'If you don't scratch my back, I'll scratch your eyes out' seems to be the saying to describe the relationship between the now ex-Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu (ex- as of June 30) and the residents of Sarria, one of the city's most expensive districts.
He put their backs up by changing the structure and function of some of the streets: two had new bici carrils added to them - Via Augusta and Angel Guimera.This evoked wrath of firstly residents who needed to park their (second/third?) cars on the street in the Tres Torres area and secondly, of bar owners who lost some of the pavement where they had had 'terrassas' to serve their (smoking) customers. In addition the mayor changed one 'down' road (Escoles Pies) into an 'up' road , thereby, according to residents, making life and traffic more inconvenient for all concerned (ie, them)
Before he left it seems he has made sure that any other project his team had earmarked would be carried out too, including a new Social Services centre which happens to be 20 metres away from an old azufaifa tree (150-200 years old) Sarria was, it seems, was a conservative part of the city that didn't cast too many votes for Sr Hereu, so perhaps there is there an added satisfaction on his part as a socialist mayor in this contruction to be.
Mind you it has to be said that the new Centre will benefit a lot of people and the possible demise of one tree will make not quite so many sad (1400 signatures collected against the building). And what's more government experts have said that the tree is not in danger since they are leaving a safety margin of 72m2 around it as well as watering it three times a day.
Sometimes neighbourhood protesters are justified in the face of city planners who steamroller things through. At other times they are a pain up the butt concerned only in their own little world. What this 'Tree issue' means will depends on how many axes you have to grind. - or power saws!
Wednesday 6 July 2011
Tuesday 5 July 2011
No shorts please we're Spanish.
Who says that people in Parliament aren't sexist? In Spain they are and surprisingly opposite to what you'd think. This summer Spanish MPs and other parliamentary employees got a circular on June 21 outlining dress rules for the hot weather. Women were allowed a choice of trousers or skirts (no length was mentioned so presumeably minis could be worn?) Men, however, got the full weight of the lawbooks thrown at them. They were not to wear shorts not even Bermudas or piratas. Mind you there is precious little done in parliament during the summer (Did I hear 'or at any time?') so really the ruling will apply only to workers who don't take the whole two months off.
Like everything else in Spain an appeal was made to common sense in this respect making the ruling as effective as the 'no top' law for the summer in Barcelona. For both, short of going round with a tape measure, there is no way you can control dress in this day and age and when you try there is friction - school uniforms, wearing headscarves to name but two examples. Rumour has it however that tradition (male that is) still forces you to wear a tie and a jacket as certain clubs and restaurants in the UK. I wonder if the tieless Richard Branson would be excluded from the St Andrews Clubhouse. Obviously Royal Birkdale and the posher golf clubs weren't tuned in to TV channels showing this year's Paris Fashion Week. Had they been, halfway through the Dior Collection they'd have noticed a model walked on wearing what seemed to be at first glance...nothing.Closer examination (or camera zooming) revealed it to be a glamorous body stocking. Mmm imagine playing golf or dining out in that. But then common sense would have prevailed wouldn't it? In Spain at least!
Like everything else in Spain an appeal was made to common sense in this respect making the ruling as effective as the 'no top' law for the summer in Barcelona. For both, short of going round with a tape measure, there is no way you can control dress in this day and age and when you try there is friction - school uniforms, wearing headscarves to name but two examples. Rumour has it however that tradition (male that is) still forces you to wear a tie and a jacket as certain clubs and restaurants in the UK. I wonder if the tieless Richard Branson would be excluded from the St Andrews Clubhouse. Obviously Royal Birkdale and the posher golf clubs weren't tuned in to TV channels showing this year's Paris Fashion Week. Had they been, halfway through the Dior Collection they'd have noticed a model walked on wearing what seemed to be at first glance...nothing.Closer examination (or camera zooming) revealed it to be a glamorous body stocking. Mmm imagine playing golf or dining out in that. But then common sense would have prevailed wouldn't it? In Spain at least!
Monday 4 July 2011
Back into the past: new old speed limits return.
Well it finally happened: one of the most absurd volte-faces ever seen this century in Spain since the way society changed after the death of Franco. On the day (July 1) that thousands left for their annual holidays (Operation Salida), the DGT, ie the Government traffic dept, tore down all the 110 kph signs up and down the country's motorways and replaced them with 120 kph signs only four months after doing the reverse - then purportedly to save fuel and to prevent accidents.
It is totally unbelievable that the Traffic Minister, Pere Navarro actually should have stated on Thursday June 1 that his summer 'campaign' was designed to reduce accidents which went up in 2010 ( resulting in 352 deaths in the summer period last year, 6 per day) . Additionally he 'hopes' that arrests for driving under the influence of too much alcohol (102,000 last year) will go down. How? By magic? Certainly not by judicial firmness anyway as only approximately 8% (16,000) of those with an alcohol reading over the limit were punished.
We've had all the education we need. We've had all the TV programmes showing arrogant bad drivers and their stupidity. What is needed is action. Short sharp shocks in the form of fines that hurt. And on the spot like you have in neighbouring France, a country where the police don't footsie around and where they don't have to listen to wimpish politicians who want to get stay in their current jobs next year after elections take place.
Peoples'safety on the roads should be totally independent of politics especially when there is universal evidence that driving with excessive speed causes accidents. Instead Navarro asks for some abstract quality called 'Prudence ' a word I doubt translates into Spanish. I wish him luck in his 'campaigns' against alcohol ( 11-17 July and 15-21 August). The rest of the summer the Spanish drivers will, as they always have done, drink as much as they like and continue to drive home all over the road. Possibly the only thing that will keep them from drinking too much ironically will the the fact that their Government has taken awaymany of their jobs. (above 20% unemployment is no joke) On July 2, I certainly noted no reduction in the amount of wine being ordered at a certain Costa Brava restaurant out in a so-called fashionable village. But then it wasn't the sort of place ordinary workers frequent. Few of them are out there!
It is totally unbelievable that the Traffic Minister, Pere Navarro actually should have stated on Thursday June 1 that his summer 'campaign' was designed to reduce accidents which went up in 2010 ( resulting in 352 deaths in the summer period last year, 6 per day) . Additionally he 'hopes' that arrests for driving under the influence of too much alcohol (102,000 last year) will go down. How? By magic? Certainly not by judicial firmness anyway as only approximately 8% (16,000) of those with an alcohol reading over the limit were punished.
We've had all the education we need. We've had all the TV programmes showing arrogant bad drivers and their stupidity. What is needed is action. Short sharp shocks in the form of fines that hurt. And on the spot like you have in neighbouring France, a country where the police don't footsie around and where they don't have to listen to wimpish politicians who want to get stay in their current jobs next year after elections take place.
Peoples'safety on the roads should be totally independent of politics especially when there is universal evidence that driving with excessive speed causes accidents. Instead Navarro asks for some abstract quality called 'Prudence ' a word I doubt translates into Spanish. I wish him luck in his 'campaigns' against alcohol ( 11-17 July and 15-21 August). The rest of the summer the Spanish drivers will, as they always have done, drink as much as they like and continue to drive home all over the road. Possibly the only thing that will keep them from drinking too much ironically will the the fact that their Government has taken awaymany of their jobs. (above 20% unemployment is no joke) On July 2, I certainly noted no reduction in the amount of wine being ordered at a certain Costa Brava restaurant out in a so-called fashionable village. But then it wasn't the sort of place ordinary workers frequent. Few of them are out there!
Thursday 9 June 2011
New rutting ground for pickpockets
According to the Vanguardia today pickpockets are leaving the previously lucrative Killing Fields of Lines 1 and 3 to hit the tourists as they wait for Metros on Line 5 especially at stations Sagrada Familia, Diagonal and Verdageur. One of Line 5's advantages as far as robbing is concerned is that the trains are nearly always full and people have to push up against one another to get in so it's difficult to feel those probing experienced hands searching for wallets, money and credit cards.
My recent experiences on lines 3 and 1 apparently are all too common. The modus operandi varies but basically is the same. Pick a victim. Surround him. Distract him. Pick his pocket. Get away from the area. Return later and start all over again. I was picked out near Drassaanes. As I exited a large man o9n the platform blocked my exit while another behind me got my wallet. I was distracted as I asked the man to move out of the way- which he did once they had got my wallet. Luckily I realised what had happened and chased the man who had been behind me on the Metro. He gave me back the wallet and walked off. I checked it and then thumped him hard as I was angry ( probably a stupid thing to do!)
Last week on Line 3 I was on a crowded escalator when a small woman pushed in front of me. When we got to the top she dropped some coffee beans on the floor and stopped to picj them up while another woman tried (in vain) to get my wallet. A few minutes later at the top of another esclator a man stopped in front of me. I glanced behind me and saw the coffee bean woman so I continued walking 'through' the crouching man knocking him over. People behind trampled on him too!
Apparently both these methods are very commonly used but of course tourists may not know this. The Metro staff (drivers) have even taken to using megaphones to warn people about the presence of groups that look suspicious at key platforms like Diagonal. A bit like huntsmen blowing the trumpet when they see fox!
Barcelona is trying to do something about it though.A new plain clothes force will be patrolling the Metro and its platforms this summer and will beactive
My recent experiences on lines 3 and 1 apparently are all too common. The modus operandi varies but basically is the same. Pick a victim. Surround him. Distract him. Pick his pocket. Get away from the area. Return later and start all over again. I was picked out near Drassaanes. As I exited a large man o9n the platform blocked my exit while another behind me got my wallet. I was distracted as I asked the man to move out of the way- which he did once they had got my wallet. Luckily I realised what had happened and chased the man who had been behind me on the Metro. He gave me back the wallet and walked off. I checked it and then thumped him hard as I was angry ( probably a stupid thing to do!)
Last week on Line 3 I was on a crowded escalator when a small woman pushed in front of me. When we got to the top she dropped some coffee beans on the floor and stopped to picj them up while another woman tried (in vain) to get my wallet. A few minutes later at the top of another esclator a man stopped in front of me. I glanced behind me and saw the coffee bean woman so I continued walking 'through' the crouching man knocking him over. People behind trampled on him too!
Apparently both these methods are very commonly used but of course tourists may not know this. The Metro staff (drivers) have even taken to using megaphones to warn people about the presence of groups that look suspicious at key platforms like Diagonal. A bit like huntsmen blowing the trumpet when they see fox!
Barcelona is trying to do something about it though.A new plain clothes force will be patrolling the Metro and its platforms this summer and will beactive
Violence filmed in Pza Cataluña
A recent emotive Utube (shot May 29, the morning after thousand of fans had been celebrating Barças European Cup win) showed police using violence against people from the encampment in Plaza Cataluña and against two individuals in particular: an old tramp and a man in a wheelchair. The media naturally made a meal out of the whole affair and yesterday Counsellor Puig who is responsible for security in the region made a statement to the Catalan Parliament.
