I
went shopping this morning. As ever, it was pretty much a failure.
Like each of the three I'd previously tried, the ironmongers didn't
stock microwave fuses. But (when asked) thought an electrical shop at
the other end of town might. Like the previous specialist electrical
shop I'd tried, this didn't either. But (when asked) thought that a
place on the north side of town might. Which I will try another day.
The
one good aspect of shopping in Spain is that they're incredible at
wrapping stuff. But this can reach farcical levels, as when they wrap
a single screw in brown paper and then sellotape the little parcel.
And it's not so appealing when you're in a bit of a hurry and, as
this morning, the guy at the counter is attempting to wrap a piece of
kitchen furniture in brown paper for the women in front of you. And
inevitably taking an age.
So,
Richard Branson's Caribbean palace was destroyed during an electrical
storm. Surprising he couldn't afford to put a lightning conductor on
the roof. Or anywhere, for that matter.
The
Tour de España came to Pontevedra today, where all hotels are
now fully booked. This is in sharp contrast with July, it seems, when
occupation was down around 50%. As our tourists are "92%"
Spanish, this says something about La Crisis. Parts of Spain
which depend on foreign visitors have done rather better, I believe.
And August is reported to have been good, with 77% occupation along
this coast. Good, but still not great, in view of the fixed costs.
Variable costs are, of course, kept down by only employing cheap and
servile South Americans.
Actually,
it was fun watching the cyclists race over a bridge across the river
while also viewing the same event on the TV. Though not exactly at
the same time, of course. And it was me watching the race on the TV,
not the cyclists.
It
had to happen . . . Such has been the explosion in (EU-funded) roads
and motorways in Spain over the last ten years, one of the easiest
ways to save money, going forward, is to cut the road maintenance
program. And, sure enough, this is what's just been announced for
Galicia. I wonder how long it'll be before driving long distances
here ceases to be an old-fashioned pleasure, because the roads are
both high quality and relatively empty.
I've
often expressed admiration for the obituaries in Spain's national
papers. This week we've had one dedicated to a Mississippi Delta
Bluesman, David Edwards. Shame they cited his nickname as Honeboy,
rather than what it was - Honeyboy. You can hear his music on
Spotify, by the way. Lovely guitar. Voice not bad either.
I
mentioned ADSL prices yesterday and today I noted that BT is now
promoting its services in Spain. Naturally, they've adopted the
Spanish practice of luring you in with a a price which is reasonable
(relatively speaking) but then shoots up after six months. I say
'reasonable', but it isn't really, against the prices being offered
by Telefónica as of this week. Some quick rethinking will
have to be done in the BT marketing department.
As
I was writing some of this post this morning, I had to move from my
preferred table as four of the six young women on the one behind me
were smoking. This prompted some quick research on the internet,
which confirmed my suspicion that deaths from lung cancer among women
are rocketing up in Spain, as in France. In both countries cigarettes
are primarily seen as appetite suppressors. So the more the merrier.
Until later. Click here if you want more detail about the claim that
"the female lung cancer epidemic is likely
to expand in southern Europe from the current rate of 5/100,000 in
Spain to approach 20/100,000 within the next 2-3 decades. Horrifying.
The
Pontevedra character, Draculín, now seems to be patronising the same
lunchtime bar as me. And so it was today I could snap him wearing
something I've never even seen in England, despite living four years
in London - a bloody bowler hat!
And
here's a picture of the latest block of - totally empty - flats to be
finished in Pontevedra. What's the betting on how long it'll be
before they're all taken? 10 years? Twenty?
Finally
. . . A complaint. Some genius at M&S has decided it'd be a good
idea to save money (I guess) by getting rid of labels on mens' jockey
shorts (slips - sleeps - in Spanish) and
replacing them by print on the inside of the garment. The core
problem with this is that the 'label' fades with washing. The
additional problem, if you need glasses, is that a point is reached
when you can't see the print at all and so proceed to put your shorts
on back-to-front. Which is annoying. I shall have to consider taking
my annual business elsewhere.