Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain: 24.9.19

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.   

                  Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain

The Spanish Economy

• More on that macro/micro divide I talk about. Not that it's unique to Spain, of course, but it needs to be remembered when we're told how Spain is doing better than almost any other EU country.

Spanish Life

• A fascinating discovery.

Galicia Life

• Our regional papers are currently full of stories of local drug busts. Tip of the iceberg, I fear.
• Oh, and they yesterday majored on prostitution, with one victim of deceit declaring: Galicia has always been the main point of entry for drugs and prostitution. Not a good image to have.
• Being more positive . . .  There are said to be 30 restaurants in the region signed up to the Too Good to Go app. Which might well be a good thing.

Pontevedra  Life

• Our fine city was said in the above article to be the 'centre of prostitution in the tourism and industry sectors'. Though everything looks wonderful on the surface of this largely car-free place.
• Which reminds me . . .  Our anti-car mayor has averred - in the context of his new 10kph speed limit - that citizens here have more to fear from cyclists, skaters and scooterists than from the (few) cars that still struggle to get round it. I'll say.
• I drive down to town through a zone called The Marshes of Alba. And I park my car near a lane which sees a lot of truck traffic to some facility at the end of it. For the last 2 days, there's been a woman standing next to a lay-by. The first morning I thought she might be waiting for a lift but now I'm not so sure. Perhaps it really is a lay-by.

The UK

•  The apparent (non) choice . . .

The USA

• The self-awareness of Ffart . . . What Biden did [totally unbstatiated] is a disgrace. What his son did [ditto] is a disgrace. The real wonder is that Ffart might actually believe that what he's saying is valid and just. Dunning-Kruger.

Spanish

• Word of the Day: Proxeneta: Pimp. From the Greek word apparently. I thought that, with the X, it might have come into Spanish from Gallego.

Finally

• To lighten the mood,  here's just one of several Spanish ads from the 1970s. More tomorrow. This one advertises beer as being good for kids:-