He admitted that (he) and the police had made errors in attempts to 'control' the population in the square. He stated that: one, timing (early morning) was not ideal, but he had wanted to avoid a 'night attack' which would have shown that the police were trying to dislodge the indignados from their encampment; two
police had understimated the violence the campers would use;
As excuse he stated some troublesome Barca fans had gone into the camp and used missiles from there against the police. Police had sought dialogue but couldn't find anyone to talk to who was a representative for the group of campers.
He denied that police initiated any violence and that they only reacted to violence used against them. Equally he denied that the police beat up a tramp and the man in the wheelchair stating that the latter was used as a human shield.
Furthermore he criticised the media for showing biased film footage and for releasing the address of a policeman involved which resulted in the officer's house being graffitied.
He asked parliament what kind of public order they wanted in the country - one in which violence against the police is condoned and goes unpunished?
The situation is, like most clashes between police and demonstrators, not black and white. Aggression gives rise to aggression. Police get their blanket orders to contain any crowds whether passive or violent but the police are individuals too. Security chiefs don't always get it right. No politician or police chief likes carrying the can because it can mean political death. The best way is to spread blame around thinly on your supporters and thickly on the opposition, if possible further tarnishing thir image - in this case the indignados camping in the square - who are not popular in an area with businesses which feed off tourism. Whether the media were biased in (not) mentioning/showing the violence is debatable (May 9 was the first mention I found in the right wing La Vanguardia for example) but what is not debatable is the unfaked extreme and excessive violence filmed.
Unfortunately the police have a poor record all over Europe for the way that they control political demonstrations - it's true of course that they have an extremely difficult job but there is no excuse for unnecessary violence. G8 and G20 meetings are notably political flashpoints as are demonstrations against human rights, racism and unemployment as seen in the UK, Greece Italy or France - especially when someone is killed or seriously injured as a result of police action. Of course it is also difficult to assess how much provocation of police is used - a male drunk can be extremely unreasonable and violent and a large crowd even worse. In the past Cataluña's Mossos have come in for much criticism for over-zealous LAPD style control of people they arrested. The problem for them now is modern technology has made police actions instantly visible and counter-action possible to the whole world through social networks Twitter, Facebook and Utube which now act as a balance to the battery of security cameras around the world secretly filming our daily lives. Whichever side of the socio-political fence you sit on you are no longer invisible and Sr Puig and his Mossos should have known that.
He admitted that (he) and the police had made errors in attempts to 'control' the population in the square. He stated that: one, timing (early morning) was not ideal, but he had wanted to avoid a 'night attack' which would have shown that the police were trying to dislodge the indignados from their encampment; two
police had understimated the violence the campers would use;
As excuse he stated some troublesome Barca fans had gone into the camp and used missiles from there against the police. Police had sought dialogue but couldn't find anyone to talk to who was a representative for the group of campers.
He denied that police initiated any violence and that they only reacted to violence used against them. Equally he denied that the police beat up a tramp and the man in the wheelchair stating that the latter was used as a human shield.
Furthermore he criticised the media for showing biased film footage and for releasing the address of a policeman involved which resulted in the officer's house being graffitied.
He asked parliament what kind of public order they wanted in the country - one in which violence against the police is condoned and goes unpunished?
The situation is, like most clashes between police and demonstrators, not black and white. Aggression gives rise to aggression. Police get their blanket orders to contain any crowds whether passive or violent but the police are individuals too. Security chiefs don't always get it right. No politician or police chief likes carrying the can because it can mean political death. The best way is to spread blame around thinly on your supporters and thickly on the opposition, if possible further tarnishing thir image - in this case the indignados camping in the square - who are not popular in an area with businesses which feed off tourism. Whether the media were biased in (not) mentioning/showing the violence is debatable (May 9 was the first mention I found in the right wing La Vanguardia for example) but what is not debatable is the unfaked extreme and excessive violence filmed.
Unfortunately the police have a poor record all over Europe for the way that they control political demonstrations - it's true of course that they have an extremely difficult job but there is no excuse for unnecessary violence. G8 and G20 meetings are notably political flashpoints as are demonstrations against human rights, racism and unemployment as seen in the UK, Greece Italy or France - especially when someone is killed or seriously injured as a result of police action. Of course it is also difficult to assess how much provocation of police is used - a male drunk can be extremely unreasonable and violent and a large crowd even worse. In the past Cataluña's Mossos have come in for much criticism for over-zealous LAPD style control of people they arrested. The problem for them now is modern technology has made police actions instantly visible and counter-action possible to the whole world through social networks Twitter, Facebook and Utube which now act as a balance to the battery of security cameras around the world secretly filming our daily lives. Whichever side of the socio-political fence you sit on you are no longer invisible and Sr Puig and his Mossos should have known that.
Wednesday 8 June 2011
Tourist traps: Summer's here again
Houdini lives on - in Barcelona. Free paper, Que, reports that police have arrested two men for stealing valuable objects from passengers' luggage on the Gerona Airport-Barcelona bus run - from inside the luggage compartment. Their modus operandi was unique, simple, and effective. One man buys a ticket and hands two suitcases to the driver who puts them in the luggage compartment of the bus. The bus sets off and while en route one of the men (slim and only 1.78m in height) breaks out of the larger suitcase (measuring 90x 50 cms) and into several of the other passengers' cases. He takes out any valuable things ( jewellry, high-tech devices etc), puts them in the empty case and gets back in 'his' travelling case. At the bus terminus the other man collects both cases and goes to the bathroom.They both then leave carrying a case each. They were only found out when the 'carrier' left the case with his co-worker behind in the bus. Why he did this this is not mentioned. Amnesia? Panic? A quarrel? Police hanging around the bus station? It's also not clear how the man in the luggage hold locked or even just closed his own case again. But it's a good story just as the tourist season is kicking off here.
The police were impressed at their ingenuity and issue a seasonal warning to all bus and air passengers not to leave take their eyes off their luggage for a moment especially at check in for planes and hotels. The men seemed to be true professionals having special tools for opening zips and locks and a torch. Welcome to the summer silly season once again.
.
The police were impressed at their ingenuity and issue a seasonal warning to all bus and air passengers not to leave take their eyes off their luggage for a moment especially at check in for planes and hotels. The men seemed to be true professionals having special tools for opening zips and locks and a torch. Welcome to the summer silly season once again.
.
Sunday 29 May 2011
When is nude not nude: new law in Barcelona against nudism
Today the new Barcelona anti-nude law comes into effect even as the coastal and political temperatures start to rise and the tourist buses start to fill. But spare a thought for the poor old Mossos - or maybe it's the Guardia Urbana? In addition to nursemaiding the ad-hoc encamment in Plaza Cataluña, controlling the Barca celebration route, deciding whether criminals are robbers, residents,immigrants or begging musicians, police will now have to decide the difference between 'nude', 'almost nude', 'semi- nude' -and 'clothed' - in order to levy the appropriate fine (from 120 up to 500 euros), (a fine incidently higher than going through the lights on red). Apparently recruitment for May - including part-time positions - was at an all-time high though there are as yet no official figures available. Some residents groups in the old part of the city have accused the Town Hall of a massive cover-up and a mis-use of statistics trying to show they were on top of crime when they weren't, especially those committed by young tourists.
Under this new law police will be obliged to give a warning to offenders and to examine their credentials carefully before fining them. Presumeably if offenders have no money on them, on-the-spot fines will be difficult to enforce so perhaps they will be allowed to pay later. Clearly definitions of what is/is not nude are a bit hazy at the best of times which will call for more police head-scratching before the long arm of the law risks an arrest in flagrante. Given the Arctic quality of the air-conditioning at the police station on Nou de la Rambla, most offenders would be wise to pay on the spot though.
One wonders, given the immense task confronting the police whether residents could lend a hand as it were using the powers of citizens' arrest. Another unresolved factor is whether increasingly popular tattoos could de-nude/ or re-clothe a person. Surely a full frontal tattoo is not essentially different than a highly decorated T shirt - though below-hip tattoos might be less obfuscating. And what will happen when a tourist brings an action against a police officer for molesting him/her while assessing the degree of nudity.
Feelings about the matter are somewhat luke-warm politically speaking with support far from 100%. The law was PSC and CiU approved but the PP abstained and other parties labelled it unnecessary stating they be even shooting themselves in the foot if the law puts off tourists from coming here. In addition to complicate matters even further the law states a person can be half-nude (which half is not clear) on the Passeig Maritim, on the Dune nudist beach and on streets near the beach. There's also the art for art's sake thing too and you can be exempt if you are part of a nude exhibition - but presumeable not making an exhibition of yourself by being nude.
The whole thing is totally absurd. An example of a law rushed through to satisfy a group of sanctimonious old crones - as the comments section in la Vanguardia shows. The way their government is handling Spain's financial crisis no one will have any money to buy clothes anymore so we'll all soon be naked - or covered in tattoos
Under this new law police will be obliged to give a warning to offenders and to examine their credentials carefully before fining them. Presumeably if offenders have no money on them, on-the-spot fines will be difficult to enforce so perhaps they will be allowed to pay later. Clearly definitions of what is/is not nude are a bit hazy at the best of times which will call for more police head-scratching before the long arm of the law risks an arrest in flagrante. Given the Arctic quality of the air-conditioning at the police station on Nou de la Rambla, most offenders would be wise to pay on the spot though.
One wonders, given the immense task confronting the police whether residents could lend a hand as it were using the powers of citizens' arrest. Another unresolved factor is whether increasingly popular tattoos could de-nude/ or re-clothe a person. Surely a full frontal tattoo is not essentially different than a highly decorated T shirt - though below-hip tattoos might be less obfuscating. And what will happen when a tourist brings an action against a police officer for molesting him/her while assessing the degree of nudity.
Feelings about the matter are somewhat luke-warm politically speaking with support far from 100%. The law was PSC and CiU approved but the PP abstained and other parties labelled it unnecessary stating they be even shooting themselves in the foot if the law puts off tourists from coming here. In addition to complicate matters even further the law states a person can be half-nude (which half is not clear) on the Passeig Maritim, on the Dune nudist beach and on streets near the beach. There's also the art for art's sake thing too and you can be exempt if you are part of a nude exhibition - but presumeable not making an exhibition of yourself by being nude.
The whole thing is totally absurd. An example of a law rushed through to satisfy a group of sanctimonious old crones - as the comments section in la Vanguardia shows. The way their government is handling Spain's financial crisis no one will have any money to buy clothes anymore so we'll all soon be naked - or covered in tattoos
Thursday 5 May 2011
La Sagrada Familia: saturated tourism
The trouble with being famous is that everyone wants to look at you close up, wrinkles and all. And this applies to buildings too apparently. The week after Easter, residents who live close to the SF,or Sagrada Familia, have signalled they've finally had enough of tourists gawping at Barcelona's No1 attraction. They complain about the sheer number (9,000 a day) who visit the cathedral and about the buses which park nearby and choke the roads (ca 150 a day). Perhaps they're right, as each time I've been in the area the pavements were jam-packed, making it hell getting around and doing your normal business. But for them it's seven days a week!
