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
Even though the number of cases in Spain has risen by 78% since lockdown ended, only 4% have had to go to hospital, and only 7% of these have needed to be admitted to intensive care. See here.
Living La Vida Loca in Spain and Galicia
I claimed my money back for an end June train journey from Madrid that got me home 2 hours late. According to a 2013 site, I should have got 100% back but I see that the Renfe page - when I finally found the info - now says only 50%. I don’t have the energy to pursue this. And, as they say, it’s better than a kick in the orchestra stalls.
Having seen the folk on the streets of Pontevedra, I wasn't too surprised to read that hotel occupancy in Galicia was at the 90% level in the first half of August. Enough to turn a profit. The second half will have been at least as good, I imagine. September, though, won’t be at this level, as it’s the month preferred by (stay-away) guiris.
But what a strange month is August. I managed to get estimates for 3 things that need to be done around the house but no one will come to do them until some time later this month. Or perhaps even October. But I did manage to get my car serviced this morning.
My problems, though, are nowt compared to that of the poor folk who’ve been desperate for more than 2 months to get the new ‘minimum income’ benefit but who right now can't even get an appointment to make an application.
Another funny thing about August is that there's 'always' a dip in the temperature in the last week. But this year there was an unprecedented (and heavy) snowfall which blanketed the Picos de Europa, across 3 northern regions to the east of Galicia.
A reader has said this is response to the comment from Rod Liddle cited yesterday; Outrageously insufferable article by this chap - Rod Liddle. Perhaps, he might care to educate himself a little bit and look up the stats for infant mortality and deaths under age 5 in Britain and Spain (worldometer). I don't know if British children are happier or not than Spanish - what they are more likely is to be . . . dead. I have to say that the treatment my daughter received in a Madrid hospital 19 months ago was exceptionally good. But I noticed that there seemed to a large excess of both facilities and (un-sackable, civil servant?) personnel. And I wondered if this was a consequence of the drastic reduction in the birth rate in recent years. Could this be a factor in Spain's superior number?
The other thing to note is that the situation is not clear-cut. There certainly are numbers for recent years which show Spain's natal mortality rate is lower than the UK's but, then, there's also the charts here. Where it isn't. What's undeniable is that it has reduced significantly since 1990. But both countries have, despite falling rates, moved down the EU league since 1990. And what's particularly noteworthy is the high number for the USA, where far more is spent per capita on healthcare than anywhere else in the world. I can guess at the factors but don't know them for sure.
María's Dystopian Times, Day 17.
The USA
A presentation from the US Mail.
The Way of the World
Eight months into the Covid crisis/panic, we've learnt not to place total trust in computer modelling. The predictions from these depend, of course, on the critical assumptions inserted in the model. Or as commonly said, Shit in, shit out. I was reminded of this by reading Christopher Booker's thought-provoking book "Global Warming: A Case Study in Groupthink: How science can shed new light on the most important 'non-debate' of our time. Booker therein cites this comment from Dr Richard Lindzen: Future generations will wonder in bemused amazement that the early 21st century’s developed world went into hysterical panic over a globally averaged temperature increase of a few tenths of a degree and, on the basis of gross exaggerations of highly uncertain computer projections combined into implausible of inference, proceeded to contemplate a roll-back of the industrial age. I recommend the book to all, whether you're a believer in man-made global warming (AGW) or not. But especially if you are.
English
Another new word for me: tosher: Someone who trawled London’s drains for valuable items.
English/Spanish
My thanks to María for this explanation of La ocasión la pintan calva, literally 'Ocasión, they portray her bald'. For 'You have to strike while the iron is hot'. This refers to a Roman goddess, Ocasión. She was depicted with beautiful, flowing hair pinned up in front, but bald on the back of her head, meaning that you can't catch her by the hair to prevent her getting away. See here.
Finally . . .
More atheistic news . . . The godless are said to sleep better than the godful.
* A terrible book, by the way. Don't be tempted to buy it, unless you're a very religious Protestant.