I had an argument with my friend and fellow blogger, Manoel, yesterday, after I had accused him of being too harsh in including ‘cheating’ as a defining trait of the Spanish. All Spaniards lied on every conceivable occasion, he insisted. But, as all Spaniards knew from birth that no one was telling them the truth, it didn’t really matter. ‘We all know the rules’ he explained. Cynic as I am, I found this unconvincing but today my daughter, Faye, had a conversation with one of her pupils about the ‘clocking’ of car trip meters. It turns out that there was something of a scandal recently when importers of German cars were found to have been turning the clocks back by many thousands of kilometres. This had irritated the country’s Mercedes dealers as it was seen as damaging to the image of the company in Spain. ‘So the Mercedes dealers don’t do this at all?’ said Faye. ‘Oh, yes, of course they do’ was the reply. ‘But only to the reasonable extent that everyone would assume they have.’ Manoel 1: Colin 0

Or to put this in Spanish - Manoel 0: Colin 1

 

It was “Grandparents’ Day” in Spain earlier this week. Or here in Galicia at least. The evergreen President of the Galician Government, Mr Fraga [a mere 82], took the opportunity to urge grandparents to instruct their children to have more kids. He then pointed the finger at his own daughter – also a member of the local government, I believe – for not having made him a great grandfather. Perhaps he should give her some pre-maternity leave. Mr Fraga, by the way, is the last surviving ministerial relic of the Franco era. They love him in the hills of Galicia and he talks confidently of seeking another term at the next elections in 4 years’ time. Can it be any wonder that the rest of Spain regards Galicia as a tad backward. But with great seafood and wonderful beaches, so who cares.