Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain: 10.12.19

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

                  Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain

Spanish Politics 

• The new (interim?) leader of Ciudadanos - the rather attractive Inés Arrimadas - is reported to be trying to take the party back to the centre ground, after the disastrous decision by her predecessor to head rightwards. A future coalition member?

 Spanish Life 

• It must be xmas.
• If you have a lot of surplus cash, here's something to spend it on. €344 a kilo! Even more than the repulsive percebes.
• As usual, we've been warned that our roads will be heavily patrolled by the traffic police during the festive season. Every day, every hour and on every road. But I wonder how many checks there'll be on the autovias/autopistas. I can't recall ever seeing any just after the pay stations or on the slip roads. If it's true that the police checks are concentrated on the parallel N roads and secondary roads, this surely means it's the less rich drivers who're being hit with fines.

Galician Life 

• The local press is boasting that our region comes 4th lowest for operation waiting times, after Madrid, La Rioja and the Basque Country. Though it rather depends on what operation you're waiting for.
• In contrast, it's reported that 56% of kids here are at risk of malnutrition. And this despite the fact the levels of obesity are high here. The cause would seem to be the same  - poor quality food. So much for the Mediterranean diet. It's a (relatively) poor region, of course. Only better off than Extremadura.
• Would you believe that here in Pontevedra city, dogs have their own dating apps - Cander and Miahoo? The Galician for 'dog', by the way, is can. Not perro as in Spanish.
• Talking of canines . . . . There's no breed, in my humble opinion, less worthy of taking the biscuit at a dog show than the ugly, deformed British bulldog. And yet this one, I read, keeps winning competitions here in Galicia. No accounting for taste:-

• Talking of Pontevedra city . . . I recently cited our newish Moroccan restaurant. I ate there again on Sunday and (again) enjoyed deliciously tender marinaded lamb chops. Well worth a visit if you come to the city. Mention my name . . . Here's a foto to make sure you don't walk past it in Rúa Figueroa, between Plaza Leña and Plaza Estrella:-

Best to go when it's open. Which excludes Mondays and Tuesdays . . .

Portugal

• So, how does it differ from Spain? One view here. In strange, whimsical US accents. Possibly of machines.

The UK Election

• Two ways of looking at the imminent election:-

1. This election is an unpopularity contest. 
2. A hold-your-nose election. Details here.

I'm reminded of the Samuel Johnson comment that: There is no settling the point of precedency between a louse and a flea. Except in this case there's actually a wide gulf between the policies of the 2 unpopular men/biting insects. Not that this has received the attention it deserved in the British media, which has been obsessed with personalities. The writer of the first article cites this brilliant series of Hogarth paintings on the corrupt nature of British elections back in the 18th century. She clearly thinks they're pertinent. As they might be for Spain in the 20th century . . .

The USA

• Click here for an entertaining article on Ffart's court jester - Rudi Giuliani. Extract: The forces that have returned Mr. Giuliani to the stage at age 75 are the same ones that made him a star federal prosecutor as a young man, a memorable mayor of New York in the 1990s and a scorched-earth advocate for Mr. Trump in 2016: his relentless drive to put himself at the center of public life and his very high regard for his own virtuousness.
• Nice quote therein from the man himself: These morons. When this is over, I will be the hero.
• And here's a report of his latest (mis) adventures.

Spanish

• Words of the Day:  Interinidad: Temporary post; internship. Desprendarse: To part from, get rid of.

English

• Stephen Pinker's latest contribution to my vocabulary:- Irenic: Adj: Aimed at or aiming at peace. Noun: A part Christian theology concerned with reconciling different denominations and sects. (A never-ending challenge, it seems to me.)

Finally . . .

• Pinker cites the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup as the best ever anti-war film. I must take another look at it.