Pontevedra Pensées: 10.1.17

As we know, 2016 was another hugely successful year for Spain's tourism industry, in part because other options had been hit by terrorist attacks. Some details here.The suggestion that Spain did well because Spain is doing the right thing rather clashes with the view that, not only is Spain still largely relying on the cheap but cheerful model, but also that the natives are beginning to revolt against the tourist hordes ruining their cities. Can things really go on like this?

More good news - this time on education in Spain. For the first time, pupils here rank above the global average for reading. Click here for more. I wonder how long it will be before my Spanish adult friends include punctuation and accents in their text messages and so permit me to know which of the 3 possibilities for se is intended.

Another list from The Local - Spanish Festivals to Enjoy in 2017. Which might just have a familiar feel about it. I note it doesn't include any of those which centre on tormenting a bull, in one way or another.

A bit of good news today on corruption: Manuel Rodríguez de Castro, a high ranking ex PP official in José María Aznar’s Spanish government, has been incarcerated in Madrid. Rodriguez fled after being convicted of embezzlement and 'prevarication' when he was a delegate to Cadiz’s 'Zona Franca' (tax break zone). He will now serve 8 years and pay an €8m[!] fine. He has also been barred from taking political office for 30 years. But will presumably be out in just a few years' time and free to spend the balance of his illegal gains. Meanwhile, it's almost certain the Madrid jail is the luxury facility built for those few politicos that get caught and then, to everyone's surprise, get hit by a sentence.

Hygge, I learnt today, is the Danish happiness philosophy that there's no problem that can't be cured by lighting a scented candle. As it's passed me by, imagine my surprise to discover today that the craze for it is now officially over, having been replaced by a Swedish philosophy called lagom. Which is “Not too much, not too little”. Or, as I've lectured my daughters on all their lives – balance in everything.

Has anyone else noticed there are always wifi problems when there's a bridge holiday here in Spain? It's almost as if the entire Telefónica/Movistar staff take the 4 days off, so there's no one to address any malfunctions arising. Surely not.

As reported, Galicia is ageing and the population is slowly reducing. But it still comes as a shock to read there were twice as many 'young people' (16-35) here in 1787 than in 2015 - 2.8m against 1.4m. Who's going to pay the region's pensions?

Finally . . .  You'd expect an old curmudgoen like me to be as amused and impressed as I am by the new term alt-git. By analogy, of course, with alt-right. Which reminds me . . . Anyone know what a choke-species is?

Today's cartoons, on a similar theme . . . 

From the Daily Telegraph:-

From the Times:-