A
final example of the Spanish attitude to personal space (Proxemics) .
. . I dined with some Spanish friends last night and when we entered
the restaurant, the only other diners were a couple sitting in one
corner of a room of fourteen tables. Under my influence, we sat on
the other side of it. Two other couples came in while we were there
and each sat in the same place as the first couple, making it a
rather crowded – and, of course, noisy - corner. We remained in
splendid isolation.
Strangely, I noted the same aggregation behaviour
in a largely empty underground car park this morning, where most of
the cars were parked unnecessarily beside others. Running the risk of
scratches.
No
one, of course, knows what's going to happen in Europe – other
than, thanks purely to the Nobel-winning EU, there's not going to be a Third
World War anytime soon. But as regards Britain's departure option,
The Economist opines that:- The
most likely outcome would be that Britain would find itself as a
scratchy outsider with somewhat limited access to the single market,
almost no influence and few friends. And one certainty: that having
once departed, it would be all but impossible to get back in again.”
For
the reasoning behind this glum prediction click here.
In
an even more interesting article, historian Antony Beever asks Will
a continent turn its back on democracy.
I could quote at length from this but, instead, will give you this
reference.
On
the inner workings of the EU – specifically the German-French axis
– I
read this comment of a senior German player the other day:-
We only call the French once we've agreed a common position with
other countries. Once we start talking to the French the trouble
begins. This reminded me of a
Europe-wide survey of some years ago as to who was best and worst to
do business with across the continent. There were differences of
opinion as to which country was the best but none on which was the
worst.
So,
finally here's another Economist
article, entitled “The time bomb at the heart of Europe'. It's a
special report on France. Which won't have made good bedtime reading
for President Holland. If the intro grabs you, note there are links to several additional sections.
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