There's
quite a lot of corruption in Spain. The latest seems to involve a
cove who diverted 40 million euros - yes, forty million - in the
wrong direction. But the scandal which is currently thrilling the
Spanish centres on the President of the General Council of the
Judiciary and the Supreme Court. He's a man in his sixties who's long
postured as a pillar of Catholic society and as a good husband and
father. At weekends, though, he's been jetting off to spend time with
his young boyfriend, one of his bodyguards. With the emphasis on
'body'. As if this wasn't dim enough, he's been using public funds to
finance the trips. To the tune of 28,000 euros. Which is, of course,
peanuts compared with the 40 million siphoned off by the guy I
mentioned earlier. But it's like the old joke about lawyers in
Heaven, we get a lot of politicians fiddling millions but we don't
get many judges living a double life of such a colourful nature.
I've
mentioned a couple of times over the years that Spain may be the only
country in the world where yellow is considered an aggressive colour
for a car. But, truth to tell, I saw a yellow car being driven very
aggressively in the UK last week. Almost inevitably, though, it was a
Seat León.
I
thought that GLT (goal line technology) was being introduced in the
Euros. Apparently not, much to the irritation of the Ukrainians. Who
deserved not only to equalise against England but also to win the
match. England, of course, played their traditional game of
Here's-the-Ball-We-Don't-Want it, though even more than usual. Surely
they can't beat Italy next Sunday. Unless they do a Chelsea.
I
haven't watched Spanish TV for a long time but I tuned in tonight for
the England-Ukraine game. And it was good to see that the verities
are as eternal as ever. Before the game, there was minimal
discussion, slotted in between endless adverts; at half time there
was nothing but ads; and as soon as the ref. blew the final whistle
there were yet more ads. Oh, and the commentators before the game
also broke off from their pronouncements to promote the sponsors'
products. It'll be a while before I watch any more.
The
euro: Well, the Monday morning euphoria lasted only a couple of
hours and shares came down as quickly as they'd gone up. But the news
on the street tonight is that Mrs. Merkel is softening her line and
that enough funds may be made available to finance a firewall for
both Spain and Italy. I, for one, will believe it when I see it. Even
though logic dictates that she will.
As
we wait on this, why not enjoy some wine from Galicia? The
one cited here sells for 8 euros here in Spain, say 6.40 pounds.
Which makes it 56% more expensive in the UK. Good health!
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