Dawn

Dawn

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Thoughts from Galicia, Spain: 29.7.18

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. Garish but informative.

Spain
  • Well, here's a provocative article heading for you: Can Spain ever become a normal European country? Click here for the discussion.
  • A bit of abnormality in Barcelona . . . 
  • Here's Don Quijones on the dreadful IT cockup on Banco Sabadell's part. Quote: IBM, the firm appointed by TSB to identify and resolve its IT problems, reported in a brief presentation recently released by MPs to the public that they had seen no “evidence of the application of a rigorous set of go-live criteria to prove production readiness.” Bad planning??? Or bad execution? Or both?
  • Spain has again become the main entry point for those fleeing Africa. How long can it continue?
Life in Spain
  • Training back from Madrid last night, I found myself in one of those places of 4 seats - 2 facing 2 without a table in between. Made worse by the insistence of the woman opposite me on leaving a large bag on the floor between our feet, preventing any movement on the part of mine. Both I and the guy next to me read throughout the 6.5 hour journey but the 2 women facing us merely stared into the middle distance for its entirety. Except when the bag-woman was taking one of the 25 calls from what appeared to be her son. Not the best train trip I've ever had. Actually, I slightly exaggerated there; the bag woman got off at Vigo and I had the last half hour for some welcome leg-stretching. And silence.
USA
  • Here's a bit more on the annual National Prayer Breakfast 'Christian' event I mentioned a few days ago. 
  • Talking of Christians . . . You do have to wonder about people who think that their god is giving them direct, personal - and very convenient - advice. For example on gun ownership.
The UK
  • Rich Russian oligarchs are deserting Britain's public schools, as the economic reality of the new cold war starts to bite. A bad thing? For others than the school owners, I mean.
English
  • England Sevens are the gentlemen of sport - and their relatability is why we should give them more credit. Relatability?? Merriam-Webster: He also maintained an outsized relatability, as the kind of guy who seemed more at ease with commoners than with any media elite.
The UK and Brexit
  • There are several 'splits' among British voters and politicians on this huge issue but Richard North this morning claims that: The most decisive split must now be between those who understand that a "no deal" Brexit will be catastrophic and those who insist on dismissing fears as "project fear". He's in the former camp, by the way, despite being a long-time Brexit supporter.
Finally . . .
  • A plea: Google's Blogger gives me 2 numbers for page views to this blog. One of them is always around 10 times higher than the other, possibly - despite my attempts to exclude them - because of Russian bots. One day last week, the higher number reached an incredible 4,837. I'm trying again to use the allegedly more accurate Google Analytics but if there's anyone out there who can shed light on this issue, I'd be grateful for comments/advice.
© David Colin Davies, Pontevedra: 29.7.18

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