Dawn

Dawn

Thursday, April 27, 2006

I occasionally repeat the well-rehearsed observation that the Spanish have a different concept of risk from other Europeans. I was reminded of this when crossing the bridge into town this evening. The first vehicle I saw was a bicycle whose rider was carrying something large in each hand. Though these were, admittedly, on the handlebars. The next was a BMW being driven by a young woman with a poodle on her knees, giving a whole new meaning to the expression ‘lap dog’. She wasn’t, of course, wearing a seat belt but – having clocked the canine – I would’ve bet a great deal on this. My impression is the Spanish see risk-taking as integral to their famous zest for life. Or should this be – as the road fatality statistics suggest – a zest for death?

Another vignette - I went to our local town hall yesterday to return the ‘Avian ‘flu preventative measure’ form asking how many chickens, turkeys, pheasant, etc. I had on my land. The clerk confirmed I’d brought it to the right place but seemed a little incredulous that I’d bothered to submit a nil return. When I asked him for my copy, he declined and said I didn’t need it. Suspicions aroused, I turned round a few seconds after leaving the desk, to see the form being thrown into the bin. Later in the afternoon, I asked some [equally bird-less] Spanish friends what they’d done with their form. The answer was they’d effectively saved the clerk some work by throwing it in their own bin. I suppose the upshot will be that everyone who doesn’t obey the instruction to return the form will be assumed to have no birds. If, indeed, there is any upshot

No comments: