Dawn

Dawn

Thursday, August 03, 2017

Thoughts from Galicia: 3.7.17

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.

Usual Thursday HT and thanks to Lenox of Business Over Tapas for some of these items:-

Life in Spain:-
  • Here's the BBC on the origins of the Basque tongue. Probably controversial. As all language theories are.
  • And here's the same institution on why Spaniards eat so late. Possibly correct too
  • It's hard, if you live in another West European state, to understand how much control each Spanish government has over the media here. One little story . . . The main TV channel(TVE) didn't report on the testimony of President Rajoy in court last week. Though I suppose this might just be because he said nothing newsworthy. Or credible. They probably felt it best no to go with the headline: The President tells even bigger lies.
  • Which reminds me . . . The anti-corruption commission which the PP party brought in a few months ago, under pressure from their junior partner, Ciudadanos, has quietly disappeared into the Spanish sands. Exactly as everyone expected it would.
  • Spanish localism: In her never-ending clash with the leader of her PSOE party. The Presidenta of the Andalucian region warned him: Don't make me choose between the party and my region. In how many countries would such party indiscipline be allowed? And is it a good thing or a bad thing?
The second you start to worry about your EU bank, get out of it. This would be the advice of Don Quijones, as you can see here, where he talks of Europe’s hordes of zombified lenders. By which he means the smaller banks. And one or two much larger (mostly Italian) ones. As he says: What happened to Spain's Banco Popular could happen to any number of banks in any number of Eurozone countries, including Germany where some of the regional banks (landesbank) are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. And the risk of contagion in the Eurozone is higher than ever.

Several years too late – and in panic at the inroads of the Portuguese – the Xunta is trying to make it more attractive for companies to invest here in Galicia. And not just 'foreign' companies from elsewhere in Spain but also local companies tempted to establish themselves just across the border, only a few kilometres away. Better late than never??

Talking of Galicia . . . Spanish speakers might enjoy this special section from the satirical magazine, Jueves on Galicia/Galiza. It's also done other regions.

Finally . . . It hasn't been easy but I think I have figured out the 'afluencia'(flow) of people to the terraces where I take a tiffin or two between 1 and 3 most days:-
Very sunny: Few people. They go to the beach.
Very wet: Few people: God knows that they do.
Cloudy: Could be a few or quite a lot
Sun & Cloud: A lot of people, as presumably they've decided not to risk the beach.
Having said all that, I suspect the day of the week counts as well. At least for Sunday, when all the terraces are busy. As I've said, this is because they're all going to have a big family lunch at midday. Which is 2.30-4.00 here, of course.

Cartoons in short supply again today. . . So a foto of my wonderful daughters. Admittedly a few years ago:-



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