With local elections coming up this month (May), free newspaper Que asked political parties what their policy would be to solve this saturation problem at one of Barcelona's most emblematic sights. Solutions offered were: make the area cleaner and safer and build an underground parking area for buses (PSC); make sure there is less crime, ration and schedule coaches and give residents a platform to put their complaints to officially (CIU); build a local police office, assist new ventures in terms of local shops and make better parking for buses (PP); phase and deconcentrate tourism and have more police around the area.(ERC)
It's clear tourism in the area has increased enormously in the last few years. When I first came to Barcelona and was looking for a place to live, I noticed plenty of what you would call 'local' type shops like bakers and greengrocers in the SF area. But now many local businesses have gone to be replaced by the tat sellers of sombreros, replicas and Barca shirts such as you find in las Ramblas area. In fact the whole city (a few areas excepted) is suffering from tourist shop blight or just tourist blight period - because that's where the money is made. I mean let's face it, Barcelona would not only be too quiet without tourists (nice thought though!) but also broke.
One problem is that you just can't limit access or fence off areas of the city in the long term. Many tourists travet to the SF on metros which we all use You could limit the buses though by requiring them to book ahead and reserve space. And youn could make the tourists queue to see the SF inside the precinct of the cathedral and not swamp the pavements in front of residents' houses. By the noise the residents make you'd think this was just a Barcelona problem. but it's not. It's one that many tourist-popular cities have to face in the summer whether it's Nice or Nantes, Paris or Palermo, Marseille or Madrid - and most do not have a permanent solution.
Another problem is the residents' attitude. No one has forced them to live where they do. They chose to buy/rent a flat in this heavily congested area. Some people live in St Cugat because it's spacious and doesn't get swamped by tourists but the downside is it's 30 mins commute into the city. Residents out there don't complain about that though. These SF residents are the same ones who opposed the new Ave line in their area and the same people who profited from the recent Pope's visit by renting out their balconies for vast sums to give people a good view. They love belly-aching to the newspapers and TV. Why don't they just vote for a party which represents what they want and we'll be done with it. " No visitors to the Sagrada Familia·! There, would they be happy with that slogan?
With local elections coming up this month (May), free newspaper Que asked political parties what their policy would be to solve this saturation problem at one of Barcelona's most emblematic sights. Solutions offered were: make the area cleaner and safer and build an underground parking area for buses (PSC); make sure there is less crime, ration and schedule coaches and give residents a platform to put their complaints to officially (CIU); build a local police office, assist new ventures in terms of local shops and make better parking for buses (PP); phase and deconcentrate tourism and have more police around the area.(ERC)
It's clear tourism in the area has increased enormously in the last few years. When I first came to Barcelona and was looking for a place to live, I noticed plenty of what you would call 'local' type shops like bakers and greengrocers in the SF area. But now many local businesses have gone to be replaced by the tat sellers of sombreros, replicas and Barca shirts such as you find in las Ramblas area. In fact the whole city (a few areas excepted) is suffering from tourist shop blight or just tourist blight period - because that's where the money is made. I mean let's face it, Barcelona would not only be too quiet without tourists (nice thought though!) but also broke.
One problem is that you just can't limit access or fence off areas of the city in the long term. Many tourists travet to the SF on metros which we all use You could limit the buses though by requiring them to book ahead and reserve space. And youn could make the tourists queue to see the SF inside the precinct of the cathedral and not swamp the pavements in front of residents' houses. By the noise the residents make you'd think this was just a Barcelona problem. but it's not. It's one that many tourist-popular cities have to face in the summer whether it's Nice or Nantes, Paris or Palermo, Marseille or Madrid - and most do not have a permanent solution.
Another problem is the residents' attitude. No one has forced them to live where they do. They chose to buy/rent a flat in this heavily congested area. Some people live in St Cugat because it's spacious and doesn't get swamped by tourists but the downside is it's 30 mins commute into the city. Residents out there don't complain about that though. These SF residents are the same ones who opposed the new Ave line in their area and the same people who profited from the recent Pope's visit by renting out their balconies for vast sums to give people a good view. They love belly-aching to the newspapers and TV. Why don't they just vote for a party which represents what they want and we'll be done with it. " No visitors to the Sagrada Familia·! There, would they be happy with that slogan?
Friday 8 April 2011
Some problems like unwelcome guests never go away. They lie just lie dormant and at certain times of the year erupt spill their lava of irritation over everyone. Take the phenomenon of "Top Manta" which peaks from Easter onwards to October as far as Barcelona is concerned. Not that fleecing the tourist is a singularly Barcelona problem. I've been offered homemade jewellery halfway up a steep mountain slab in Marrocco's Atlas mountains and, like thousands of others, been pestered aggressively to buy anything from silk shirts to extensive 'massage' on the beaches of Goa, Bali and Phuket.
According to Friday's El Pais, residents of the Parc Guell area (which draws thousands of tourists to see Gaudi's crazy ceramic creations in the wild) enough is enough is enough. They're fed up of complaining about the park being overun - literally - by these itinerant sellers of trash who dash off at the faintest whiff of a police uniform. Locals feel that they cannot enjoy their park anymore and that the Town Hall has done little to alleviate things in finding a solution.
The gardeners complain too when they are planting out trees and plants. When the manteros scarper they take an as-the-crow-flies route, which usually means tramping across the newly planted or weeded gardens. When they return a few minutes - after the police have gone of course - they take the same route.Work of the devil the gardeners call it! Of Sysiphus more like.
Even the most consumer-minded tourist doesn't want to have to toil up a bloody great hill only to see Gaudi's masterful dragons draped with fake Calvin Kline sunglasses and Gucci handbags? It's hardly what they came to Barcelona for so what's the solution if no one wants the manteros there?.
Well it was not so long ago rumoured that the Town Hall were going to charge people to enter the park but the cost of closing up entrances and fitting extra security fencing was deemed 'probibitive in a time of financial crisis'. Plus the local residents didn't want to have to pay to go in a park which they feel belongs to Barcelona residents, so no pleasing them either.
No obvious 100% effective solution comes to mind but clearly several things need to be done, though I doubt the 'Top Manta syndrome' will ever be eradicated. In Naples I saw the highly organsied Mafia collectors coming round to collect rent from the pavement sellers at the end of the day, and on a beach in Tunisia I remember one seller asking me if I had 'seen a Fiat' - he thought I was German and the police patrolled on horseback (on a 'Pferd' !) There's no doubt the problem really is world-wide.
At the least, the police need to be more determined and go for the suppliers too. All the stuff sold is fake and therefore illegal. The sellers are only trying to scratch a living. Despite what they have said, residents of the area could pay annual sum, a token, to use the park. Tourist vistors will have to be charged an entrance fee like they do for all the Gaudi sites, despite what the Town Hall says about the cost of setting this up. This would both limit the numbers using the park and keep the salesme out. If not, soon there soon won't be any Gaudi ceramis visible.They'll all be worn away.
Or maybe we should just ban all tourism in Barcelona! Then the manteros would have no one to sell handbags to. Or would they ? Have you seen all those Gucci accessories in Corte Ingles? Come to think of it, not having tourists in the city would have lots of advantages for residents. I think I'll make a list.
According to Friday's El Pais, residents of the Parc Guell area (which draws thousands of tourists to see Gaudi's crazy ceramic creations in the wild) enough is enough is enough. They're fed up of complaining about the park being overun - literally - by these itinerant sellers of trash who dash off at the faintest whiff of a police uniform. Locals feel that they cannot enjoy their park anymore and that the Town Hall has done little to alleviate things in finding a solution.
The gardeners complain too when they are planting out trees and plants. When the manteros scarper they take an as-the-crow-flies route, which usually means tramping across the newly planted or weeded gardens. When they return a few minutes - after the police have gone of course - they take the same route.Work of the devil the gardeners call it! Of Sysiphus more like.
Even the most consumer-minded tourist doesn't want to have to toil up a bloody great hill only to see Gaudi's masterful dragons draped with fake Calvin Kline sunglasses and Gucci handbags? It's hardly what they came to Barcelona for so what's the solution if no one wants the manteros there?.
Well it was not so long ago rumoured that the Town Hall were going to charge people to enter the park but the cost of closing up entrances and fitting extra security fencing was deemed 'probibitive in a time of financial crisis'. Plus the local residents didn't want to have to pay to go in a park which they feel belongs to Barcelona residents, so no pleasing them either.
No obvious 100% effective solution comes to mind but clearly several things need to be done, though I doubt the 'Top Manta syndrome' will ever be eradicated. In Naples I saw the highly organsied Mafia collectors coming round to collect rent from the pavement sellers at the end of the day, and on a beach in Tunisia I remember one seller asking me if I had 'seen a Fiat' - he thought I was German and the police patrolled on horseback (on a 'Pferd' !) There's no doubt the problem really is world-wide.
At the least, the police need to be more determined and go for the suppliers too. All the stuff sold is fake and therefore illegal. The sellers are only trying to scratch a living. Despite what they have said, residents of the area could pay annual sum, a token, to use the park. Tourist vistors will have to be charged an entrance fee like they do for all the Gaudi sites, despite what the Town Hall says about the cost of setting this up. This would both limit the numbers using the park and keep the salesme out. If not, soon there soon won't be any Gaudi ceramis visible.They'll all be worn away.
Or maybe we should just ban all tourism in Barcelona! Then the manteros would have no one to sell handbags to. Or would they ? Have you seen all those Gucci accessories in Corte Ingles? Come to think of it, not having tourists in the city would have lots of advantages for residents. I think I'll make a list.
Tuesday 5 April 2011
The last last train to Sabadell?
In fact travelling on a last train to anywhere seems dangerous around BCN these days (or more precisely these nights). So much so that railway company RENFE has decided to up its security after a guard was killed in Casteldefels stopping some youths leaping over the station exit gates after a fun night out.
Young men (?) who go out for the night (especially at weekends) clearly would rather spend their money on alcohol and drugs than RENFE and FGC tickets. Fair enough. They are on the expensive side. Plus at the end of the night there's always the chance of fun with the train driver or a security guard. You can even have a game of football with his head like they did in Casteldefels. In fact last year there were 242 reported attacks on RENFE staff and 132 on the BCN Metro which runs all night at the weekend.
To prevent more such incidents RENFE are going to cordinate with the Mossos and create a Transport Force to cover trains and late-night buses. They will install more cameras on stations and in trains and close some blackspot stations early. The hotlines (?) seem to be the R1, the R3 and the R4 which serve out-of-town cowboy areas such as Mataro and Sabadell.
Union officials, however, are sceptical of the measures which fall far short of what they want in terms of numbers. Perhaps increasing the number of dog-handlers might help. There's nothing better than an enormous Alsatian sniffing round your nether regions to keep you passive and responsive. All the way home!
