguised as a hawk, to better deal with the rapacious
pigeons and seagulls in the square I patronise every day. I expect
this to be even more effective than the water-pistol I currently use
for this purpose - much to the amusement of the locals. But what's
the point of being English if you can't be eccentric?
Spanish
Property Purchases: The locals may not be buying much but the
British are coming, again. Notwithstanding reports of widespread
fraud and the threat of huge fines posed by the Modelo 720 ordinance,
sales to my compatriots are well up. And Brits continue to be far
ahead of the French and Germans, etc. when it comes to buying homes
here. Mostly in the South, of course. And, would you believe, the
evidence is that they continue to accept the the smiling agents'
line that they don't need to bother using a lawyer, as the notary –
who represents no one but the government – will protect their
interests. Hey, ho. Fools and their money are soon parted, they say.
Spanish
(non)Government: You'll all be asking where we are. Well, in No
Man's Land. Where we could still be this time next year. The next
major development is likely to be a second general election in
June(?) which will produce another stalemate. As the writer of this article says: The only other option would be for the country’s
politicians to display a capacity for compromise that has so far
evaded them. And probably will continue to do so as long as they
dedicate themselves to publicly insulting each other. And while Sr
Rajoy stays as leader of the (not-exactly) 'victorious' PP party.
The
Pretty Tennis Player: Not everyone, it seems, has fallen for her
brilliant PR. And some cynics have even opined that Nike, etc. are
delighted to have an excuse to dump her, in the final stages of a
career which has been very expensive for them. It is quite an
'achievement’ for a sports star these days, writes the author
of this article, to get Nike to suspend their endorsement
contract, yet Sharapova has managed it with this confession. At the
heart of this jumble are questions about the calculated nature of her
mea culpa and her precise medical and drug-taking records. So,
not just a pretty face. Possibly also a long-standing cheat. Time
will tell. Meanwhile, enjoy this Matt cartoon on the subject:
Don't take
this if you're driving or if you have a £49m
deal with Nike.
A
Thought-provoking Statistic: Against the backcloth of so many
billionaires in today's world . . . A million seconds
is 11.5 days but a billion seconds is 32 years.
It's impossible, then, to imagine the wealth of all those
multi-billionaires created in the last 20 years. And to understand
why they want even more and can't retire to enjoy – or give away -
even a fraction of what they have. A form of madness, I suppose. With
considerably less cash in hand, I decided to retire to (north) Spain
at 50 and enjoy the final third of my life even more than the first 2
thirds. This was the best decision of my life. But it helps to be a
humanist and to believe we're going nowhere after we die. Maybe all
those billionaires suffer from having a faith which tells them this
life is nothing compared to the next. And that they must work hard to
get through the eye of a needle. It takes all sorts
Finally
. . . Irritating ads: There's usually one ad on the TV which
drives you mad. At the moment, it's this one, for Admiral. I enjoyed
the comments below it, which chimed well with my own thoughts. I don't
actually know what they sell as I launch myself at the Mute button as
soon as the ad starts.
To improve your(my?) mood . . . Here and here are another 2 songs from the talented Hayley Westrena. One of them is a nape-raising a capella performance. What fool said that the devil has all the best tunes? Probably a theist anyway, rather than an atheist.
To improve your(my?) mood . . . Here and here are another 2 songs from the talented Hayley Westrena. One of them is a nape-raising a capella performance. What fool said that the devil has all the best tunes? Probably a theist anyway, rather than an atheist.
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