Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain

Note: This is my second post of the day, and the real one. The previous one - posted c. 10 hours ago - was really Sunday's, which had got lost somehow. Scroll down for it.

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.   

- Christopher Howse: 'A Pilgrim in Spain'*

The Bloody Virus 

• UK cases and deaths per million are now higher than Italy's and 3rd behind Belgium and Spain. And UK tests per million - despite double counting - are still below those of Italy and well below those of Spain. Scandalous, really.

Life in Spain in the Time of Something Like Cholera 

• Archena, in Murcia, has warned of fines of up to €2,500 for people caught tossing away their used masks on the ground. Might work.
• Talking of potential fines . . . What if I don't wear a mask when I go out during Phase 1 or 2?
• María's Come-back Chronicle Day 15. Maria is not a happy camper at the moment.
• I've realised that there's one way to recognise women whose identity is obscured by face masks - check out their tattoos.
• I'm pleased to report that the percentage of mask-wearers on O Burgo bridge - still not completed - has shot up to close to 90%, even though it's possible to be 2m apart from anyone else on it.

Real Life in Spain 

• It's an egregious myth that all Spaniards enjoy La Corrida and support the bullfighting industry. Most, I suspect, wouldn't shed even a crocodile tear for the imminent death Covid-19 is said to threaten it with. El País, for example, claims today that 54,000 employees are at risk of losing their jobs.
• Meanwhile, news of another Spanish non-sport - fraud/corruption. In this case the widespread but illegal export of elvers to Asia.
• What Brits will need to retain their residence status after Brexit. The Spanish government is described as generous. Possibly self-interestedly so, given what the million of us residents contribute to the economy here. Only - as Lenox Napier regular reports - to be largely ignored in favour of British tourists, of one class or another.

The EU

• To be discussed tomorrow, the latest proposal from France and Germany for 'mutualised debt issuance' may mark a turning point in the history of the European integration project and be a game-changer. It says here.

Social Media

The USA

• Can this really be true? The last sentence surely is,

Finally . . .

• Quote of the week:  Thanks to the virus, future air travel will be as enjoyable as open-heart surgery.
• I might have been a tad harsh on the tech service company yesterday. They tell me the factory was closed until last Friday but a new mica plate is on its way. Though this isn't what they'd said they do - get the dimensions and cut a piece from a larger sheet of mica. I fear I will now have to pay the (double the cost of the plate) shipment charges that this was supposed to avoid. Hey ho. Only a flea bite.

 * A terrible book, by the way. Don't be tempted to buy it, unless you're a very religious Protestant