Young men (?) who go out for the night (especially at weekends) clearly would rather spend their money on alcohol and drugs than RENFE and FGC tickets. Fair enough. They are on the expensive side. Plus at the end of the night there's always the chance of fun with the train driver or a security guard. You can even have a game of football with his head like they did in Casteldefels. In fact last year there were 242 reported attacks on RENFE staff and 132 on the BCN Metro which runs all night at the weekend.
To prevent more such incidents RENFE are going to cordinate with the Mossos and create a Transport Force to cover trains and late-night buses. They will install more cameras on stations and in trains and close some blackspot stations early. The hotlines (?) seem to be the R1, the R3 and the R4 which serve out-of-town cowboy areas such as Mataro and Sabadell.
Union officials, however, are sceptical of the measures which fall far short of what they want in terms of numbers. Perhaps increasing the number of dog-handlers might help. There's nothing better than an enormous Alsatian sniffing round your nether regions to keep you passive and responsive. All the way home!
Friday 25 March 2011
Cull the cars:Barcelona considers ban on10 year-old vehicles
LaVanguardia this week reported that the Catalan government's environment councillor was considering taking all cars over 10 years old off the streets in order to reduce the amount of pollution in the city. This follows close on the heels of the pan-Spain blanket reduction of the maximum speed limit from 120 to 110 kph (against the wishes of the Catlalan government by the way) . As always with improve-the world political announcements I'm tempted to see who stands to gain. In this case-as usual- it's the politicians.
Pollution of any kind is an always an emotive issue and easy to win sympathy from. List a few statistics, post a couple of bar graphs, use phrases like 'increase in... mention sickness or death, and, walaahi, your political party (the one in power and making the decisions) gets praise and votes. Forcibly remove old cars and newer model sales rocket and stimulate both the second-hand and new car markets. Again politically good with increased votes and party funding from business concerns selling cars. Alternative energy cars will also get a boost too at a time when the government needs to be seen doing their bit for Europe and the world. Publish a few more figures showing how things are improving environment-wise and those lost votes from owners who had to dump their old cars will return.
The main reason why the idea will never bear fruit - and was never meant to - is that there are too many imponderables. Too many oh-we-never-thought-about-thats. For starters who is going to do the culling? Will it be the police who will pull motorists over and then tow away the old cars? Or will it be the itv car- testing centres who will make the decision about a car's road-worthiness? But they do this anyway! And what about commercial vehicles, the less cared-for, high mileage vehicles? Isn't that where most of the pollution on city roads comes from?
Basically what we have here is a carefully leaked bit of emotive propaganda which will never be put into practice let alone take off. The leak was made to show the public that the goverment cares about environmental things and is thinking about taking radical steps. Maybe. But wouldn't it be far better to prune everyone off using cars at all in the city. Charge cars to enter the city like London and Singapore do. Create more bike paths and improve public transport. Park and Ride schemes. Multi-occupancy vehicles rewarded. These would be the ways to go for a really forward-thinking, citizen-considering political party. Show role-models from the Barca team on TV riding their bikes to Camp Nou. Now there would be an example to follow. Ojala!
Pollution of any kind is an always an emotive issue and easy to win sympathy from. List a few statistics, post a couple of bar graphs, use phrases like 'increase in... mention sickness or death, and, walaahi, your political party (the one in power and making the decisions) gets praise and votes. Forcibly remove old cars and newer model sales rocket and stimulate both the second-hand and new car markets. Again politically good with increased votes and party funding from business concerns selling cars. Alternative energy cars will also get a boost too at a time when the government needs to be seen doing their bit for Europe and the world. Publish a few more figures showing how things are improving environment-wise and those lost votes from owners who had to dump their old cars will return.
The main reason why the idea will never bear fruit - and was never meant to - is that there are too many imponderables. Too many oh-we-never-thought-about-thats. For starters who is going to do the culling? Will it be the police who will pull motorists over and then tow away the old cars? Or will it be the itv car- testing centres who will make the decision about a car's road-worthiness? But they do this anyway! And what about commercial vehicles, the less cared-for, high mileage vehicles? Isn't that where most of the pollution on city roads comes from?
Basically what we have here is a carefully leaked bit of emotive propaganda which will never be put into practice let alone take off. The leak was made to show the public that the goverment cares about environmental things and is thinking about taking radical steps. Maybe. But wouldn't it be far better to prune everyone off using cars at all in the city. Charge cars to enter the city like London and Singapore do. Create more bike paths and improve public transport. Park and Ride schemes. Multi-occupancy vehicles rewarded. These would be the ways to go for a really forward-thinking, citizen-considering political party. Show role-models from the Barca team on TV riding their bikes to Camp Nou. Now there would be an example to follow. Ojala!
Thursday 24 March 2011
Gaudi Centre Reus: the man and his method
Took the chance of a free day off to visit Reus' excellent Gaudi Centre near Tarragona.
http://www.gaudicentre.cat/ This prosperous-looking large city (one of Catalunya's most interesting with an extensive central area to wander round) is the birthplace of one of Spain's most imaginative architects - no, wait, wrong word for this genius: try 'construction artist'? This quality centre puts the architect into perspective, for me anyway, for the first time with, its clear-cut explanations and quality presentations. I liked the 3D type introductory film, the superb models (some interactive), the dual-TV screen area where pieces of his work were positioned next to natural objects such as trees, rocks, flowers, shorelines and waves to show visitors what inspired him.
In conjuction with this exhibition, the city has laid out a Modernist Route of buildings (and there are a lot) for visitors to walk round and see. The route is shown in floor-plan, Google-map mode so you can do an architectural walk in minature and read a profile of each part while still in the Centre.
I can also recommend a restaurant very close (100m ) to the centre: Cafe Reus - not the one in the square but up the side street past it on the right. Lunch was quality food served by friendly waiters. Good local red house wine included in the reasonably priced menu del dia- unlike another behind the cathedral where they served a rip-off tourist menu of salad and paella for 18 euros (wine NOT included!) Hey, do we all look like we've arrived into Tarragona port on a banana boat!
Reus surprised me and I felt it had lot going for it: it's larger than I'd envisaged, it has lots of new buildings round the inner ring area and new industry further out, it's only just over an hour south of Barcelona on the AP7, it's close to the Costa Dorada and major Roman city of Tarragona. And it has an airport with many cheapish flights (especially in the summer) to northern Europe.
Monday 21 March 2011
All's well that ends well in Nou Barris:
Some good news dug up by La Vanguardia the other day. They discovered that two Arabs were working as police officers in Nou Barris one of the areas where many immigrants live (17.6 of all the city's immigrants) and they had been particularly effective in policing Cuidad Meridiana which has a 35% immigrant population.
It seems Zuhair and Soraya ( not sure if they were real names) inspire confindence in that they prevent the communication breakdown which often takes place when an Arab person is arrested - or even just questioned. They also have a good nose as to what's going on out there anda re able to ferret out information that Catalan officers would have difficulty in finding. So why don't we have more? OK, maybe we do as they were not reported as being the first ones in the force, but it's very difficult to find out. It's like asking how many people from Sabadell eat fish on Fridays or how many people in Cornella under 13 have had sex.
What was interesting is that local Arabs were surprised that an Arab woman had become a police officer since she would be moving in a predominantly male environment but seemingly the uniform was the important thing in giving her the respect (DareI say it?) that she all too often does not have not only in the Muslim world but in Spain too. For that matter in the UK as well where gender violence is one of the highest in Europe.
As a footnote to this in Dubai where I worked for many years, a local paper ( The Gulf News) reports that the nunber of complaints to the police about wives beating up husbands has increased enormously in the last five years. The culprits are it seems drugs, alcohol - and western television programmes. Now if they got Spanish TVout there I'd certainly agree with that!
It seems Zuhair and Soraya ( not sure if they were real names) inspire confindence in that they prevent the communication breakdown which often takes place when an Arab person is arrested - or even just questioned. They also have a good nose as to what's going on out there anda re able to ferret out information that Catalan officers would have difficulty in finding. So why don't we have more? OK, maybe we do as they were not reported as being the first ones in the force, but it's very difficult to find out. It's like asking how many people from Sabadell eat fish on Fridays or how many people in Cornella under 13 have had sex.
What was interesting is that local Arabs were surprised that an Arab woman had become a police officer since she would be moving in a predominantly male environment but seemingly the uniform was the important thing in giving her the respect (DareI say it?) that she all too often does not have not only in the Muslim world but in Spain too. For that matter in the UK as well where gender violence is one of the highest in Europe.
As a footnote to this in Dubai where I worked for many years, a local paper ( The Gulf News) reports that the nunber of complaints to the police about wives beating up husbands has increased enormously in the last five years. The culprits are it seems drugs, alcohol - and western television programmes. Now if they got Spanish TVout there I'd certainly agree with that!
Racism: CEO report suggests 25 % of Catalans could be racist
A recent Government CEO survey showed that one in four Catalans could be termed racist depending on which newspaper you buy for your news. Different papers looked at the stats in a half-empty- glass way but others in a half-full way. Immigration is emotive in Catalunya since many residents believe that much of the street crime is the work of immigrants - and not much is done about it.
According to the results of the survey, people felt positive about immigrants in some respects: they felt that if they had been laid off work they should get unemployment benefit, they should be allowed to keep their customs and traditions (as long as they didn't wear the burka!); they also felt they should be allowed to vote. However certain issues were red-rag status to residents - particularly health and education; many felt immigrants overused the public health service and filled the schools; that the authorities bent over backwards to help them, even depriving native parents' preferences in some areas, in terms of work, people strongly felt that immigrants kept wages low as they were prepared to work for peanuts - some even went as far as saying that immigrants were taking Catalans' jobs.
Sometimes public opinion surveys do more harm than good, especially when newspapers get hold of them and distort the findings for political ends. Clearly however, all is not well on the immigrant front (in a previous blog I mentioned one flagrantly racist politician from Vic who was putting up for election in the government) and there is a lot of rancour out there, clearly expressed in the high percentage of respondents who felt that the city has too many immigrants. It might be interesting to compare Barcelona's with other cities' attitudes though. And to look at things from the immigrants' side too. Will they get the chance to express their feelings publically about living here in surveys like this? Can we also come up with a definition of 'immigrant' too. To some Catalans I've spoken to if you come from Marbella or Cadiz you're classed as one!
According to the results of the survey, people felt positive about immigrants in some respects: they felt that if they had been laid off work they should get unemployment benefit, they should be allowed to keep their customs and traditions (as long as they didn't wear the burka!); they also felt they should be allowed to vote. However certain issues were red-rag status to residents - particularly health and education; many felt immigrants overused the public health service and filled the schools; that the authorities bent over backwards to help them, even depriving native parents' preferences in some areas, in terms of work, people strongly felt that immigrants kept wages low as they were prepared to work for peanuts - some even went as far as saying that immigrants were taking Catalans' jobs.
