'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!
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