Dawn

Dawn

Saturday, September 01, 2018

Thoughts from Galicia, Spain: 1.9.18

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.

Matters Spanish/EUropean
  • Don Quijones is still worried about Spanish banks, because of their high exposure to Turkey
  • Well, it looks like the EU – based on German pressure and the responses to their survey – really are going to make summertime permanent. The question for Spain is whether it will also return to the correct time zone (the UK and Portugal) which Franco took it off in 1942. The newish government has talked of doing this. Vamos a ver. See here and here re Spain.
  • Then there is the odd Spanish horario. Working day. Way out of kilter with the rest of Europe. There are noises about changing this as well. Maybe less likely in reality.
Matters North American
  • Based on developments of the last few days – particularly some devastating (for Fart) survey results - I believe the only question to be answered now is exactly how the Republicans are going to eject him from power. Maybe the 'elegant' resignation I posited. Possibly even before the mid-term elections in November. But there is another question – How will someone with such a monumental ego deal with failure on such a scale? Possibly depression and suicide. If we're lucky.
Matters Galician and Pontevedran
  • Walking around the city before my (late) dinner with Spanish friends last night, it occurred to me that the busy street scenes were very redolent of my first experiences of Spain way back in the 1970s. But, I realised, with one huge difference. The 'traditional smell' was no longer there. Now you're more likely to get a whiff of coconut oil than the heady mixture of strong cigarettes, exhaust fumes, olive oil and – it has to be said – BO. Progress, I guess. Except for the coconut oil.
  • Here's an amusing tale of a step take to express just how important (Friesian) dairy cows are to this region. Nice.
Finally . . .
  • If Google Analytics is to be believed, I have very few readers in both Galicia and in Spain as a whole. Which would be a tad disappointing, if really true. I continue to investigate!
  • Welcome to September, the best month of the year here in Pontevedra City. But please don't tell anyone.
© [David] Colin Davies, Pontevedra: 1.9.18

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