Sometimes public opinion surveys do more harm than good, especially when newspapers get hold of them and distort the findings for political ends. Clearly however, all is not well on the immigrant front (in a previous blog I mentioned one flagrantly racist politician from Vic who was putting up for election in the government) and there is a lot of rancour out there, clearly expressed in the high percentage of respondents who felt that the city has too many immigrants. It might be interesting to compare Barcelona's with other cities' attitudes though. And to look at things from the immigrants' side too. Will they get the chance to express their feelings publically about living here in surveys like this? Can we also come up with a definition of 'immigrant' too. To some Catalans I've spoken to if you come from Marbella or Cadiz you're classed as one!
Thursday 10 March 2011
Grounded; Spanish airport strikes again?
The fact there's a financial crisis hasn't made much difference to Spain's trade unions who have just posted their intention to mount a series of airport strikes starting Easter weekend and finishing on the last weekend in August. Well done guys! You've just shrunk our vacations. Not just for those of us who live in the UK but those in the whole of Europe. But then you don't care cos you work for AENA.
This comes hard on the heels of the air traffic controllers' strike which closed Spanish airports and forced the government to arrest the strikers and bring in the military. This strike has been called because AENA which operate all the airports may be partly (49%) sold off to private contractors - whose shareholders will - naturally - insist on airports being run efficiently. The implication is that they are not at the moment? It seems that currently AENAworkers enjoy priveleges (like the air traffic group do) so the fear is probably that some of these will be lost if they have to be more competitive.
Here then is the crux of the matter. In a time of economic crisis people have to compromise like the Civil Service (functionarios) have had to do over pensions, but everytime a different sector is made to do this there are protests and demonstrations. True workers get deserved sympathy as they have bills to pay, like mortgages, based on their current salary. True Spain has 20% unemployment and it desperately doesn't want to increase that figure. But there is a difference between losing your job and losing certain priveleges. On the other hand Spanish workers for long have had better work contracts than many European countries - in some sectors it is virtually impossible to fire workers.
Businesses however have to make a profit (though perhaps not quite so much!) otherwise they go under - and a lot have. Even the flagship of successful enterprises, RyanAir sounded worried. Its director O'Leary this week stated that he'd had to cancel 300 flights during the last strike and the company had lost revenue paid out in compensation to 57 K passengers. Yesterday in Madrid he provocatively called for a clause to be inserted in all European airport worker contracts which made it illegal to strike. Presumeably so that RyanAir planes would not be grounded.
The strike is supported by three unions and today's meeting with government minister Blanco will be a difficult one given recent public statements by both sides. Proposed Easter dates are only 5 weeks away so the meeting will be a muscle-flexing exercise for both sides.The test will be if the government can come up with some kind of compromise without giving in to union pressure using the strikes to hit Spain's already rocky economy.
Footnote: After two meetings of unions with government it seems that the strikes won't after all take place. There is a god after all though it's not sure whose side he was on.
This comes hard on the heels of the air traffic controllers' strike which closed Spanish airports and forced the government to arrest the strikers and bring in the military. This strike has been called because AENA which operate all the airports may be partly (49%) sold off to private contractors - whose shareholders will - naturally - insist on airports being run efficiently. The implication is that they are not at the moment? It seems that currently AENAworkers enjoy priveleges (like the air traffic group do) so the fear is probably that some of these will be lost if they have to be more competitive.
Here then is the crux of the matter. In a time of economic crisis people have to compromise like the Civil Service (functionarios) have had to do over pensions, but everytime a different sector is made to do this there are protests and demonstrations. True workers get deserved sympathy as they have bills to pay, like mortgages, based on their current salary. True Spain has 20% unemployment and it desperately doesn't want to increase that figure. But there is a difference between losing your job and losing certain priveleges. On the other hand Spanish workers for long have had better work contracts than many European countries - in some sectors it is virtually impossible to fire workers.
Businesses however have to make a profit (though perhaps not quite so much!) otherwise they go under - and a lot have. Even the flagship of successful enterprises, RyanAir sounded worried. Its director O'Leary this week stated that he'd had to cancel 300 flights during the last strike and the company had lost revenue paid out in compensation to 57 K passengers. Yesterday in Madrid he provocatively called for a clause to be inserted in all European airport worker contracts which made it illegal to strike. Presumeably so that RyanAir planes would not be grounded.
The strike is supported by three unions and today's meeting with government minister Blanco will be a difficult one given recent public statements by both sides. Proposed Easter dates are only 5 weeks away so the meeting will be a muscle-flexing exercise for both sides.The test will be if the government can come up with some kind of compromise without giving in to union pressure using the strikes to hit Spain's already rocky economy.
Footnote: After two meetings of unions with government it seems that the strikes won't after all take place. There is a god after all though it's not sure whose side he was on.
Monday 28 February 2011
110 kph speed limit for all
This weekend Prime Minister Zapatero announced - at a height of 35,000 feet closer to heaven than he is normally considered to be - that because of increased oil prices due to the Libyian revolution, there would be a speed limit of 110 kph on all motorways and dual carriageways as from March 7. He might just as well have kicked Catalan Interior Counsellor Felip Puig in the balls (Maybe he intended to?) since the latter had just spent weeks convincing environmentalists and safety organisations that the speed limits around Barcelona on all roads entering the city needed upping to a variable rate. Four days after his changes went into effect, came Madrid's new limit - for the whole country. So there Catalunya!
At times like these as an outsider I fail to understand what a 'Regional Government' is, if the Central one can overule when it likes and what it likes (or in this case doesn't like.) Can someone please tell me exactly what is it that Catalunya can decide for its citizens that can't be overuled.
As I mentioned in a previous blog (Feb 2), Puig in his arguing for the variable rate went against most sane people in Europe (apart from motoring organisations, naturally), so it was interesting to see that Zapatero restated evidence that lower speeds reduce accidents, save money and damage the environment less. Interestingly he also said a variable speed rate would be 'difficult to impose'.
Puig's reaction after this slap in the face was hardly mature. Catalunya, he said, would provide the cheapest covers (plastic stick-on type) for the current 120kph signs, since this limit would be 'only temporary'. He said that he had been considering raising the limit on motoways to 130 kph and doubted that lower limits would save any money. This latter 'pout' was despite the fact savings figures of 1,500 million euros are being bandied around. He also failed to comment on the central government's simultaneous reduction of commuter and middle-distance rail fares by 5% to persuade us to use public transport. Puig mentions that motorists won't like the new limits. Indeed in that respect he may be right - in Barcelona at any rate if La Vanguardia's poll is anything to go by. More than 70% of its readers 'felt the new measures won't save money'. But then the majority of its readers don't support the Government's policies anyway so what's new! Maybe the politicians and everyone else have kicked this particular ball around enough. Can we play another game now?<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.freefoto.com/imagelink/?ffid=21-23-25&s=m" ></script>
At times like these as an outsider I fail to understand what a 'Regional Government' is, if the Central one can overule when it likes and what it likes (or in this case doesn't like.) Can someone please tell me exactly what is it that Catalunya can decide for its citizens that can't be overuled.
As I mentioned in a previous blog (Feb 2), Puig in his arguing for the variable rate went against most sane people in Europe (apart from motoring organisations, naturally), so it was interesting to see that Zapatero restated evidence that lower speeds reduce accidents, save money and damage the environment less. Interestingly he also said a variable speed rate would be 'difficult to impose'.
Puig's reaction after this slap in the face was hardly mature. Catalunya, he said, would provide the cheapest covers (plastic stick-on type) for the current 120kph signs, since this limit would be 'only temporary'. He said that he had been considering raising the limit on motoways to 130 kph and doubted that lower limits would save any money. This latter 'pout' was despite the fact savings figures of 1,500 million euros are being bandied around. He also failed to comment on the central government's simultaneous reduction of commuter and middle-distance rail fares by 5% to persuade us to use public transport. Puig mentions that motorists won't like the new limits. Indeed in that respect he may be right - in Barcelona at any rate if La Vanguardia's poll is anything to go by. More than 70% of its readers 'felt the new measures won't save money'. But then the majority of its readers don't support the Government's policies anyway so what's new! Maybe the politicians and everyone else have kicked this particular ball around enough. Can we play another game now?<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.freefoto.com/imagelink/?ffid=21-23-25&s=m" ></script>
Monday 21 February 2011
Cycling on the pavement: move over I'm coming through.
After years of invective from motorists and pedestrians, Spain's traffic Authority (the DGT) is to soon permit the arch-criminal from Hell, the cyclist, to ride on pavements at least in places where there are no purpose-made cycling paths.
Praiseworthy though it seems, I can see problems with this initiative. It will mean increased conflict at the pavement level where cyclists already have precious few friends. Cyclists will need to carry a mental tape measure with them since the DGT proposal limits rights of access... to where the pavement is more than 3m wide'. Above all they will need to restrain their current aggressive nature towards pedestians, for example not ride as fast on the pavement as they do on the road. Unfortunately the DGT statement omitted to mention who has priority. Lawyers are already rubbing their hands in anticipation of litigation work for years to come.
The scheme of persuading more of the population to cycle sounds environmentally good but the reality is car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians live together in today's urban society like dogs and cats disputing the same fish or bone. Each lobby feels the others are the criminals, so each is reluctant to give an inch of its conventional territory. As I've mentioned before on this blog, the car driver in particular feels he's king and resents any change in the law that threatens his domination.
Mind you, unlike 'drinking&driving', the 'anti-smoking' and 'wear-your-seat-belt' campaigns worked - well more or less. But only when they were enforced . Is that perhaps the answer here. A big TV/cinema education campaign complete with user norms - and then fine transgressors. Noise pollution next!
Link to map of Barcelona city cycling paths
http://www.bcn.es/bicicleta/docs/mapacarrilbici-OK.pdf
Praiseworthy though it seems, I can see problems with this initiative. It will mean increased conflict at the pavement level where cyclists already have precious few friends. Cyclists will need to carry a mental tape measure with them since the DGT proposal limits rights of access... to where the pavement is more than 3m wide'. Above all they will need to restrain their current aggressive nature towards pedestians, for example not ride as fast on the pavement as they do on the road. Unfortunately the DGT statement omitted to mention who has priority. Lawyers are already rubbing their hands in anticipation of litigation work for years to come.
The scheme of persuading more of the population to cycle sounds environmentally good but the reality is car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians live together in today's urban society like dogs and cats disputing the same fish or bone. Each lobby feels the others are the criminals, so each is reluctant to give an inch of its conventional territory. As I've mentioned before on this blog, the car driver in particular feels he's king and resents any change in the law that threatens his domination.
Mind you, unlike 'drinking&driving', the 'anti-smoking' and 'wear-your-seat-belt' campaigns worked - well more or less. But only when they were enforced . Is that perhaps the answer here. A big TV/cinema education campaign complete with user norms - and then fine transgressors. Noise pollution next!
