Thoughts from Galicia; 8.8.17

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:-

• There's a meteor shower coming and here's The Local's advice on how to see it in Spain.
• We were promised/threatened a sizzling hot summer. Well, it's yet to arrive in Galicia this August, though things seem to be different - though possibly not 'better' - further south.
• If you can take it, here's yet another (sponsored) feature on the beauty of the Camino, This time the bit between Santiago and the End of the World. And beyond.
• Which President of a highly indebted EU state wouldn't want Germany to assume responsibility for his profligate country's loans? Well, not Spain's President Rajoy, that's for sure. Here he is about to plead for this.
• And here's The Local yet again on why Spain is the best place to be a nomad worker.

The Brexit: If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of oars, as various parties row back from their negotiating positions and stop spouting bullshit in favour of talking common sense. At the end of this post there's an article on a Spanish example of this. But not everyone is yet doing this and there's a (very) long way to go yet.

Finally . . . Light years ago, I laughed out loud in a cinema when the first advert for male cosmetics appeared on the screen. And assured my wife that men would never be dumb enough to fall victim to the marketing campaigns on. Some years - and another wife - later on, I noticed that my stepson had more products in the bathroom than my daughters. And now some expert has predicted there'll be male cosmetic counters in department stores within 5 years. And an announcer on Sky News yesterday said all men of her age had used eyeliner. Ye gods. The world deserves everything coming to it.

Today's cartoon:-

We'll have to decide! Are we storming the Winter Palace or the Summer Palace?

THE ARTICLE

Spain vows not to try to recover Gilbraltar during Brexit talks

Spain will not make its recovery of Gibraltar a condition in the Brexit talks, its foreign minister said in an interview Sunday that could ease tensions over the disputed British territory.

Nestled on Spain's southern tip, Gibraltar has been under British control since 1713 but Madrid has long wanted it back.

Authorities in the tiny rocky outcrop fear Spain will influence the complex negotiations between the EU and Britain in order to try to gain authority over Gibraltar.

But in an interview with Spain's conservative daily ABC, Alfonso Dastis said he didn't want to "jeopardise" the deal by demanding that Gibraltar change its status - a stance that Britain would likely never accept".

"I won't make an agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom conditional on recovering sovereignty over Gibraltar," he said. He added that Spain's proposal of joint sovereignty over the Rock, which would see people in Gibraltar get Spanish nationality on top of the British one, still stood. "We will try to convince the Gibraltarians that this is a route worth exploring and that it would benefit them too," he said.

Spain has argued this will allow Gibraltar to stay in the 27-member bloc, but authorities there categorically reject the idea.

Gibraltarians had already rejected such a proposal in a 2002 referendum, and they want to stick with the Union Jack despite voting by 96 percent to remain in the EU.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the government was committed to "fully involving Gibraltar" as tough Brexit negotiations get underway. "The UK stands by its assurances to Gibraltar never to enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes," she said.

But Britain will still have to wrangle over a clause inserted into the EU's negotiating position which states that post-Brexit, Spain will have the right to veto any future relationship between the 27-member bloc and Gibraltar.

This clause caused huge tensions when it was unveiled in March, prompting British Prime Minister Theresa May to say she would "never" allow Gibraltar to slip from British control against the wish of Gibraltarians