Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain
Spanish Politics- At the moment, I believe there's no Spanish law - equivalent to those in Germany and Italy - which makes the 'exaltacion' of Franco a crime. But it's said to be coming, in line with the PSOE's electoral manifesto. Which won't please Vox voters. Or even many PP voters.
- Very last bit on St James . . . I didn't know that the very battle of Clavijo - at which he is said to have appeared and slaughtered up to 60,000 Moors - is also a complete myth. Despite this, The supposed battle has provided one of the strongest ideological icons in the Spanish national identity. So, only whisper it, among your (foreign) selves.
- To follow up my own recent comments on the perils of dealing with dishonest estate agents etc., here's a good article on how to avoid the top 5 pitfalls of buying property in Spain. But it's a bit of a counsel of perfection, as the suggested pre-lawyer level of enquiries would need a knowledge of both Spanish bureaucracy and the Castellano language - in most parts of Spain, at least. And I do wonder about the feasibility of delaying (the final?) payment until after your purchase has been entered into the Registro. Never heard of this. Might involve an escrow account, I guess.
- I guess there'll be fewer of these around now, in some Spanish cities at least.
- The Galician interior is suffering from 2 major problems: 2. Serious depopulation, as young folk move to the towns; and 2. The hammer-blow of reduced EU agricultural subventions, as a result of the loss of the many billions in the British contribution to the Brussels kitty. One wonders how the region will look if I survive another 20 years here. And if we'll still have 3 small, uneconomic 'international' airports. I suspect so.
- Writing in 2011, Steven Pinker noted that: All leaders must have a generous dose of confidence to become leaders and pundits often diagnose leaders they don't like with narcissistic personality disorder. But it's important not to trivialise the distinction between a politician with good teeth and the psychopaths who run their country into the ground and take large parts of the world with them. Among the pacifying features of democracy is that their leadership-election procedure penalises an utter lack of empathy, and their checks and balances limit the damage that a grandiose leader can do. I wonder if he'd write that now, after 3 years of Fart at the helm of the good ship USA.
- Speaking of whom . . . However appealing this is, I'm not convinced it's genuine . . .
- The perennial question . . . How does she get away with this?
- Word of the Day: Acurrucarse: To curl up, snuggle, cuddle.
- Interesting points from this El País article: In Spanish there's no word for “whistleblower” – no one-word description of a person who nobly reports illegal activity or unethical behavior It is revealing that the closest equivalents all have negative connotations, sounding more like 'snitch', 'sneak', 'toad' or 'rat'. Another word that doesn’t appear in Spanish but is widely used in English is “accountability”. Of course, the article is more about corruption and low ethics than language.
- 'Mabel' (Alabama-Pearl McVey) is an award-winning singer who has British, Swedish, and Spanish citizenship. But don't tell the Spanish government, as they'd don't allow it and, in theory, will strip her of her Spanish nationality, if they know she's using a British or Swedish passport.
THE PROMO: PROPERTIES AVAILABLE IN SOUTH GALICIA
Galicia Living is a new property development outfit here in Southern Galicia (As Rías Baixas), owned by a friend of mine. So, if you're looking for a house here, get in touch with them. And, if you're particularly interested in the lovely Miño area down on the border with Portugal, let me know on doncolin@gmail.com and I'll send you my write-up on it.
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