Link to map of Barcelona city cycling paths
http://www.bcn.es/bicicleta/docs/mapacarrilbici-OK.pdf
Tuesday 8 February 2011
The price of football: don't let your son go on the pitch, Mrs Worthington!
Football and huge amounts of money have become synonymous: for example the recent transfer of Spanish footballer Fernando Torres from Liverpool to Chelsea for close on 50 million pounds and Gerald Pique, Barcelona defender's four and a half million outlay for his 'attic' on Calle Muntaner in Barcelona. You can see why parents want their kids to be footballers! There's money, real money for the favoured few who make it to the top. Pop-stars and film stars are less-favoured by parents because of their association with anti-social downsides such as drugs and alcohol. Football with its random medical checks, generally displays a clean-living label which appeals to parents. Managers and trainers keep a tight rein on their collection (team) of players and are not so far removed from in locum parentis figures.
However,one of the La Vanguardia journalists, a woman with a young son recently attended a match between two junior teams and was horrified at the supporters - mostly male parents - who vilified the referees' decisions, jeered at the trainer and egged on their offsprings using expressions more fitting to Colosseum crowds in ancient Rome. She found out that some of these 'hooligan' parents are regularly banned from matches for such behaviour.
Naturally this affects the players too. The aim of such games according to schools is to train youngsters in skills and techniques and to let them enjoy exercise. But egged on by parents, they start playing to win, displaying the 'better a winner than a loser be' attitude. And it's winning in whatever way and using whatever tactics. So they ape the worst aspects of professionalism: hold onto jerseys; do ankle taps on opponents in full flight; threaten smaller players and above all constantly dispute decisions - tactics which they see their heroes doing in high-profile matches on TV.
The bookies would say the odds of their little darlings achieving a position on teams of the calibre of Barca are several zillions to one. Barca's catchment area is not Barcelona - nor is the team we see 'made in Barcelona'. Their son is probably more likely to be eaten by a shark than play at Camp Nou, or to commit hari-kari because he doesn't come up to daddy's impossibly high expectations.For many kids all the joy has gone out of playing due to parental-imposed stress on them to win. When did you last see a professional footballer with a grin on his face most of the game - Messi and the Ronaldinho of old apart?
So what is it about today's parents that we try to force our kids into moulds and then wonder why they lock themselves away in their rooms and chat to their friends? And what is the fastest-growing industry in Europe today? Fashion for kids, turning out three year-old Lady Gagas, five year old Penelope Cruz's, Ronaldo ridge-back hairlines. Puyol poodle-cuts. Kids go straight from the cradle to mini-adults and miss out the pram and childhood on the way. All we seem to want are cut- down versions of someone we would like to have been and never had the talent. Is that really the best we can offer?
However,one of the La Vanguardia journalists, a woman with a young son recently attended a match between two junior teams and was horrified at the supporters - mostly male parents - who vilified the referees' decisions, jeered at the trainer and egged on their offsprings using expressions more fitting to Colosseum crowds in ancient Rome. She found out that some of these 'hooligan' parents are regularly banned from matches for such behaviour.
Naturally this affects the players too. The aim of such games according to schools is to train youngsters in skills and techniques and to let them enjoy exercise. But egged on by parents, they start playing to win, displaying the 'better a winner than a loser be' attitude. And it's winning in whatever way and using whatever tactics. So they ape the worst aspects of professionalism: hold onto jerseys; do ankle taps on opponents in full flight; threaten smaller players and above all constantly dispute decisions - tactics which they see their heroes doing in high-profile matches on TV.
The bookies would say the odds of their little darlings achieving a position on teams of the calibre of Barca are several zillions to one. Barca's catchment area is not Barcelona - nor is the team we see 'made in Barcelona'. Their son is probably more likely to be eaten by a shark than play at Camp Nou, or to commit hari-kari because he doesn't come up to daddy's impossibly high expectations.For many kids all the joy has gone out of playing due to parental-imposed stress on them to win. When did you last see a professional footballer with a grin on his face most of the game - Messi and the Ronaldinho of old apart?
So what is it about today's parents that we try to force our kids into moulds and then wonder why they lock themselves away in their rooms and chat to their friends? And what is the fastest-growing industry in Europe today? Fashion for kids, turning out three year-old Lady Gagas, five year old Penelope Cruz's, Ronaldo ridge-back hairlines. Puyol poodle-cuts. Kids go straight from the cradle to mini-adults and miss out the pram and childhood on the way. All we seem to want are cut- down versions of someone we would like to have been and never had the talent. Is that really the best we can offer?
Wednesday 2 February 2011
Speed limits around Barcelona: a change of heart.
All change on the roads! The new CiU government as by a grinning Arturo Mas has followed up on its electoral promise of doing away with previous tripartite government's sensible 80 kph limit on approach roads into BCN. From March 1st, speed will only be enforced in intense traffic conditions and on roads which join urban 50 kph areas.
The 80 limit was unpopular and bitterly contested by the motorist lobby - mainly by those who insist on driving into work instead of using public transport -and since you might ask, neither car-sharing nor Park-and-Drive are preferred options here. Removal of the limit does seems a bit odd though, especially as the rest of Europe is solidly sold on reducing speed in large conurbations to lower the amount of contamination and accidents. Sound sense. But not in Catalunya, where drivers prefer a head-in-the sand attitude and a you-can't -tell-us-what-to-do approach to life. (It's not as if Franco had blanketed the country with a speed limit like he did with a Catalan language ban is it?) In other parts of Europe you might use epithets like 'stubborn', 'obtuse or 'selfish' to describe such an attitude. Just like opposition to limits on drivers drinking alcohol, or people smoking in a bar. It seems that as soon as you start putting limits on Catalan behaviour - of any kind - sparks start to fly.
Councillor Puig, who has the dubious honour of lifting the 80 limit, flies in the face of all logical argument. His reported arguments deny all scientific research about the amount of pollution that will be produced and he refutes well-documented research showing accidents increase with speed. He knows there isn't enough money around in this cost-cutting government to put up adequate digital signing to inform motorists about speed variations. Instead he insists that common sense will prevail!! In Catalunya on the roads? Does he work from home all the week? Give me a break! Putting Catalans at the wheel of a car is like giving them a lobotomy.
On the other hand all is not bad! DGT, the pan-Spain traffic organisation, have decided to lower the fining tolerance level on motorways from 138 to 135 kph to cut down on accidents. Thus if you are driving at 135 (15 over the limit you now will get fined. Plus100 more radar cameras will be installed to catch speeding motorists. Maybe the people at DGT read the right journals?
The 80 limit was unpopular and bitterly contested by the motorist lobby - mainly by those who insist on driving into work instead of using public transport -and since you might ask, neither car-sharing nor Park-and-Drive are preferred options here. Removal of the limit does seems a bit odd though, especially as the rest of Europe is solidly sold on reducing speed in large conurbations to lower the amount of contamination and accidents. Sound sense. But not in Catalunya, where drivers prefer a head-in-the sand attitude and a you-can't -tell-us-what-to-do approach to life. (It's not as if Franco had blanketed the country with a speed limit like he did with a Catalan language ban is it?) In other parts of Europe you might use epithets like 'stubborn', 'obtuse or 'selfish' to describe such an attitude. Just like opposition to limits on drivers drinking alcohol, or people smoking in a bar. It seems that as soon as you start putting limits on Catalan behaviour - of any kind - sparks start to fly.
Councillor Puig, who has the dubious honour of lifting the 80 limit, flies in the face of all logical argument. His reported arguments deny all scientific research about the amount of pollution that will be produced and he refutes well-documented research showing accidents increase with speed. He knows there isn't enough money around in this cost-cutting government to put up adequate digital signing to inform motorists about speed variations. Instead he insists that common sense will prevail!! In Catalunya on the roads? Does he work from home all the week? Give me a break! Putting Catalans at the wheel of a car is like giving them a lobotomy.
On the other hand all is not bad! DGT, the pan-Spain traffic organisation, have decided to lower the fining tolerance level on motorways from 138 to 135 kph to cut down on accidents. Thus if you are driving at 135 (15 over the limit you now will get fined. Plus100 more radar cameras will be installed to catch speeding motorists. Maybe the people at DGT read the right journals?
Sunday 23 January 2011
The naked truth: keep yer kit on!
This week two newspapers (La Vanguardia and El Pais) ran articles about a proposal by the PSC and CiU parties soon before the City Council which would ban nudity and near-nudity from streets near the beach, including the infamous Las Ramblas area. (see link to El Pais.) http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cataluna/Barcelona/chastened/elpepueng/20110121elpcat_1/Ten
La Vanguardia suggested that the proposal would certainly be passed in March, just in time for this year's tourist hordes hitting the city at Easter. (Presumeably tourists are the main offenders?) This is pure speculation of course but that's newspapers for you.
It seems there could be several 'grey' areas here - as well as pink ones! A definitions of what is 'nude' (and therefore attracting a fine of up to 500 euros) shouldn't be too difficult for the lawmakers. But deciding what is 'semi-nude' (attracting 300 euros) could more problematic. El Pais suggests that being shirtless for men and wearing a bathing costume for women could come under 'semi' or 'near-nude'. But what about bikinis, or shorts with a tiny top or bra? No bra? And doesn't a short dress with buttons undone, or a mini-skirt reveal as much of the human body as a bathing costume? In any case would feminists be right in protesting here that any definition is, de facto, biased against ways in which women habitually dress in summer -. in any country? And after all don't you see men repairing the streets who aren't wearing shirts, don't you? And statues only wearing paint? Are they nude or semi-nude?
So far few voices have been raised against the idea - which suggests the law will be doomed to failure. El Pais quotes one: Jacint Ribes, chairman for the Association for the Defence of Nakedness (Yes, it does exist !) who feels a new wave of 'nudophobia' has arrived. He suggests proposals like this only come up at election time. He states that the City Hall used to be a defender of personal freedom. Now it's favouring people who want to be free not to suffer others' lack of respect!
Another criticism is that police have enough to do to keep abreast of the rising 'normal' crime in the city without checking out what people are - or aren't wearing. A police spokesperson was reported to have they would insist on people getting dressed properly before officers took down their details, and that they would not keep photos on police files to catch consistent offenders (liable to a 600 euro fine). Would patrols be organised so that a policeman and police woman work together to make for a more objective decision? One cynic thought that the whole thing was just a ruse to get more recruits into Barcelona's Guardia Urbana police.
To decide questions of taste and fashion is always a tricky and subjective thing. 'Beauty - (and in this case semi-nudity) are in the eye of the beholder'. I suspect that the originator of that much over-quoted phrase, Keats would not have objected to the sight of over-exposure of the female body. Byron might unless the shirtless perpetrator was handsome. In any case a softly-softly approach rather than a hardline one might be a better policy, since strutting your stuff (in a semi-nude state in the streets) is only a seasonal occupation.
