Spanish
life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
-
Christopher
Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain.
Cataluña
- The town which claims to have kicked it all off.
- El Pais on the debate.
Spain
- Madrid is more than a tad miffed that, while Portugal is (belatedly?) gaining in influence in Brussels, Spain is thought to be losing hers.
- Last week's Constitution Day here in Galicia saw the ceremony of swearing allegiance to Spain by kissing the national flag. I wonder if this happened elsewhere in the country. I guess so. Very discomforting for Brits, who 'don't go in for that sort of thing.”
The EU, the UK and
Brexit
- Richard North here: With excruciating slowness, the media is gradually getting the message – the "bad Friday" agreement is a crock – a phony deal. Another commentator: By the end of next week, we can see Mrs May's famous "breakthrough" being ripped apart. What fun.
- Here's Don Quijones again on the subject of cash. It could be argued, he avers, that any legislation aimed at disrupting criminal financial networks is a welcome move, but that would ignore the fact that many forms of modern-day tax evasion, avoidance and money laundering are conducted without cash through shell corporations located across multiple jurisdictions, including [Juncker's] Luxembourg. But the EU’s anti-cash measures are not aimed at the giant corporations and well-heeled individuals and families, including those who exploit loopholes to stash their wealth far from the prying eyes of European tax authorities. No, the measures are aimed at average Joes and Janes, and the main objective is to further dampen their ability or willingness to use or carry cash. You have been warned. Again.
True Brits
- The writer of the piece at the end of this posts plumps – admittedly tentatively - for this as a defining trait: We are a nation with high emotional intelligence. We have a keen awareness of the feelings of others. Against this, another columnist this morning complains that: We have become a nation of inconsiderate noise oiks. . . Sensibilities have been let to slide. This is hardly surprising in a world in which the subjective is prized, and the very concepts of restraint, deferred gratification, and moral rectitude have become unfashionable. . . [These] are telling examples of a society whose grasp on civility and the value of public decorum and manners seems increasingly in peril. As we plunge ever further into the anarchic alternative reality of our own private internet worlds, the idea that our actions affect living, breathing other people is becoming ever more remote. Perhaps both are right but things are going in the wrong direction. Towards a noisier, less considerate-of-others culture?? Hmm.
The UK
- Can this really be true: Ten-year-old children are being asked by the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust whether they are "comfortable in their gender" in official health surveys being completed in schools, it has emerged. The form asks: "Do you feel the same inside as the gender you were born with? (feeling male or female)". Youngsters are also asked to tick a box to confirm their true gender, with options including "boy", "girl" and "other".
Galicia
- Yesterday I went to see an exhibition of Da Vinci stuff in nearby Vigo. Or, rather, I didn't. Despite asking five(!) locals, my companions and I never actually found it. We did eventually happen on the building where it was thought the exhibition should be but it was closed. Perhaps because of the storm which had drenched us as we walked at least a kilometre along the seafront in search of the exhibition. And then back again to the car. My friends – both native Pontevedrans – felt this was a typical Galician mess. Which might he a tad harsh.
- Which reminds me . . . It now takes 3 hours longer to go direct from Vigo to Barcelona (14 hours!) than to go south to Madrid and then north from there to the Catalan capital. My guess is that the arrival of the high-speed train to Madrid will only increase this difference. It says everything you need to know about travelling west-east. Or anywhere from Galicia.
Finally
- I don't regard all ads as naff. Here and here are couple of good ones, the first from the 90s and the second from today's TV, at minute 3.43.
Today's
Cartoon
 |
| Here's a seat! |
THE ARTICLE
Sensitivity to others
is Britishness at its best. Matthew Syed
I have often pondered
how to define that elusive notion of Britishness. What is distinctive
about our character and mindset? Here’s a tentative (and positive)
suggestion for at least a part of the answer: we are a nation with
high emotional intelligence. We have a keen awareness of the feelings
of others.
We conduct our
conversations in public at a reasonable pitch so as not to
disturb those around us. We are fastidious about punctuality, fearful
of keeping others waiting. We are self-deprecating, conscious that
trumpeting ourselves might make others feel small. We queue
assiduously, aware that jumping the line would be to value our time
above others. And that wouldn’t do, at all.
People often talk about
the British sense of fair play, but my sense is that this is
just one aspect of our emotional intelligence. I also wonder if the
early adoption of the rule of law was a consequence of this tendency,
or perhaps a cause of it. This is not to suggest that our culture is
perfect, or that this attribute is anything like universal. It is
merely to suggest a general tendency in our character and social
norms.
Comedians such as John
Cleese have satirised this trait. There is a wonderful episode
of Fawlty Towers in which the guests keep shtum about the
appalling service out of fear of offending the feelings of the hotel
staff. Yet while we can take it too far, my sense is that sensitivity
to others is a source of vast (if underestimated) national strength.
It would be a tragedy if we ever lost it.
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