Doing your bit

I understand that King Juan Carlos and Prince Felipe have agreed to a 7% cut in salary. Even though they will still receive rather more money than most other people, it’s a gesture, I suppose, maybe setting an example to others. And some of those others make a lot more money that the royal family here in Spain do. This does not mean that I am in favour of them, but I can sympathise about the bad time they’ve been having lately. In most families, to have one son-in-law turn out badly is enough and the Borbón family has had two of them. They’re not even inviting Mr Udangarín to go on holiday with them to Mallorca. And that is despite the fact that he and his wife are the Duke and Duchess of Palma de Mallorca. It’s a hard life, isn’t it? 

The Gobierno Regional de Galicia is following suit with the 7% cut, according to something I read yesterday. And even Mayor Abel Cabellero is suggesting that the Concello de Vigo should follow suit. It all depends on how much you earn, of course. 7% of a huge salary might not be very noticeable and may not make an awful lot of difference to your lifestyle. I understand that Mr Feijoó, Presidente de Galicia currently earns €76,765 but some of the leaders of small town councils, earning around €35,000, have been saying that they would find it hard to give themselves a cut of 7%. Everything is relative, naturally, but I suspect that many “mileuristas” would love to be earning €35,000. 

On his way to Russia, yesterday or possibly the day before, the king was reported joking about the fact that at 74 he is still working. “Otra persona estaría aún de baja pero yo tengo que currar” – “Other people would already be retired but I have to slog on”. Mind you, his job is not quite the same as doing hard physical labour. 

Many Spaniards are relaxing, however, heading for the beach to toast themselves in the sunshine, getting stuck in major traffic jams to and from Vigo’s Samil beach because even the sunshine does not stop the roadworks on the way there. But then, the roadworks don’t seem to stop people going to the beach either. 

Samil beach is, they report, “a tope”, full as full can be, except for one short stretch. This almost towel-free bit of beach is opposite a cafe from which the songs of Julio Iglesias are blasting out at top volume. (And I thought it was just me who had an aversion to that particular aging crooner!) The owner has already been reported more than once for excessive volume but she doesn’t care. What she says is, “¡Me importa un huevo!” In other words, “I couldn’t give a ****”. And she declares herself prepared to go and face up to Abel Cabellero if he tries to slap a fine on her. One feisty Julio fan! 

 Yesterday, out to lunch with our friend Colin, I picked up another coffee related saying on a sugar packet: - 

“Los poderes de la mente de un hombre son directamente proporcionales a la cantidad de café que toma.” Sir James Mackintosh, Scottish politician and historian 1765 – 1832. 

In other words: “A man’s mental powers are directly proportional to the amount of coffee he drinks.” 

And finally, here is yet another example of the ever-present use of English in Spanish life. This is a small shop just down the road from the bijou residence.