Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable
Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain
Covid
This rather puts the UK in context . . . I called the Galician health service last evening, to ensure I get an appointment for the booster jab before I go to the UK later this month. The charming lady said she was sorry this wasn’t possible and I’d have to wait until they called me. Until, that is, I said I was going to the UK. “Oh, that’s different”, she said. “In that case, give me your details and I’ll get them to call you soon.”
Cosas de España/Galiza
Now, I love turrón – especially the hard stuff, turrón de Alicante, or nougat – but this strikes me as ridiculous. I had to smile at the statement that there’ll probably be a handful of unsold turrón bars at a reduced price after January 7. In a shop I pass daily, there’s always a pile of unsold stuff for several months, at ever-reducing prices. It’s all I can do not to buy a pack every day.
It’s reported that research shows that going to bed between 22.00 and 23.00 significantly reduces the risk of heart disease. People who fell asleep during that narrow window had lower rates of heart disease compared with those with earlier or later bedtimes. By my rule of thumb these times here would be 12 midnight and 1am. Which is very probably when most folk retire here, the prime TV slot here being 21.00 to 00.30, against 20.00 to 23.00 elsewhere in Europe. So, how come the Spanish live longer than anyone else in Europe?
Anyway, as regards Spain’s idiosyncratic horario, here’s an interesting chart, showing that the Swedes bed down from 22.00, while it’s after midnight for the Spanish.

If Spain does eventually revert to GMT, its schedule will automatically move back by one hour, taking it close to that of Italy. But still later than everyone else.
If you’re interested in Spain’s labour laws – which, like those for education, change with every new administration – this is an article for you.
AGW
Two more non-surprises:-
1. China and Saudi Arabia are blocking progress towards a deal at Cop26 by refusing to accept that they must be fully transparent about their greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Despite the media obsession with COP26 and Net Zero, few folk are willing to do much more than they’re already doing? Which, in one UK town, includes putting your rubbish in 7 different bins . .
Meanwhile, an interesting article here from Der Spiegel on ‘The dirty truth about clean technologies’.
Finally . . .
Interesting to note that the Nazi monster, Reinhard Heydrich, was appointed head of the International Criminal Police CommissionInterpol(Interpol)in 1940-
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