Dawn

Dawn

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain: 26.11.19

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.   
                  Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain
 Spanish Life 
  • The worrying sort of 'post-code lottery' that wouldn't be permitted in other countries? Almost certainly the result of Spain's high degree of devolution to regional governments. Spain is a de facto federal state, so I wonder if this sort of thing happens in the USA and Germany, for example.
  • Another well-known Spanish negative - slow justice.
Galician Life
  • That narco mini-sub . . . I've seen reports of it containing 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000 kilos of cocaine. What does seem clear is that it was deliberately sunk in the bay of Aldán, off Punta Couso, as shown on this map. The infamous centre of drug smuggling - Arousa - is top left and you can see here how these places relate to both Pontevedra and Vigo:-

The sub, by the way, was trying to make its way further north but ran into difficulties and turned back towards, I assume, the Azores, before it was spotted by the Guardia Civil, using night-vision equipment. Attempts will now be made to re-float the vessel and its valuable cargo, using large balloons
  • Putting Galicia in a better light, here's an article about Pontevedra's impressive (mal)treatment of cars over the last 20 years. It comes from a journal which only deals in good news. As an aside, I believe this type of (commendable) 'Happy News' venture has been tried before, without success. The public prefers sensationalism. Especially on Spanish TV.
  • All foreign residents - and some Spaniards - complain about the Spanish obsession with time-wasting bureaucracy and paper work. And the above article on cancer treatment includes the sentence: Bureaucratic holdups are part and parcel of daily life in Spain. Well, what follows might or might not be a good example of this . . . . Some readers might recall I said it took me only 30 seconds to mail a registered letter when I was in this UK. This contrasts with 16 minutes to post 2 certificadas letters at the Correos in Pontevedra yesterday. From this I must deduct the 8 minutes waiting for my number to come up, which is about average. So, we're really talking about 'only' 8 minutes. Why this long? Well, it was a multi-step process that wasn't helped by the clerk's unfamiliarity with English place and street names, as she had to (slowly) type all of the address details into her computer, checking with me, letter by letter. Prior to that, she had to check that my initials D C didn't stand for Don Carlos and then type my full name and address into the computer. That done, I had to check all the details on the PDA on the counter and confirm with my signature, using the special pen attached to it. Then the clerk had to print out two 2-page receipts, shown here. As you can see, it's in both Spanish and Galician. Which doesn't help simplify things:-


My UK receipt was, needless to say, only in English and was about 20% of the size of one A4 page, or 10% of the size of my Spanish 2-page receipt. Clearly, it contains rather less detail but I assume it's enough in the case of any problems, as it has the critical reference number:-


As I say, this might or might not be a good example of excess bureaucracy and paper and I leave it to others to judge . . .

The UK, The EU, Brexit
  • Richard North today: Sir Ivan Rogers argues that, for all the talk about "getting Brexit done", Johnson is "basically replicating the strategy errors of 2016 and 2017 which brought his predecessor down". In the coming trade negotiations – far more complex than those which brought us the withdrawal agreement – the are "very big elephant traps" and Johnson "is currently digging them deeper". Having set himself such a tight deadline, he will be desperate to declare his victory, giving the EU considerable leverage which they will exploit to extract major concessions from the UK. 
The USA
  • So . . . Is Ffart a throwback or, as per reader Perry, a throwforward?
  • Ffart loves to give his opponents disparaging nicknames, the latest being Little Mike for Michael Bloomberg. So, how about The Orange Ffart for him? Or just OaF.
  • I was wondering why around 25% of Americans will vote for Ffart whatever he's accused of or is shown to have done. Not all of them are evangelical Christians who - astonishingly - believe he's anointed by their God. My current theory is that it's a version of the American Dream. Some people look at him and say: Well, if a lying, cheating, philandering, crooked, inarticulate imbecile can become president, there must be some chance for me. Others - the more cynical ones - simply hold their noses and support him because it's in their financial interests to vote for his (far right) tribe and not the 'socialist/communist' one whom they think threatens these. Sometimes it's hard to remain convinced that democracy is the least worst system we can have. 
Nutters Corner
  1. The leader of Trump’s 2016 spiritual adviser group takes Trump worship to a new level by claiming that opposition to him is part of a “demonic” plot of “murderous spirits” to prevent the second coming of Christ. So apparently Trump’s re-election is the key to that happening.
  2. Rick Perry claims that, like King David, Trump was chosen by his Christian god.
Spanish 
  • Word of the Day: Batiscafo. Bathyscaphe. The word used in Spanish press reports for the mini-sub mentioned above.
  • A couple of videos I stumbled onto yesterday:-
The Spanish Language and What Makes it The Coolest
Not your average Spanish lesson.

Finally . . .
  •    From  this week:-

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