Thoughts from Galicia: 7.8.17

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

- Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain. 

If you've arrived here because of an interest in Galicia or Pontevedra, see my web page here.

Life in Spain:-

• Here's an article, in Spanish, describing all the political posts here and stressing that Spain has 300,000 more of these than Germany, despite having only half the population. I've always assumed Spain's profligacy as regards these corrupt folk reflected excessive layers of government but it turns out that (properly federal) Germany has even more of these. So it can't be that. Perhaps they like to employ each other.
• And here's one amusing(?) example of a surely redundant post.
• Back in Franco's time, the Spanish government agreed with the Catholic Church that it would progressively become self-funding and would cease to be subsidised by the state. As with the Galician AVE high speed train, decades on this still hasn't happened. And now Brussels has taken up the issue, telling Madrid that at least one of the Church's tax exemptions is probably illegal. See here for an El País article on this, in Spanish.

Pontevedra province has lost a lot of folk to overseas destinations in recent years. The most popular countries, in order, were the UK, Mexico, Germany and Switzerland. Least popular was Poland. And I think that might be the family I helped settle in last year but who had to go home because of illness. So, really, no one went there. In contrast to, say, China, India and Japan.

Finally . . . I recently cited this comment: A fashion starts off as hideous, then successively ridiculous, amusing and charming. Finally, it's recognised as beautiful. This came back to mind yesterday when I saw this young man wearing trousers with one leg short and the other long . . . 



You have been warned!

Today's cartoon:-

"The ward's divided on the cremation issue but I've decided to have you cremated, luv."