Dawn

Dawn

Monday, November 17, 2008

Maybe it’s because times are really bad but Spain’s biggest cosmetic surgery company appears to be branching out. A large ad in today’s papers offers free armpit work if you have half the hairs on your legs lasered off. And both free armpit work plus ‘an English’, if you have a full leg job. I’m guessing this is an alternative to ‘a Brazilian’ but perhaps someone could advise.

Another thing I’m ignorant of is why the EU reforms of the European university system [the Bologna Process] get the goat of Spanish students. There were coordinated demonstrations last week in numerous cities around the country, involving thousands of unhappy young campers. Perhaps it will interfere with some of the time-honoured traditions of Spanish universities.

The annual Mr and Miss Spain contests are on us again. Interestingly, you can compete if you’re an unwed parent or a transsexual but not if you’re married.

The Union of the Galician People [the UPG] is regularly said to be the very heart of the Galician Nationalist Block [the BNG]. They’ve just finished their annual conference and the delegates were pictured giving the clenched fist I associate with the communist internationale. Which you can hear in one or more of 40 languages by clicking here. Where I read that it’s also associated with socialist gatherings. Though this doesn’t stop it seeming a tad anachronistic. To me at least. That said, perhaps they’ll all be singing it at future gatherings of the G8, G20, G57, etc. Which should make President Zap happy. Even more so his Economy Minister, who’s pronounced that the weekend’s jaw-jaw will mean ‘less market and more government’. Well, we will see. Mid and long term, I mean. Short term, we’re all socialists now.

Which reminds me – I discovered last week that the great economist Keynes – now back in fashion – had at least one thing in common with humble me. Having been mercilessly scoffed at years ago during a business school exercise for suggesting a car-build enthusiast might be prepared to pay more for the separate pieces of a vintage car than for a finished item, I was pleased to read that Keynes refused to accept that people would always behave in ways dictated by pure economics. So he wasn’t all wrong.

But from triumph to disaster - I had occasion this morning to pick up a jerry-can of heating oil. Half an hour later – for one reason and another – I had a car which stank of the stuff. In fact, the weather was so sunny and warm here today, I half expected to find my car on fire after I’d walked back from town. I also got myself and my clothes covered in the liquid and so put the latter in the washing machine as soon as I got home, along with a couple of towels. End result? Two towels that reek of bloody oil. But at least its price is coming down. Keynes, apparently, had nothing to say on this subject.

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