Dawn

Dawn

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Looking at a picture of a group of local young women last night, it struck me that the photo could have been taken any time over the last few decades. For, in truth, young Spanish women have looked pretty much the same throughout this period – long dark hair, figure-hugging top and tight, flared trousers or jeans. To be sure, sometimes there’s been a little more midriff and/or underwear on display than at others but essentially it’s the same outfit. In 5 years, I can’t recall seeing a single young woman in Pontevedra wearing anything like a shapeless, unflattering pair of baggy trousers. Nor many older women, for that matter. And some of the latter would certainly have benefited from a degree of bagginess.

As if to prove the point, there was a rather statuesque young lady walking into town on the other side of the bridge from me this morning. Dressed in a tiny black top and tight white trousers and sashaying for all she was worth, she was literally bringing the traffic to a halt as drivers sought to get not just a direct view but also a reflection in their rear-view mirrors. I, meanwhile, showed my disdain for this provocative behaviour by studiously ignoring her.

Two more surveys on Spanish life today. The first revealed that almost 60% of Spanish parents believe in inflicting corporal punishment on their kids to make them behave. This is possibly an even higher number than in the UK. The difference, though, is that it seems to me that the average Spanish kid wouldn’t recognise castigation if it jumped up and hit it in the face, so to speak. Spanish parents give the impression of believing that, if they ignore bad behaviour, it will go away. If not, they resort to ineffectual shouting at or above the already-high ambient noise level.

The second survey suggested Spain is at the bottom of the list of developed countries for success in the baccalaureate, which kids take at 18, I think. This may be a reflection of the fact that Spain’s per capita spending on education is also among the very lowest. Or it may be another indication of the truth of the suggestion that here 20% of people work at least as hard as anyone else on the planet, while the other 80% [of whatever age and occupation] concentrate on having a good time.

Well, if this blog doesn’t garner me some angry posts, I guess nothing will….

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