Spanish views from a small town

On this, another lazy day of this strange summer, I ran across an article on repair cafés. Apparently, a movement began in Holland, and has reached other countries, of setting up establishments where people can get their old things repaired, and learn to do it themselves. It's a push-back against the all-consuming consumer society. I have been very frustrated by the "throw away" mentality that seems to permeate every level of life, particularly the commercial. Phones are designed to only last two years at the most, cars around five years, washing machines another five, coffee makers from a few months to a year, computers two years, etc. I try to fight back as much as possible, but sometimes the challenge is insurmountable.  I bought a new phone this January because the last one, which lasted just over four years, ran out of memory to do just about anything. It didn't matter that I had an SD card inserted, there were things I couldn't move to it. When some of t...

It has been said that punctuatlity is the virtue of kings. In that case no one in Spain wants to be kingly. I've also heard that punctuality is the virtue of the bored, which would mean boredom is as rare as a street carpeted with ten euro bills. If you make an arrangement to meet someone at three o'clock, don't worry if you're late. If you're at the meeting place at ten past three, the person you're meeting will probably be there at quarter past. If not later. For some strange reason, punctuality is not a trait of the Spanish character. One would expect that of a doctor's office or a flight, where there are always delays and the flight never leaves at the assigned hour, nor does the doctor see you exactly at the appointed time. But the lack of puctuality extends to almost every aspect of life. There have been important exams in my daughter's life, where punctuality is required if you want to get in and sit them. However, people have been allowed in ma...