Spain has a different climate to the UK, it has a different political system and the people are different, although the people difference is a small one.

You can't compare a rain-soaked UK landscape on which to build roads with a sun-baked Spanish one. You can't have fortnightly rubbish collections in Spain, the rats would be the size of horses.

And Franco got rid of the Spanish aristocracy, most of them anyway; we've got Lords and Ladies coming out of the woodwork, they're everywhere, thousands upon thousands of them.

It's a difference I enjoy here in Spain, and I'm quite prepared to suffer a few potholes that will be repaired Manana.

Right enough, ok all objections should be given fair consideration, but urgent projects can sometimes be long delayed for the most minor and ridiculous of complaints at astronomical,unnecessary cost.

As I mentioned elsewhere maybe the UK should have a Ministry of Commonsense to oversee projects and do away with much of the ridiculous waste and unnecessary red tape.

He obviously missed a few, well over 2,500 actually.
http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20111003...e/465800.shtml

He certainly did and in addition to that, IMHO what I would term as aristocratic types and behaviour are far more common and acceptable in Spain than in the UK at the present time.

Jesus, does it mean we've got Lord Prescott's here in Spain? I tend to stay away from Google, you can find anything you want on there.

Actually, that Zapatero fellow seems a decent bloke, I wouldn't mind him being made a Lord.

Lord Bean and Gone ?

Heavens above No ,.... no one so uncouth and base as Prescott.

Not now, not ever I would hope.

The Spanish aristocratic types like to live up to their reputation, be they genuine aristocrats or not.

Commonly found in the expensive seats at major Spanish bullfights.

Actually the quote came from Comando Actualidad, one of the few shows I watch and enjoy, and it was on a week or so ago. It gives me a factual, non rose coloured glasses report of what is actually happening in Spain, unlike some of the fanciful stories I read here. Think of it as a sort of balance, a Spanish point of view, they seem less reluctant to admit to all their problems and keen to discuss them.

Comando Actualidad and Callejeros are excellent and pretty grim watching. However, they are not very balanced, they generally focus on the worst problem areas in Spain and in CA any issues of the day.

For example, you can see neighbourhoods that look like the 3rd world on Callejeros, yet in my time in Spain I've never seen anything like that, and neither have my friends of family.

Of course they exist, but they are on the margins of society and not representative of the country as a whole. However, didnt someone say "you judge a country based on how they treat their weakest members" A very unfashionable point of view nowadays though

and be added to the list of National Folly's

IMHO a waste of money to get to Birmingham 5mins quicker, Manchester 10mins quicker.
the effect on the environment in general will be devastating, its not just the lines its also the infrastructure that goes with it, such as getting the electricity to the trains.
We should be looking forward by looking back - at the technology of the maglev (levitating) trains of the 70's and still being used in Gatwick. Their footprint is much smaller and less devastating.

That makes very interesting reading without looking at it in depth
Greece has a very large slice per capita compared with everyone else.
Interesting to see some other countries such as Belgium and Holland much further down.

However, where does that €10bn to Other and Non-Eu go to and does any good come from it ?

remember the fuss there was about T5 at Heathrow, even man in white van driving past on M25 had a say in delaying that.

by the way where did they move the water treatment works to in the end??

Yeah its all EU money i'm sure, or money placed from other sources for specific projects. I remember a couple of years ago, the police in Estepona were having to take the bus / walk wherever they could because they didnt have money for fuel for their cars. At teh same time they were digging the roads up and building a somewhat controversial cycle lane...

Same in La Linea now.. brand new hospital being built at a time when they're demonstrating because the council workers arent getting paid.