Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable
Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND SUNDRY
Cosas de España/Galiza
Spanish New Year Superstitions, in which red underwear makes another appearance.
Spanish inflation reached 6.7% in December, even higher than the UK’s. More on this here.
Here’s something on the Galicia area which used to be the leading Spanish exporter of wine to the UK. Until, I’ve always understood, the trade was hit by the War of the Spanish Succession, which ended in 1713 with the treaty which gave Gibraltar to Britain,
The UK
Miele have written to me thus: As a thank you for your feedback[!] and to start to restore your trust in Miele, please find below a £50 voucher for our accessories and care collection which can be redeemed online at our webshop, using voucher code xxxxxxx. I replied: Despite my several messages, I don’t seem to have got it through to you and your colleagues that I live in Spain and that I bought the cleaner 2 years ago, when on a visit to the UK. I’m returning to Spain on 6 January and I don’t plan to be back in the UK for a long time. In these circumstances, a voucher for 50 quid to spend only in the UK on things I don’t need/want is of no value to me
The Way of the World
‘Because of Covid’: It’s the adage of the age – the get-out clause for every company you’ve interacted with since March 23 2020 which, for reasons unrelated to Covid, can definitely not perform the task you paid them for “because of Covid”. What effect has the virus had on this particular service, you ask? No matter the query: “Because of Covid” will be the response. It’s a defence of similar intellectual complexity to “The dog ate my homework”, yet here we are.
Official English
A line from the Spanish government site on entering Spain: NO YOU MUST TRAVEL if you have symptoms compatible with COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath), of recent onset
Finally . . .
A couple of funnies . . .
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.
Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain 