And, Lo, has caught the Sultan’s Turret in a Noose of Light
Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable
– Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’
Cosas de España/Galiza
I don’t really know much about the standards of education in Spain, though I do know it has some excellent business schools. As for secondary education, this is the sort of comment that makes one wonder how good it is: The OECD warns That 28% of young Spaniards have not completed the Baccalaureate or vocational training, the highest percentage in the EU.
There was a massive secondary school drop-out during the loose-money, construction-driven phoney boom years of 2002-8 but I would have expected things to have improved since then. As, indeed, they have; it used to be worse than the 28% cited. But several regions in Spain are way above that 28% national average, which itself is double the EU average. Not a good picture. And boys fare worse than girls. On the other hand, the average for university graduates, at 49%, is above the EU-22 average of 46%. Rather odd. And given everything one hears about the difficulty of finding decent employment in Spain, it does make one wonder about the value gained by obtaining a degree. Unless you plan to work abroad.
Just as I predicted – though this wasn’t hard – the mayor of PV city plans to make large swathes of the riverside more pedestrian/people friendly, in line – allegedly – with some overarching carbon reduction dictum. My guess is the current (N)road to a key suburb will be reduced to one lane and obviously, made one-way. Likewise another road somewhere else, so that people can still get to and from their homes and places of work.
The UK
The EU
According to AEP, the EU is unwise to indulge in schadenfreude over the UK’s current plight..
Ukraine
What might be the latest situation.
Spanish
Seen on a menu at the zoo on Saturday:-
Pescado del día: ‘Not Fish of the day’ but ‘Fish Day’s’
Albóndigas a la jardinera: ‘Gardener meatballs’.
Finally . . . .
To amuse . . .
Welcome to new suscriber, Lizbeth. Who has a blog with the nice title: Smile each and every day.
For new readers: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.
Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain 
What AEP is not saying – and most UK commentators tend to overlook – is that total UK debt (household+goverment) is the highest in Europe, higher than France’s, higher than Spain’s and even higher than Italy’s. The UK is actually the most indebted country in Europe. And if you add to that the UK’s higher trade+current account deficit you will start getting the real full picture. But AEP is just doing his job, and like any commentator on the Telegraph’s payload he has to come up with stories that make the EU look bad, particularly, when the UK’s economy is -literally – sinking before our own eyes.
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Many thanks. But do the (skittish) bond traders/commentators take into account private debt?
C.
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