As
every foreigner living in Spain (every Hispanic country?) knows, the
Spanish not only have a different approach to surnames than anyone
else in the world but are also blissfully unaware they're the ones
marching to the beat of a different drum. Essentially, everyone in
Spain has at least two surnames – not those of either parent and
maybe not even those of their siblings. So, when you or I show up
with our single surname, confusion reigns. If you're lucky, you'll
have two forenames and one of these will be re-classified as a second (or first) surname. But as different organisations chose different
forenames for this purpose, it can all lead to fun and games,
especially when a computer is involved. So it was, down at a car
dealers the other night, when the salesman was entering my details
and I told him I had only one surname. “Well”, he said, “we'd
better do everything by hand as the program won't operate unless I
fill in that box.” So, of course, we entered a forename to get over
this hurdle.
What
all this means is that I can be called by any of my three names –
David, Colin or Davies – with me never knowing whether they're
using what they think is a forename or a surname. You just get used
to it.
I
read a travel article today where the author said the
standard description of Galicia as wet and windy (or something
like that) was 'increasingly untrue'. Myself, I simply regard it as
untrue and I wonder what this statement means. Either it's true or
untrue. Or the writer thinks global warning is having a discernible but gradual effect on the region for the better. I also have difficulty with the
label 'remote'. You can fly, drive or train here in as little as an
hour from Madrid. Which doesn't seem remote to me. Perhaps it's code
for 'backward'.
This
is how you prepare the foundations of a house in Galicia. Where
there's quite a lot of granite.
And
here, if it works, is short reel giving you a taste of the noise I
had 8 hours a day for a couple of years when they were building the
(illegal and as yet unoccupied) houses behind mine. Nice, eh?
Talking
of houses . . . one of the features of the Spanish property market is
that no one ever gives an exclusive contract to an estate
agent/realtor. Which means places get festooned with boards. Here's
one example at the low end of the scale. Given the number of
properties now on the market, sign-making must be one of the few
growing businesses in the country.
Finally
. . . The Tour of Spain came back to town today, causing a lot
more disruption than yesterday. By 10.30 this morning my road was
closed at the bottom of the hill, meaning I had a far longer than
usual walk into town. This despite the fact the first cyclist wasn't
due until 14.05. Anyway, here are three pretty pointless pix of
competitors.
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