This weekend it's minus 5 degees out on Las Ramblas. Not a chest hair, bare leg or plunging neckline in sight.
La Vanguardia suggested that the proposal would certainly be passed in March, just in time for this year's tourist hordes hitting the city at Easter. (Presumeably tourists are the main offenders?) This is pure speculation of course but that's newspapers for you.
It seems there could be several 'grey' areas here - as well as pink ones! A definitions of what is 'nude' (and therefore attracting a fine of up to 500 euros) shouldn't be too difficult for the lawmakers. But deciding what is 'semi-nude' (attracting 300 euros) could more problematic. El Pais suggests that being shirtless for men and wearing a bathing costume for women could come under 'semi' or 'near-nude'. But what about bikinis, or shorts with a tiny top or bra? No bra? And doesn't a short dress with buttons undone, or a mini-skirt reveal as much of the human body as a bathing costume? In any case would feminists be right in protesting here that any definition is, de facto, biased against ways in which women habitually dress in summer -. in any country? And after all don't you see men repairing the streets who aren't wearing shirts, don't you? And statues only wearing paint? Are they nude or semi-nude?
So far few voices have been raised against the idea - which suggests the law will be doomed to failure. El Pais quotes one: Jacint Ribes, chairman for the Association for the Defence of Nakedness (Yes, it does exist !) who feels a new wave of 'nudophobia' has arrived. He suggests proposals like this only come up at election time. He states that the City Hall used to be a defender of personal freedom. Now it's favouring people who want to be free not to suffer others' lack of respect!
Another criticism is that police have enough to do to keep abreast of the rising 'normal' crime in the city without checking out what people are - or aren't wearing. A police spokesperson was reported to have they would insist on people getting dressed properly before officers took down their details, and that they would not keep photos on police files to catch consistent offenders (liable to a 600 euro fine). Would patrols be organised so that a policeman and police woman work together to make for a more objective decision? One cynic thought that the whole thing was just a ruse to get more recruits into Barcelona's Guardia Urbana police.
To decide questions of taste and fashion is always a tricky and subjective thing. 'Beauty - (and in this case semi-nudity) are in the eye of the beholder'. I suspect that the originator of that much over-quoted phrase, Keats would not have objected to the sight of over-exposure of the female body. Byron might unless the shirtless perpetrator was handsome. In any case a softly-softly approach rather than a hardline one might be a better policy, since strutting your stuff (in a semi-nude state in the streets) is only a seasonal occupation.
This weekend it's minus 5 degees out on Las Ramblas. Not a chest hair, bare leg or plunging neckline in sight.
Your second home is not your castle.
In Spain second-home owners have long trembled where lawmakers tread. Since the 80's I recall local governments and builders taking advantage of foreign owners who clearly didn't know the ropes. Or they did know them, but the Town Hall kept changing the goalposts. OK, I know that's a mess of mixed metaphors but not such an ugly mess as a heap of rubble which was your house and which represented all your savings. It's difficult to win when bent local government officials, lawyers, estate agents and builders are in cahoots, all after a big slice of your money for some building that isn't legal - or is only half-finished as is the case today with builders going belly-up so often. And then once you've spent it, they want to knock it down 'cos the law says they can. In this case it's not Spain's law but sod's law when this happens so often.
Valencia seems to be one province (but not the only one) which has a reputation for being unfeeling when dealing with what is and what isn't legally built, and one which seems to have it in for foreign residents. On numerous occasions its municipalities have demanded bulldozing of properties, appropriation of land, payment of fees for new roadways, extra taxes for services and utilities etc. So much so that many affected residents banded together (in a group called PNALC) and took their complaints successfully to Strasbourg. Everything seems to hinge round how one interprets the 1988 central government environmental law (La Ley de las Costas). Theoretically it imposes restrictions on new building after1988 and declares illegal dwellings or parts of dwellings if they infringe this law. Today the socialist central government seems to have decided to apply more severely this law which is putting the fear of God into anyone with a house within sight of the sea. La Ley's aim is to allow access to the entire length of the Spanish coast to you, me and the dog. Secondly it seeks to stop erosion and mass building.(see footnote link for a full explanation)
Good, I hear you say. Illegal building and the resulting speculation has been rampant far too long in Spain. There are far too many places where ugly hotels and blocks of flats label a nice strip of sand 'Private Beach' and put up a razor-wire fence to stop you passing through. Far too many huge private villas whose snarling Dobermans snap hungrily at the muscled bottoms of hikers as they walk the coast. Teach them a lesson. Give Spain back to the people. Agreed. But its hardly the scenario as when in good faith you've invested your life savings in a modest place on the coast after being assured by both the builder and the Town Hall that everything was kosher and then ten years down the line one morning you find a bulldozer revving outside backed up by the Guardia Civil waving a court order for demolition of 'Casa Mia', your bolthole to the sun.
And, as in the case of Ampuriabrava, a Venice clone (canals not buildings) on the Costa Brava, things get complicated. La Vanguadia this week ran an article about how owners of houses built canalside would have to demolish parts of their property to allow people access to walk along the canals. Now that would be bad enough if it only meant the public walking through a slice of your ex-garden, but in many cases it's more than that. It's a question of say, the shallow end of the swimming pool, or half the boat garage you built, or in the worse case scenario your extra bedroom where, in the future, Joe Public will be able take a shortcut on his morning walk to get his Daily Mail or Rheinische Post and croissants. It's also not clear who would pay for the removal of any such 'obstacles'. You, the owner, or the Town Hall .
Another complicating factor in the Ampuriabrava case is that many owners over the years, pre and post 1988, without consulting either lawyers or the Town Hall, have taken it for granted they could extend their properties 'just a few metres' and join their moorings up to the gardens - and naturally local construction companies were 'glad to help'. After all Helmut from Hamburg and Gunter from Giessen on either sides of the house have done it and they've been here for years so it must be OK, mustn't it!
Lots of things seem to be unclear with regard to the application of La Ley but what is certain is that it looks like the Battle of Ampuriabrava - and any others like it - will be long and drawn out, since the vast majority of these prime properties are owned by people who can pay afford to pay lawyers so they are not going to take invasion of their privacy lying down. You can sympathise with both owners and the public. Both sections have rights but both want the opposite. The owners want privacy and the public access. Whose side are you on?
Footnote/Link Mark Strickland's site in English which explains the main clauses of La Ley de las Costas and which shows how open to interpretation many clauses could be.
http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/buff/spain/faq/ley-de-costas-coastal-law/
Valencia seems to be one province (but not the only one) which has a reputation for being unfeeling when dealing with what is and what isn't legally built, and one which seems to have it in for foreign residents. On numerous occasions its municipalities have demanded bulldozing of properties, appropriation of land, payment of fees for new roadways, extra taxes for services and utilities etc. So much so that many affected residents banded together (in a group called PNALC) and took their complaints successfully to Strasbourg. Everything seems to hinge round how one interprets the 1988 central government environmental law (La Ley de las Costas). Theoretically it imposes restrictions on new building after1988 and declares illegal dwellings or parts of dwellings if they infringe this law. Today the socialist central government seems to have decided to apply more severely this law which is putting the fear of God into anyone with a house within sight of the sea. La Ley's aim is to allow access to the entire length of the Spanish coast to you, me and the dog. Secondly it seeks to stop erosion and mass building.(see footnote link for a full explanation)
Good, I hear you say. Illegal building and the resulting speculation has been rampant far too long in Spain. There are far too many places where ugly hotels and blocks of flats label a nice strip of sand 'Private Beach' and put up a razor-wire fence to stop you passing through. Far too many huge private villas whose snarling Dobermans snap hungrily at the muscled bottoms of hikers as they walk the coast. Teach them a lesson. Give Spain back to the people. Agreed. But its hardly the scenario as when in good faith you've invested your life savings in a modest place on the coast after being assured by both the builder and the Town Hall that everything was kosher and then ten years down the line one morning you find a bulldozer revving outside backed up by the Guardia Civil waving a court order for demolition of 'Casa Mia', your bolthole to the sun.
And, as in the case of Ampuriabrava, a Venice clone (canals not buildings) on the Costa Brava, things get complicated. La Vanguadia this week ran an article about how owners of houses built canalside would have to demolish parts of their property to allow people access to walk along the canals. Now that would be bad enough if it only meant the public walking through a slice of your ex-garden, but in many cases it's more than that. It's a question of say, the shallow end of the swimming pool, or half the boat garage you built, or in the worse case scenario your extra bedroom where, in the future, Joe Public will be able take a shortcut on his morning walk to get his Daily Mail or Rheinische Post and croissants. It's also not clear who would pay for the removal of any such 'obstacles'. You, the owner, or the Town Hall .
Another complicating factor in the Ampuriabrava case is that many owners over the years, pre and post 1988, without consulting either lawyers or the Town Hall, have taken it for granted they could extend their properties 'just a few metres' and join their moorings up to the gardens - and naturally local construction companies were 'glad to help'. After all Helmut from Hamburg and Gunter from Giessen on either sides of the house have done it and they've been here for years so it must be OK, mustn't it!
Lots of things seem to be unclear with regard to the application of La Ley but what is certain is that it looks like the Battle of Ampuriabrava - and any others like it - will be long and drawn out, since the vast majority of these prime properties are owned by people who can pay afford to pay lawyers so they are not going to take invasion of their privacy lying down. You can sympathise with both owners and the public. Both sections have rights but both want the opposite. The owners want privacy and the public access. Whose side are you on?
Footnote/Link Mark Strickland's site in English which explains the main clauses of La Ley de las Costas and which shows how open to interpretation many clauses could be.
http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/buff/spain/faq/ley-de-costas-coastal-law/
Friday 7 January 2011
Tit for tat: WikiLeaks in Spain
Long live John le Carre! May all my favourite espionage novel-writers like Robert Ludlum, Len Deighton, Frederik Forsythe, Ian Fleming ( Oh, right he's dead isn't he?) come out of the cold. There's plenty of work for film stars that played their characters too - the spy specialists of whom we never tire - the Pierce Brosnans, Michael Caines, Matt Damons, Tom Cruises, George Clooneys and the like. And why? Cos the Cold war is back! In El Pais newspaper today we read about a reverse Spanish Xmas Log gesture where the Russian Government have just sent home on Xmas Eve two Spanish diplomats for activities 'over and beyond their official brief', ie spying? In fact political adviser Ignacio Cartagena and First Secretary, Borja Cortes-Breton, were expelled probably for nothing more than the fact that in November the Spanish Government on the advice of the Spanish CIA ( the CNI or the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia) sent packing two Russian diplomats accused of dire offences of a similar vagueness. In other words a-tit-for-tat expulsion. But then who knows what goes on in the grey and murky area of diplomatic intercourse between countries of once opposing ideologies.
