LIFE IN SPAIN
Drivers: I listed in
this post the 3 things drivers do here on zebra crossings as they
flash past you. Today, I was reminded of a 4th. They glare at you as
if you're at fault for daring to hazard the crossing. This reminded
me that I'd been tempted to blow my horn at - or even say something to - the driver cited in this post yesterday. But I didn't bother as I was
sure she'd simply stare angrily – or even shout - at me for
having the effrontery and bad manners to take objection to her selfish act.
The Tax Office: I cited
here my saga with these people. As you know, I paid a surcharge on the
deadline date advised by the clerk in the Hacienda. But 3 days ago – i e after the deadline date – I
received a reminder to pay. And
today I received notice that I've been fined €350 for not paying
the surcharge. In other words, even though the letter is dated 6 days after I paid it, they don't recognise my payment. What actually makes this all the more incredible is that 6 days
ago I received a repeat of the original notification of the surcharge dated 29 July, on the grounds the first letter had been returned to them. They certainly are efficient at being
inefficient. And showing, once again, that bureaucracy and paperwork
are two of the main stamps of Spain. Now I'll have to appeal and so engender more paperwork. Hey, ho. And this is only the first of my 3 late Modelo 720 submissions!
Banco Popular: On my
nth trip to the bank on Monday - to make the simple transfer I couldn't
do on the net - the woman asked me why I didn't put some money into
one of their investment funds. I replied, with a smile, that I was
risk averse and, on top of that, I didn't have much faith in the bank's
future. The next day, it was reported in all the media that Banco Popular will be
closing 300(15%) of its branches and sacking 3,000 staff in its
desperate quest for profitability. If they let go the lovely ladies who used
to work with Citibank, this will give me the stimulus I need to
change banks.
SPANISH SOCIETY
Expat Living: To my
surprise, Spain doesn't figure in this Top Ten of destinations for
expats:-
- Singapore
- New Zealand
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- Switzerland
- Norway
- Austria
- Sweden
- Bahrain
- Germany
THE SPANISH ECONOMY
As reported earlier, though Spain hasn't been fined for its perennial failure to balance its budget, the EU - in the form of merchant banker Juncker - is continuing to threaten she won't get the funds and subventions she's expecting. Well, we'll see.
SPANISH POLITICS
At the 71st United
Nations General Assembly, Spain identified its priorities as: Working
on international peace, migration and humanitarian challenges,
human rights, sustainable development; on the election of a new
Secretary General; and on UN reform. Oh, plus ending British sovereignty
of Gibraltar. Which so obviously ranks at the same level. At least for
Spain's pugnacious Foreign Minister, Motormouth Margallo. Doubtless
Melilla and Ceuta - Spain's enclaves (Not colonies!) in North Africa -
will be discussed as the same time
THE EU AND THE UK
A nice article here.
ELSEWHERE
Not everyone shares the
Russian view of what happened to the aid convoy in Syria. Here's a
Times cartoon which President Putin probably won't be amused by. But
you never know:-
PEOPLE
As if we didn't have
enough already, some Spanish folk have identified 4 personality types
. Click here if you want to know more about this.
THE GALLERY
More examples of
Finnish/British nightmares:-
Finally . . . A request for help: I
have a Samsung Core Prime phone, the battery of which seems to go
from, say, 35% to zilch if I use – or try to use – the flash for
a foto. Anyone know of a reason/solution?
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