Thoughts from Galicia: 10.5.17

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.

- Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain.

Fiona Govan is the Madrid-based correspondent of the Daily Telegraph. Here she reports in The Local on the welcome news that the Spanish Congress will debate the removal of Franco's body from his purpose-built basilica-cum-mausoleum in the Valley of the Fallen, outside Madrid. I belong to the group she cites of those who think the place should be blown to smithereens, with Franco's body still in situ. By the way, the José Antonio mentioned is the one whose name Morton saw plastered all over Spain in 1955.

I've been known to say that the Spanish are never more industrious and imaginative – not so say efficient – than when preparing to have fun. And much creativity – it seems to me - goes into the incessant invention of fiestas. I'm reminded of this by a leaflet I picked up yesterday, advertising a Festival of Coffee to be held over 4 days at the end of this week. Details here. 

Here's how things go these days . . . The Spanish government introduced a scheme back in 2012 - the PIVE - under which you could get a good deal on replacing an old car. This year, the Tax Office (the Hacienda) is warning that people will be fined for not declaring this as a benefit in the intervening years. I suspect most people had no idea they had to. But this won't stop them being fined, of course. Quite possibly - as with Modelo 720 - excessively so.

The best headline I've seen on Macron's victory in France is Demasiado Euforia. Too Much Euphoria. As if he was ever going to lose. And as if his election means the EU will now be seriously reformed so that it's assured of survival. Here's someone's list of 8 reasons why the poor chap will need to check how many toxins are in his chalice.

There are those who think that the UK is full of pro-Brexit hankerers after the return of something like the British empire. It's a line which is not uncommon here in Spain. Well, I have 2 daughters in their 30s and I've never heard anyone in either their generation or - more significantly - mine even mention the empire. At least not since I was about 11. It would be nice if those who chuck this canard around could provide a scrap of evidence for it.

The Daily Mail is a British tabloid I despise. I stress this just in case you think I read the following other than via an RSS feed . . . Here's an article from it on Galicia. It starts with the most ludicrously untrue statement Ive ever read on the region:- You never wait long to hear the sound of champagne corks popping in Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia. And here's a sentence which, to say the least, is ambiguous:- We head towards Cabo Finisterre[sic] and the headland at the Torre de Hércules, near the northern tip of the peninsula. The Torre is in the city of La Coruña, not in the port of Finisterra.

Finally . . . Passing in front of the HQ of the Rías Baixas wine trade association/cartel yesterday, I noticed this pile of boxes in front of it. I assumed they were awaiting pick-up by the garbage collector:-

But then I saw these items dotted around the square:-

And concluded they all formed part of some artistic presentation. An easy mistake to make these days, of course.

Finally . . . Monday saw the death of the first of the British historians to bring some truth about the Civil War to the Spanish, Hugh Thomas. There were impressive obituaries in all the Spanish papers and this is The Guardian's contribution. I was intrigued to read he was a latecomer to Castellano. When we watched him give an interview in the language a few years ago, my partner commented that, though his pronunciation wasn't great, he'd clearly mastered the Spanish practice of beginning every answer with "Buuueno, . . . ."

Today's cartoon:-

Brexit again??

"It's called negotiating"