Covid  

I’ve had no reaction to my Pfizer test 4 days ago. My doctor neighbour tells me that it’s women who usually suffer this. Which seems unfair. I wonder if trans/putative women also get a bad reaction.

Cosas de España/Galiza

The leader of the right-of-centre PP party last Sunday attended a Mass commemorating the 46th anniversary of Franco’s death. He said it was just an accident, as the church was next door his hotel and so convenient. He appears to have missed the Spanish flags bedecking the pews. Error or not, it will go down well with the increasingly visible Far Right. Whom said PP leader, coincidentally, is trying to lure back from Vox.

Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas tells us that the director of the Hacienda has told a journalist that a documentary – Hechos Probados – which deals with the excesses and zealotry of tax inspectors will never be shown on TV here. But, adds Lenox, you can see it on the net for a small fee here.  

The gap between the children said to be desired by young Spanish women and those actually seeing the light of day is reported to be the highest in Europe. One factor, of course, is that Spanish women are having children later and later. The average age for (not ‘of’) the first born is now 30.9 years, one of the highest in world. So, Spain’s fertility rate is now dangerously low, at only 1.3, among the lowest in the world. Something must be done . . . Perhaps everyone should revert to pious Catholicism. 

Several of the gypsies from one of the permanent settlements near my house are in court on drug-related charges. They’re facing 3 to 8 years in prison, possibly not for the first time. I think I recognise the patriarch featured in the DdP article.

The UK 

Some folk think Boris Johnson will soon cease being PM and become a very highly paid after-dinner speaker. I guess that, as it’s a mad world, that could happen. But, after reading several articles like this one – from journals of both the Left and the Right  – I can’t help wondering whether he’ll end up clinically depressed in one of the UK’s famous Priory hospitals. Either way, I can’t see him leading the Tories into the next general election. It’s a party famous for its ruthlessness. And the ousting process is simple and quick. 

Richard North – never the man’s biggest fan – goes to town on BoJo here.

The EU

EU’s beleaguered immigration policies will be the sword on which it falls, says the author of this article, who clearly thinks wider than such things as visa rules and study options for one’s kids. And probably rejects the claim that the formation of the Union prevented further European wars. Apart from those in the ever-troublesome Balkans of course. I guess he’s on the far right of those who don’t expect the EU to endure.

The looming issue appears to be what the EU will do about Russian aggression on the Ukraine border, leading to fears of an invasion in early 2022.

The Way of the World 

An interesting chart on inflation rates around the world:-

Spanish

Infravivienda: Logically enough . . . Inferior/substandard house; Slum. Una vivienda que carece de las condiciones mínimas para ser habitada.

Finally  . . .

Amusing quote no. 5: They were a people so primitive they didn’t know how to make money except by working for it. Joseph Addison (1672-1719).

This blog can be seen on Twitter and on the Facebook group page – Thoughts from Galicia.  

If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here.