Dawn

Dawn

Thursday, September 01, 2005

The first line of a Daily Telegraph article today on the New Orleans disaster was “After Katrina: Fire, Pestilence and War?”. The second line was a huge advertisement for a Fantasy Football game. What a commercial world.

During the drive down to Madrid yesterday, we had ample opportunity to see the dreadful effects of the numerous fires in Galicia over this summer. The landscape around Verin was particularly badly devastated. Strangely, though, we didn’t seen any evidence of property destruction. On this subject, I should point out the article I cited recently failed to mention the worst reason for initiating a conflagration – because you enjoy watching it. One such pyromaniac was arrested in Ourense yesterday. I guess it’s too much to expect that he be burnt at the stake.

Having written in April that French driving seemed to be much improved, I feel I have the right now to say the worst example yesterday of stupidly aggressive, up-your-exhaust pipe driving came from a car with French plates. This doesn’t mean the driver was French, of course, but I think I’m entitled to my suspicions. I often wonder whether the French really appreciate just how the rest of the world sees them. A friend of Faye’s staying with us recently said she dealt regularly with 26 subsidiaries of her London employer and only ever had difficulties with the French company. This might have come as a surprise if I hadn’t heard something similar on numerous occasions in 30 years of business.

It’s been pointed out I’m still getting the forename of the Galician president wrong. This is not quite correct – he’s the EX-president. As such, he no longer merits accuracy. Anyway, he’s forever mis-addressing me. And, like everyone else in Spain, declining to answer my letters. Piqued? Moi?

As for Mariano Rajoy, well he’s from Pontevedra and me and his other mates always call him Marion when he drops in to see us. It’s a bit of an in-joke.

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