Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.
Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
- Christopher Howse: 'A Pilgrim in Spain'*
Covid 19 in Spain and Galicia
Madrid lockdown looms after 15,000 coronavirus infections. Madrid could be put back under lockdown, the official in charge of Spain’s health emergencies said last night. “If the numbers continue to rise, drastic measures will have to be taken,” Fernando Simón said. There goes my next planned visit at end September.
A week or two ago, we were told that our September medieval festival (A Feira Franca) would be slimmed down (descafeinada) but it seems it’s finally been completely cancelled. Shame but correct.
Living La Vida Loca
My TIE saga: Well, the temporary office turned out to be the right one and my wait to be seen wasn't too long. But, as my intention has been only to get a cita to pick up my card, I'd stupidly broken the fundamental law of Spanish bureaucracy - whenever you go to an office of the local, provincial or national government, take your passport with you. And at least one copy of it. So, I did get a cita for Thursday - but not the card I might well have been able to pick up today. The latest wrinkle was that I was told to bring the A4 green certificate of residence which had been taken from when I made the application 5 weeks. This shouldn't have been done, the lady said. Maybe so, I replied, but I'd been given a resguardo in its stead. And I was concerned this expired this week. After a chat with a colleague, she agreed that this would do. Left hand, right hand. . .
Truth to tell, my saga was nowt compared to that of a friend who has been trying for 10 days or more to renew his debit card with El Corte Inglés*, Spain's premier (only?) department store. His calvario has gone like this so far:-
- 10 days or so ago he went to the store and talked to someone at the Customer Service desk re a new card. He was told he'd get it in a couple of days
- Not having received it, he called a week ago and was told they didn't know the person whose business card he'd been given. And that he needed to send another document. Which he promptly emailed and was told he'd get the card inside 2 days.
- As he didn't, he called them again, only to be be told again that he needed to send the document he'd already sent.
- They checked and confirmed receipt, and said the card would be available for pick-up in 2 days.
- On Saturday, he went to the store - in Vigo - and was finally given a card.
- After shopping in the store and presenting the card, he was told it was blocked.
- Returning to the Customer Service desk, he was told they couldn't explain this but that someone would call him soon about it.
- Sure enough he got a call yesterday morning but this turned out to be someone telling him his card was now ready to pick up. No information on why the card he'd already picked up didn't work.
- And in the evening he got another call saying his card was blocked because, as he'd changed his job recently, they needed to have his updated full work history (vida laboral).
- So he sent this and now awaits a card that does work. Right hand, left hand . . .
Anyway, all this inevitably reminded me - yet again - of Vernon Werner's book and I sent my friend a copy of my notes taken from it. You can see it at the end of this post [https://colindavies.blogspot.com/2018/03/thoughts-from-galicia-spain-28318.html]. Like me, my friend has been here 19 years but, unlike me, has worked here all that time. He didn't find anything in the very long list to disagree with . . . Enough said.
The moral: If you're new to life in Spain, consider moderating your expectations. You'll be a lot happier. Or at least a lot less frustrated/irritated. And always carry something to read . . .
BTW:-
Coincidence 1: My friend, like Vernon Werner, is Dutch . . .
Coincidence 2: A reader yesterday advised me of 2 paeans of praise - here and here - written about the entrepreneurial Dutch culture by a Spaniard. One is in Catalan but the other in Castellano. Google will oblige in both cases. Albeit with imperfect translations. But you'll easily get the gist.
It took a global pandemic, but urinal dividers are finally getting installed in Spain . . .
Days 10 and 11 of María’s Dystopian Times
The USA
The Hispanics are coming!
Spanish
Doblegar: To bend (usual meaning?); to break; to subdue (as in the Feira Franca article above)
English/Spanish
One more refrán:-
- The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing: Que tu mano izquierda no sepa lo que hace la derecha. (Possibly)
Finally . . .
The writer of this article refers to Vigo - a city of almost 300,000 souls - as, first, a town and, then, a village. Anyway, it's hit the headlines for being the first in Spain to start setting up - or at least talking about - its Xmas lights.
Under pressure from my daughters - who very occasionally read this blog - I’ve not used bullet points in this post. Feel free to comment or even disagree with them . . .
* A terrible book, by the way. Don't be tempted to buy it, unless you're a very religious Protestant.
** BTW . . . I thought for a long time this meant 'The English Court' but it actually means 'The English Cut' and is a reference to a certain style . . .