It's incidents like these that make increasingly complex espionage films so popular and even make for 'Spy 3' sequels - think of Bourne and Bond for example. They also give rise to spoof spy films which take the piss out of not only the 'espionage' type films but also the concept of ever taking spying seriously. It might as well be Mars where the action is played out, the whole thing is so alien to normal life. Complex plots used to be played out in Berlin before The Wall came down, the divided city which separated the Western from Eastern bloc countries, then the action shifted to any countries which were vaguely near to China or North Korea. London, Washington and New York even Dubai and Delhi have always been favourites and of course Paris, the most sought after location for agents and ex-agents and killers of agents and ex-agents. particularly of a Middle East background or affiliation But Spain? Not really.
But yet perhaps there is a link with Madrid and this film world spy thing. It's in the 'spoofers', the spy films that satirise spy films. And let's face it many of which have been as highly successful. as the films they satirise even their titles strive to be amusing. I mean take the French 'The Tall Blonde Man with One Red Shoe' and its sequel and equally intriguing 'Return of the Tall Blonde Man with One Black Shoe' or surely the longest title for a (spoof) spy film, 'How to destroy the Reputation of the Greatest Secret Agent in the World' as played by Jean-Paul Belmondo. Full of cliches was the punniest of all, the American 'Spy Hard' with its hero, Dick Steele or Agent WD-40 playing out as so many do the myth of the irresistible sexual potency and attraction of spies.
So it's here that the link with Spain and Spy movies is, in the spoof variety. The meeting of the two 'Mr Beans' one called Atkinson and the other called Zapatero, the A-Z of the spy world as it were. One of the unfortunate aspects of the Spanish leader is his remakable ability to look like he's an understudy for Rowan Atkinson when the latter is playing the role of Johnny English in the film of the same name - a spy hero who commits incredible gaffes yet gets away with them (mostly). The film satirises the way that 'serious' films project for the public what they think 'real 'spies do. Spain has politicians who commit the most incredible gaffes too and in general get away with them. One wonders if this is what real politicians do?
You could say then that PM Zapatero has about as much chance of lifting Spain out of the current mess it's in as Johnny English had of exposing and defeating Britain's spying enemies, the film's baddies, off his own bat. However it's important to both to keep things appearing 'complicated' as it is the key word that joins the two. I have watched 'Syriana' twice, once in Spanish and once in English and decided that in neither version was I able to decipher what the hell George Clooney and Matt Damon were doing. When I read the Spanish newspapers I get a similar view of political leaders whether they be Spanish, American - or Russian.
Ronaldinho: a footballer more sinned against than sinning
Certain overpaid -and underworked - categories of people keep the tabloid newspapers filled with their detrius and drivel: their marriages, infidelities, divorces and their tantrums. Pop stars and professional sports stars are two glaring examples - witness the Tiger Woods Story of recent months and the endless George Michael saga. Both categories spawn latter-day gods who make obscene amounts of money, yet too often they reveal themselves as humanly flawed, less than God-like with their unsuccessful attempts to reconcile private selves and public obligations. And when that happens the paparazzi pounce. As we ordinary mortals all know, happiness doesn't sell papers, dirt and disasters, whether public or personal, do.
This week's Spanish newspaper sports pages are no exception. Most featured a new episode in the checkered career of ex-BCN resident and player, the 30 year-old Milan club's footballer Ronaldinho who is rumoured to have been a bad boy yet again. Not too long ago he was a Barça player and in trouble with their Christ-reborn figure, trainer and saviour Pep Gardiola, for not training hard enough and enjoying the Barcelona night life too much. Despite his obvious talent as a footballer (and entertainer) after a couple of seasons as the club's rising star, he was starting to fit the new Barca team philosophy like the Lion King would Lady Gaga's bikini. Eventually Milan (or Berlusconi the club's owner) decided he might have a future in Italy after he gave the businessman/politician a promise to play there 'till he hung up his boots'. As with Barça he initially fitted in well even regaining some of his old flair, but latterly he had been seen more on the bench than the pitch, a non-starter for most of the important Champions League matches and he's reportedly had several arguments with Milan's trainer, the aptly misnamed Allegri. A case of deja vu!
This week when in Dubai for the club's winter training sessions he not only missed training (for stomach problems again!) but was also reported coming back to the hotel late after going to discotheques (hardly Barcelona or Milan quality but enough to keep him out till 7am.) He reportedly (!) left the team without even saying 'goodbye' and boarded a plane to Brazil. He was last seen sunbathing at a beach resort. Rumour has it he wants to play for a Brazilian team, probably Gremio, where he first started his career.
Ronaldinho's case is an example of a young red-blooded man whose personality doesn't fit a hardline approach, (known as the 'philosophy') of a club, in the case of Barça and Milan ones that are making a lot of money out of him. If off-field exploits make players perform less well, teams start to lose matches and shareholders money for after all football is a business. It's not easy for an individual with such talent and flair as Ronaldinho to accept being treated like a schoolboy and being told off by the 'headmaster'. Some players can take it, realizing that their careers as footballers don't last for ever. Ronaldinho can't. Messi his equally brilliant Argentinan ex-teammate at Barca seems to be able to. I suspect much of the problem hangs on your personal relationship with your trainer. If that's bad you may as well leave.
However there another side to this coin to consider. Money. There's a strong arguement that top football players morally should give 120% on and off the field since they are paid such huge salaries. In sport unlike with pop stars who also earn huge amounts, wide differences in character and attitude are frowned upon. Pop stars are expected to ruffle the establishment's feathers, to wear outrageous clothes, to take drugs, to wreck hotel rooms, to fuck fans. The bad-boy image sells disks. Sports stars wear suits and blazers when they travel together as a team. They eat together, play together while the Big Daddy manager takes care of everything. Step over the line and party too much however and you get slapped down.
Legal contracts bind players to clubs and their philosophy. In Ronadlinho's case at Milan we're talking an eight million euros a year contract. Maybe like Barça, Milan have a right for that amount of cash to expect him to toe the line more. English Premier Club team Blackburn Rovers are said to have offered him 20 million over three years if Milan would sell him in the January sales or 'transfer window' as they call it. Milan want eight million euros since he has one year left of his contract - not out of the question for Blackburn's ebulliant chicken based economy but certainly too much for lowly Brazilian club like Gremio who he seems to want to return to even though he'd play for a fraction of what he now gets at Milan.
Football has always had and will continue to have its casualities and its successes. George Best spent all his money on whiskey and women and died broke. Paul Gascoyne had his fight with alcohol and Madona his with drugs. Stars like Ronaldo and Beckham have their heads screwed on better and have remained successful. Or have agents with their heads screwed on better to make sure they remain so. Ronaldinho's agent is his brother and he also has his sister and mother working for him. Perhaps it's a mistake to mix family and business. Maybe he's made enough money and at thirty wants to enjoy himself before settling down. Maybe he was just an example of a player who wanted to samba through life and the football field was just another dance hall for him. Kinda sad though to see the end of a player who enjoyed playing. His goofy smile and brilliant individualism will be missed by the fans but not by trainers who wanted to wipe it off his face. Adios amigo.
This week's Spanish newspaper sports pages are no exception. Most featured a new episode in the checkered career of ex-BCN resident and player, the 30 year-old Milan club's footballer Ronaldinho who is rumoured to have been a bad boy yet again. Not too long ago he was a Barça player and in trouble with their Christ-reborn figure, trainer and saviour Pep Gardiola, for not training hard enough and enjoying the Barcelona night life too much. Despite his obvious talent as a footballer (and entertainer) after a couple of seasons as the club's rising star, he was starting to fit the new Barca team philosophy like the Lion King would Lady Gaga's bikini. Eventually Milan (or Berlusconi the club's owner) decided he might have a future in Italy after he gave the businessman/politician a promise to play there 'till he hung up his boots'. As with Barça he initially fitted in well even regaining some of his old flair, but latterly he had been seen more on the bench than the pitch, a non-starter for most of the important Champions League matches and he's reportedly had several arguments with Milan's trainer, the aptly misnamed Allegri. A case of deja vu!
This week when in Dubai for the club's winter training sessions he not only missed training (for stomach problems again!) but was also reported coming back to the hotel late after going to discotheques (hardly Barcelona or Milan quality but enough to keep him out till 7am.) He reportedly (!) left the team without even saying 'goodbye' and boarded a plane to Brazil. He was last seen sunbathing at a beach resort. Rumour has it he wants to play for a Brazilian team, probably Gremio, where he first started his career.
Ronaldinho's case is an example of a young red-blooded man whose personality doesn't fit a hardline approach, (known as the 'philosophy') of a club, in the case of Barça and Milan ones that are making a lot of money out of him. If off-field exploits make players perform less well, teams start to lose matches and shareholders money for after all football is a business. It's not easy for an individual with such talent and flair as Ronaldinho to accept being treated like a schoolboy and being told off by the 'headmaster'. Some players can take it, realizing that their careers as footballers don't last for ever. Ronaldinho can't. Messi his equally brilliant Argentinan ex-teammate at Barca seems to be able to. I suspect much of the problem hangs on your personal relationship with your trainer. If that's bad you may as well leave.
However there another side to this coin to consider. Money. There's a strong arguement that top football players morally should give 120% on and off the field since they are paid such huge salaries. In sport unlike with pop stars who also earn huge amounts, wide differences in character and attitude are frowned upon. Pop stars are expected to ruffle the establishment's feathers, to wear outrageous clothes, to take drugs, to wreck hotel rooms, to fuck fans. The bad-boy image sells disks. Sports stars wear suits and blazers when they travel together as a team. They eat together, play together while the Big Daddy manager takes care of everything. Step over the line and party too much however and you get slapped down.
Legal contracts bind players to clubs and their philosophy. In Ronadlinho's case at Milan we're talking an eight million euros a year contract. Maybe like Barça, Milan have a right for that amount of cash to expect him to toe the line more. English Premier Club team Blackburn Rovers are said to have offered him 20 million over three years if Milan would sell him in the January sales or 'transfer window' as they call it. Milan want eight million euros since he has one year left of his contract - not out of the question for Blackburn's ebulliant chicken based economy but certainly too much for lowly Brazilian club like Gremio who he seems to want to return to even though he'd play for a fraction of what he now gets at Milan.
Football has always had and will continue to have its casualities and its successes. George Best spent all his money on whiskey and women and died broke. Paul Gascoyne had his fight with alcohol and Madona his with drugs. Stars like Ronaldo and Beckham have their heads screwed on better and have remained successful. Or have agents with their heads screwed on better to make sure they remain so. Ronaldinho's agent is his brother and he also has his sister and mother working for him. Perhaps it's a mistake to mix family and business. Maybe he's made enough money and at thirty wants to enjoy himself before settling down. Maybe he was just an example of a player who wanted to samba through life and the football field was just another dance hall for him. Kinda sad though to see the end of a player who enjoyed playing. His goofy smile and brilliant individualism will be missed by the fans but not by trainers who wanted to wipe it off his face. Adios amigo.
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