Spain compared to England?

Hi Maria, I know what you mean regarding a certain respect.

For instance my parents & my husbands parents brought us both up to be respectful, to respect our elders, to say 'sorry', 'please', 'thankyou' etc & to wait to be asked to speak if we walked into a room where our parents were with others after we'd said 'excuse me'. Sometimes my dad would make me wait for what seemed forever as a small child & I'd say 'excuse me' again & then he'd say 'we heard you the first time, wait !' but it taught us valuable lessons that children these days often don't seem to have.

In England if we wanted the bill we'd say 'Could we have the bill, please ?' but in Spain when we say 'la cuenta por favor' (the bill please) we are told the Spanish don't add 'please' when they ask for the bill so 'la cuenta'should be said which seems rude to us.

Edited to add as I forgot: Glad you're enjoying London, Maria. We live just over 2 hrs drive from London or would've come to meet you as you keep asking if we can meet sometime & in Spain we are so far away BUT my OH tells me he will drive down to visit your area sometime as we are now spending longer periods in Spain.

Maria, I wish I was there to show you around.

Susan

Maria:

- Clients care attention Well, I had a call from our new bank manager (BBVA) this week, inviting us to pop into the branch to meet him and "have a chat". The bank has a policy of moving staff on every couple of years (so they don't get too friendly with their customers  ) but I was very pleasantly surprised that the new guy wanted to introduce himself - made us feel like valued customers. My UK banks make me feel like dirt, and if I wanted to talk face to face it would mean a lengthy trip to Bangladesh no doubt.

- Respect to queues Ahhh. Never gonna happen! We had to explain to a lady at the meat counter in the supermarket the other day that her ticket number 01 came after our number 98, plus a couple of other customers. She couldn't get this, and if anyone reading this doesn't either - get to the back of the queue! It will forever be an enduring mystery why Spaniards are always in such a hurry to go nowhere and do nothing, and must be first, but I guess that's part of the charm!

-Thanks, please, I am sorry, excuse me Just a cultural and liguistic difference really. Spain is not unique here. Swedish has no word for please (which is why, if forced, they may say "pass the salt thanks", but generally won't bother with the thanks) but this doesn't necessarily mean they are rude. However - why oh why can Spanish drivers not thank you with a little wave or other gesture when you give way for them to pull out? Again, too much of a hurry to go nowhere with little or no respect for other road users.

- Lower tone of voice I had something to say about this but I forgot - can't seem to concentrate becuse the men in the cafe next door are making so much noise! I never can tell if it's an argument or just a friendly chat.

So glad you're enjoying our Capital city and that you don't find it hostile and unfriendly as so often it can seem like that to visitors.  Say "Hi" to the Queen from us if you see her!

Hi Maria,

Good to hear that you are enjoying London.

I presume you were attending the big legal Seminar in London , all held in Spanish!!

I really hope the problems that soooo many people are/have experienced with the legal system in Spain were discussed. A mutual lawyer friends partner told us, that on a visit to London's Inns of Court (Lincolns Inn I think) last year that the Spanish also have a great deal to learn from the English legal system.  I understand he was unable to attend the meeting as he had two big cases to be heard in the Spanish Courts. Maybe you will tell us if anything was discussed about the current problems people have encountered regarding refunds of monies on illegal/non-build properties in Spain.

Dear Tish:

The conference was for Spanish lawyers to understand a bit more the Commun Law system, but I certainly had the oportunity to talk about those problems you are refering  with someone at the Law Society and wil be certainly putting Suzanne of the Spanishpropertyscandalptition in conection with that person. They are interested on knowing more.

Have a great weekend,

Maria

Hi Maria,

That's wonderful news!  A BIG THANK YOU!  You had a great agenda..I hope you enjoyed London.

Have a great week-end too.

Kindest regards,

Tish.

I am just trying to connect Suzanne with the relevant people there. SHE HAS ALL THE MERITS, ALL!

Thanks Suzanne.

Maria