That smart chap, Mr
Soros, is said to have invested in the Spanish construction industry,
ahead of its Phoenix-like rise from the rubble. I must say I was
surprised to read this. With more than a million properties around
the country still to be sold (including 40 visible from my window),
it's hard to see where the work is going to take place. Perhaps down
in Andalucia, where wealthy Russians and Arabs find life so
conducive.
As I may have
mentioned, my younger daughter is getting married next Saturday. As
they are both strong Catholics, today was their day for what I have
unkindly labelled their pre-nup priestly prattle. It's in two parts.
The first was late morning and the second is in an hour from now. In
between, I've been instructed to go to the supermarket for the
priest's favourite tipple - Not a French or Spanish wine but bottles
of real ale. What is the Church coming to? He's actually a monsignor,
I'm told, but doing him justice would have ruined my alliteration.
Having had a border
collie for 17 years and another before that - I wasn't terribly
surprised to read today that they'e considered - on 5 criteria - to
the the top dog. I was pleased, moreover, to see that my opinion
about the (British) Bulldog was endorsed - a short-living waste of
time and space. Sorry if that offends. Pontevedra's favourite cur -
the French Bulldog - is almost as bad, being slightly less ugly.
Yawn
. . . A new police operation against political corruption
in Spain swooped into action on Tuesday, with arrests of 30 people in
13 provinces. Politicians, public employees and technicians were
among those detained in the regions of Andalucia, Canary Islands,
Extremadura and Madrid. The target is an alleged “criminal scheme”
dedicated to rigging public contracts covering park and garden
maintenance. According to investigators, the main companies involved
had created a network of corrupt public employees and civil servants
who would ensure the firms won contracts in exchange for kickbacks.
Word of the day:
Flagitious - Shameful, vicious, scandalous. It's fallen out of use
only in the last century, it seems. Please help to bring it back.
Finally . . . I'm
intrigued that the British voice on my nat-sav mangles English almost
as often as it does with Spanish. She seems to have particular
trouble with the word 'hill', which she gives in a number of ways. One
of these is 'vil' and the other is 'll' tacked on to the end of the
previous word - as in 'Long'll'. Odd.
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