Or have you taken a more lax attitude to time keeping since you went to Spain?

I'm still as punctual as ever


I just don't expect them to be!

some of my students have learned the hard way though that I won't keep the next student waiting just because they turned up half an hour late!!

Yes and also expect it of other Brits, don't expect it of Spanish but still get irritated by unpunctuality.

Yes, totally.
In the UK I always took the view it was incredibly rude to be late, and I carry that over here. I dont judge Spaniards by the same standard though as I accept their culture in that respect.

What Mitzyboy said.

I find most of the Spaniards I know to be frighteningly punctual.

So far (touch wood) I have found Spanish beaurocracy to be swift, efficient and almost completely queue free.

I've found exactly the opposite, but it doesn't bother me. I've joined in the game. Manana? Por la manana? (I hope the tilde man doesn't read this).

It's far better than English punctuality, and it's far too hot for that anyway. The whole country (Spain) shuts down between two and four in the afternoon, which is most sensible when the temperature, in the shade, bounces around 40 degrees.

Time or planes wait for no man (or woman).

Not sure what you mean exactly

I am always on time for an appointment wherever I am but I am not a clock watcher if thats what you mean.

Thought this was a thing of the past, except for rural areas, and that big business in Spain had now fallen in line with the rest of the continent? Lets face it even Correos is now open all day.

Jim

Indeed. One time, when my water supply had been cut off, the local Fontanero said he'd be round aty 11:00 th enext working day to fix it. He wasn't - he arrived at 10:55 (typical!). On another occasion, my local builders said they'd deliver a load of gravel "in the morning". I was woken up at 8:00 by this 'king huge lorry honking it's horn, to find out where I wanted it all tipped.

I think what he means may be what happened to me yestereday - had a 9.30 in Malaga ref. residencia, nightmare parking so I was going to be at least 5 minutes late. In the UK I would already have been texting/phoning the abogado's office just out of courtesy. Here I simply concentrated on getting parked, getting a taxi & getting there, having this feeling I might not need to worry unduly.
Guess what - I was there let's say 9.37ish. She turned up after me, and (not that I needed it, either in Spain or UK) no word of apology. It's just a different way of looking at timekeeping.


Correos isn't open all day here..... only open half day at the best of times!

Even in the capital many shops and businesses will close from 2.30 to 4.30 or 5pm. The upside of this is most shops are still open at 9pm on a Tuesday night. Also many businesses in Madrid have a different timetable in the hot summer months - staff will start earlier but finish at around 2.30.

Errrrrrm..........

I wish I could but I just can't used to the times that the Spanish do things. I find it really hard to get into eating at 22.00. And fireworks at 01.00 in the morning....

They say that the only 2 things the Spanish do on time are fireworks displays and bullfights. Well I know the former certainly aint true.

You don't really live in Spain do you?!!