Well, not longer after
I noted an upwards spike in Spain's road deaths, it's been announced
that for the full year these were down, albeit marginally, on 2013's
record low. The continuing fall is attributed to better roads and to
the impact of Spain's relatively new points system. Tellingly, under you can eventually lose your licence for a range of
offences possibly greater than anywhere else in the world. Need I say
that, in parallel, motoring fines are also at a record level - at the
high end of the scale, not the low.
I've mentioned the
Spanish custom of gulping down 12 grapes as the clock strikes
midnight on 31 December - Las Campanadas. Well, the Andalucian TV
channel, Canal Sur, screwed up royally this year, when it showed ads
instead of the first 10 strikes. Here's Lenox on this. And here's one
of several videos on youtube showing the reaction of one family. And,
yes, they are speaking Spanish, but in the odd Andaluz dialect which largely
eschews the letter S. Astonishingly, someone's head is said to have
rolled for this cock-up, possibly reflecting just how important
having fun is in Spain.
But what of this year
in Spain? Here's yet another of The Local's lists. This time of 10
forecasts for 2015. At a quick glance, it seem to me they're not
sticking their neck out very much.
And what about the EU?
. . .
Quote 1: “The
eurozone is sinking into corrosive deflation and it is too late to
stop. We think the inflation rate in December may already have been
negative. The ECB are in trouble, and they know it.”
Quote 2: “What we are
seeing is the 'Japanification' trade,”
If these don't make any
sense to you, you might find enlightenment here.
I've mentioned that
many European countries have the festive period tradition of showing
the old British comic film, Dinner for One. A German friend tells me
that this year was the 50th anniversary of its first New Year's Eve
showing. And that 14m folk tuned in to laugh at it yet again. As my friend
pointed out, this is 16-17% of the German population and 23% of Brits. In Britain itself, roughly 0% of the population watched it.
A fascinating remark
from the lead commentator on Russia's RT TV channel yesterday:
"Outside the Washington beltway, Putin is probably the best
known and best loved person in the world". Intriguingly, said
observer/lapdog has clearly softened his strident tone since the
start of the year. A new year resolution? Or just an accident? Vamos
a ver.
If you're buying books
through Amazon in Spain, you should know that, as of 1 January,
you'll pay 21% IVA (VAT). This is the result of an EU directive and
is the highest in Europe, comparing with the previous 3%. I'm not
sure you can avoid this by ordering from the UK (8%), as the rate seems to depend on where you live.
A while ago, I noted
there were 3 expensive dress shops in one small street in
Pontevedra's old quarter and queried whether they could all survive.
Well, 2 of them have gone, to be replaced by an upmarket tattoo
parlour and a fair trade (comercio justo) outlet. Will they have any
better luck?
Penultimately . . . And
talking of shops . . . We went to a huge Chinese bazar outside the
city yesterday. It was huge, cheap and bloody cold. I was disheartened to see that even these places now practice bundling of
products. But at least I only had to buy 2, and not 3, reels of
electricians' tape. While waiting to pay for these, I noticed there
were bike lamps on a nearby shelf. I thought of buying several and
chucking them at cyclists in Pontevedra, But, noting the price of 40
euros, I decided to forego this charitable act.
Finally . . . More from
the 1942 Guide for Yanks in Limeyland:-
You are coming to
Britain from a country where your home is still safe, food is still
plentiful, and lights are still burning. So it is doubly important
for you to remember that the British soldiers and civilians have been
living under a tremendous strain. It is always impolite to criticise
your hosts. It is militarily stupid to criticise your allies. So stop
and think before you sound off about lukewarm beer, or cold or boiled
potatoes, or the way English cigarettes taste.
If British civilians
look dowdy and badly dressed, it is not because they do not like good
clothes or know how to wear them. All clothing is rationed and the
British know that they help war production by wearing an old suit or
dress until it cannot be patched any longer. Old clothes are "good
form."
One thing to be careful
about – if you are invited into a British home and the host exhorts
you to "eat up – there's plenty on the table," go easy.
It may be the rations for the whole week spread out to show their
hospitality.
Waste Means Lives. It is
always said that the Americans throw more food into their garbage
cans than any country eats. It is true. We have always been a"
producer" nation. Most British food is imported even in
peacetimes, and for the last two years the British have been taught
not to waste the things that their ships bring in from abroad.
British seamen die getting those convoys through. The British have
been taught this so thoroughly that they know that food and gasoline
represent the lives of merchant sailors. And when you burn gasoline
needlessly, it will seem to them as if you are wasting the lives of
those seamen – and when you destroy or waste food you have wasted
the life of another sailor.
British Women At War. A
British woman officer or non-commissioned officer can – and often
does – give orders to a man private. The men obey smartly and know
it is no shame. For British women have proven themselves in this war.
They have stuck to their posts near burning ammunition dumps,
delivered messages afoot after their motor–cycles have been blasted
from under them. They have pulled aviators from burning planes. They
have died at the gun posts and as they fell another girl has stepped
directly into the position and "carried on." There is not
a single record of any British woman in uniformed service quitting
her post or failing in her duty under fire.
Now you know why
British soldiers respect their women in uniform. They have won the
right to the utmost respect. When you see a girl in khaki or
air-force blue with a bit of ribbon on her tunic – remember she
didn't get it for knitting more socks than anyone else in Ipswich.
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