Spanish
life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
-
Christopher Howse: A
Pilgrim in Spain.
Spain v Cataluña
- So, a German court has promptly declined to send Sr Puigdemont back to Spain to face an accusation there of sedition. It will now consider whether he should be extradited on other - less stupid - grounds. Not a good development for Sr Rajoy, who's now found other justice systems can't be used in the way his can.
Spain
- Back here in Spain, the hapless Rajoy is having to deal with yet another corruption scandal. This one is swirling around one of his PP party's senior officials, the Presidenta of the Madrid region. Sra Cifuentes admits that she attended no lessons, took no notes, sat no exams and can't find her thesis but, nonetheless, her Masters certificate is genuine. Not so say the people whose (forged) signatures are on it. And Not so say the panel members who are supposed to have reviewed her candidacy. You almost have to admire Sra Cifuentes for ballsing this out, for 2 weeks so far. But this is Spain, after all. That said, it can't possibly continue, and I suspect that in 12-48 months time, she'll be ensconced in Madrid's luxury jail for out-of-favour politicos. Just joking. I expect her her to be sitting on the board of either Telefónica or a utility company by then.
- Meanwhile, there's been a spate of the wonderfully funny fotos, etc. which greet such developments here in Spain. Here's just one of them about Mrs C:-
- Don Quinones – and others – have suggested efforts are being made to start another crazy property market boom here, just as we get over the last one. Which makes it all the more eerie to read articles like this one.
Life in Spain
- Here's some data on the evolution of the Camino de Santiago. As you'll see, it's an odd aspect of Spanish life that numbers are often speciously quoted to 2 – or even 3 – places of decimal points. I've speculated that – since no one believes anything here – this is an attempt to give an impression of accuracy. Whatever the truth, it's laughable to read that foreigners comprised 55.99% of 'pilgrims' in 2017.
- I called the car workshop last evening to check whether the parts had arrived from Honda – to be told they were being unloaded from the truck right then. I guess this could be true, and that they hadn't arrived early in the day and been left lying around.
The USA/Nutters Corner
- Now, here's something I'd love to attend: Trump is to meet evangelical leaders to discuss Stormy Daniels. The meeting will address concerns on how the midterms will be affected by Trump’s divisive style and alleged affairs. Meanwhile, the good news is that:- Evangelicals are becoming more diverse, fueled largely by an increase in young Latino members. This has led to an increasing political divide in the bloc, as these younger, non-white members are more often Democrats or independents.
- Talking of those very evangelists . . . This columnist asks, reasonably enough, why they love guns so much, when Jesus preached peace.
- Enjoy this article and video.
Galicia/Pontevedra
- If you still doubt that Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus to some of you) was born here in Poio, here's the evidence for you – the sign to his house:-
And here's the house itself – the little stone building to the bottom left of the ugly, blue, modern building, which is a museum dedicated to the great son of Spain
Finally
- In English, the unhappy Sra Cifuentes – said by someone to be drowning in her own lies – finds herself between a rock and a hard place. In Spanish, it's a sword and the wall. In either case, you get the picture.
© David Colin Davies, Pontevedra: 7.4.18
No comments:
Post a Comment