Dawn

Dawn

Thursday, June 24, 2004

The much vilified Spanish football coach has said that he is staying on as he ‘has the support of the football world’. If the [somewhat adverse] opinion polls published today are anything to go by, this would seem to mean merely the President of the Football Association, the man who appointed him. And who extended his contract for two years before the European Cup competition. Since both gentlemen are Basques, this has given the regionally-obsessed Spanish plenty of scope for conspiracy theories. And fury.

Talking of polls, one published yesterday in El Mundo again demonstrated the depth of anti-American feeling in Spain. 75% of Spaniards distrust the US government in its fight against international terrorism. This contrasts with 25% in the USA itself, 41% in the UK and 61% in France. Even Morocco and Pakistan – Muslim countries, of course – come below Spain. Needless to say, the dreadful Madrid bombings of last March are a major factor behind the Spanish attitude. Rightly or wrongly, most Spaniards don’t believe they would not have happened but for the Iraq war.

I was nearly hit on a zebra crossing again today. Mind you, the damage would probably have been slight as the car was moving very slowly. I felt more amused than threatened, at the sight of the driver with his left arm dangling down outside the car and his right arm contorted round his head so that he could scratch his left ear. No wonder he was too preoccupied to see me.

Piso Relax in Vigo has taken off the gloves – doubling the size of its box ad and adding the strap line – ‘Number 1 in Luxury, Selection and Distinction’. Plus it has both Miss Brazil and Miss Argentina on its staff, it would seem. And air conditioning throughout. Can I hold out?

FilmWatch
‘Die Hard’ – ‘Glass Jungle’
‘Rumble in the Bronx’ – ‘Hard to Kill’

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