Free-D

When the police come blundering in upon a mystery which Mr. Sherlock Holmes is investigating, they invariably jump to the conclusions to which any sane person would. A smug inspector declares that it’s an open and shut case, that the husband “did it” in a fit of jealous rage, and that the sleuth’s peculiar talents will not be needed this time. And without exception the detective wearily intones something like, “on the contrary my dear inspector, I have absolutely no doubt that this is the work of an unusually agile man, with some experience of the circus, a marked stutter and a terribly deformed elbow”. Read the rest of this entry »

You must have had that trying experience of being in the toilet when the Light and the hand dryer simultaneously turn off. Naturally, the dryer will have simply cooled your hands a little, leaving them dripping wet – just right in fact to make the task of fumbling with the light switch that bit more interesting.  Life’s like that: the main ingredients of ones existence, job, health, family, and friends  are all in place and seemingly constant, dependable factors. However, they are in fact on a timer. Eventually they all “blink off”. If you’re lucky they don’t all go at once. It doesn’t actually take that much to put anyone in the gutter: the loss of a job, the death of a husband or wife, mental illness.  These terrible blows are hard enough to deal with individually, which is of course how they usually arise. Now and again though someone’s unfortunate enough to experience a dual or multiple “blink” – and the security, comfort and joy of life can disappear in an instant. Read the rest of this entry »

In the last few months nearly every conversation I’ve had with strangers has sooner or later come round to the “crisis” in housing. (There’s nothing quite as enjoyable as cornering a Salmantino and quizzing them mercilessly).

And of course the week before last saw those interminable queues for housing aid which the government has romised young folks who can’t afford the full price of renting a fl at. It seems everything is pointing to recession: rising prices, huge debts and unrealistic mortgages. It’s getting harder to “get by” – even if you’re relatively onservative in your budgeting. The question is “what can we do about it?” Well, in this case the problem isn’t so much fi nding an answer but rather that the answer isn’t much fun. Because it’s only in spending more realistically that Salmantinos and Europeans in general will fi nd long term security. I’m not saying that the present economic situation can be solved if you decide not to buy that third plasma television this year. Read the rest of this entry »

Community charges are going up  – despite the attempts of several protesters to interrupt the council in session (cue an admonishing “thumbs down” from the Gaceta). We also have the misery of a possible refuse collectors strike. You must have seen the effects of such an action in Madrid: piles of rubbish collecting on the streets. I can’t help imagining that most of it consists of discarded lottery tickets. Don’t you just love the lottery? Tens of thousands give away a little bit of money  so that one or two people can have an unhealthy amount. The person who ends up with this dubious blessing is not chosen according to worth or even need – but entirely randomly. (Except in Malaga). Read the rest of this entry »