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
Interesting news for some: Regular aerobic or moderate physical activity in the weeks and months prior to receiving the jab can increase the amount of antibodies produced by the over-60s, according to researchers at Trinity College Dublin.
The UK 1: Some medical professionals have criticised the delaying of a second dose for 12 weeks to accelerate the rollout. BUT . . The first real-world data from the vaccine rollout shows promising evidence that justifies it. People who have been vaccinated are enjoying high levels of protection from the first dose, which reduces infections and saves lives.
The UK 2: Richard North: The good news is that the Covid figures are going the right way – across the board. Cases, hospital admissions and deaths are falling, while the vaccination numbers are steadily increasing.
Living La Vida Loca in Galicia/Spain
The Galician government has announced a free antibodies-based virus-testing scheme, via pharmacies. But only if you're 46-64. Can anyone understand the logic of this restriction, other than keeping the cost down?
It you're a cash-rich Brit - or someone who bought a house in London for a pittance 50 years ago - and you want to live permanently in Spain, this is good-ish news is for you.
How can I stay in Spain for more than 90 days?, asks someone, somewhere: Mark Mark Stucklin replies: Residency is your only option if you want to spend more than half a year in Spain, or longer than 90 days at a stretch. The downsides include the incomprehensible Spanish tax regime, Soviet-style utilities and a maddening bureaucracy. Blimey . . . The man is even more critical than me. But, like me, still lives here. Presumably because, as with everything and everyone, it's the net balance that counts. Anyway, see his full reply below, including reference to the above Golden visa scheme.
María's Tsunami: Day 6. Another example of how - as Spain hurtles into the 21st century - some unfortunate folk have scarcely entered the 20th.
I wrote that sentence before I read this about the UK: Imagine how much worse lockdown would be if you didn’t have properly functioning broadband. Imagine having the kind of piddly speeds that meant you couldn’t watch Netflix, make a Zoom call, order a supermarket delivery or reliably stay in visual touch with your family and friends. That is still the lot of hundreds of thousands of rural residents, forced to live stuck in the 20th century even as the 21st changes around them at breakneck speed. So, not only in Spain, of course.
The UK
Richard North: The bad news for Johnson is the closer we get to a post-Covid normal, the more media attention will focus on Brexit. And there is no vaccination or other magic bullet that will save the prime minister from his folly there.
The USA
Jason Miller is Trump’s senior adviser. He asserts that the former president “feels happier” than he did in the White House and is pleased no longer to be on social media. Miller was aboard the jet on January 20, heading for the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The emotions on it, he claims, ran the entire gamut. Some folks were very sad this day had come, but there was a sense of pride that this was the single most successful first term in US presidential history.
Now, you and I might feel our jaws drop at hearing that but Miller was able to make this boast with a straight face because millions of Americans agree with him. And do does his boss.
The Way of the World
Allegedly . . . The myth that working from home will liberate us has been shattered. The chance to work 'wherever, whenever' has always been a poisoned chalice, but lockdown has been a rude awakening for many. I have to admit I'm not very surprised , having done it for years.
Elizabeth Holmes is awaiting trial in America after it emerged that her supposedly revolutionary blood-testing venture, Theranos, which briefly achieved a market value of £7bn, - yes, 10 billion US dollars - was based on faked test results. In June 2016, it was estimated that Holmes's personal net worth had dropped from $4.5 billion to virtually nothing. Poor woman.
There are naturally articles and documentaries on her. And a film in the planning stage. Will she get royalties, during or after her prison spell?
English
María used the word ‘rube’ in her latest post. So, just in case . . . North American 'informal': country bumpkin; yokel. Origin: Rube showed up around the turn of the 19th century as a slur for a gullible country boy. Its origin is similar to that of hick. Both are diminutive forms of names that were associated with country folk at the time: Rube for Reuben, Hick for Richard.
Finally . . .
A reader has asked what IGIMSTS means - I guess it makes sense to someone.
THE ARTICLE
Q. How can I stay in Spain for more than 90 days?:
I own a Spanish holiday home and was looking forward to retiring there. After Brexit I am told I can’t spend more than 90 days there at a time. How do I get Spanish residency and is it a good idea? Will Spain bring in a scheme that lets homeowners stay longer?
Answers: From Mark Stucklin, owner of Spanish Property Insight at www.spanishpropertyinsight.com
Residency is your only option if you want to spend more than half a year in Spain, or longer than 90 days at a stretch. If you don’t mind stints of 90 days or less and are happy with a total of 180 days a year, residency might be a step too far.
The downsides include the incomprehensible Spanish tax regime (where many dreams have unravelled), Soviet-style utilities and a maddening bureaucracy. As a resident you would also have to rely on private health insurance, at least for the first few years.
If residency makes sense, one option is to apply for a non-lucrative residency permit that allows you stay for one or two years, plus renewals, if you can demonstrate your financial independence and private health insurance. “The first and second renewal lasts two years,” says Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt, a Marbella-based lawyer who helps clients with residency. “At the time of applying for the third one you may apply for the long-term residency. If you do this you should renew it every five years.”
Another option is the so-called Golden Visa, where you get a residency permit, and path to citizenship, if you invest €500,000 or more in Spanish property. You can also apply if you can show you have spent €500,000 in cash on Spanish property since 2013. If you do apply for residency, hire an expert. Doing it yourself will wear you out.
And there is no sign that Spain plans to allow stays of longer than 90 days.
[Would the EU allow it to?]
[If not, would Madrid take any notice - given the economic contribution of these 'swallows?]