Lenox Napier wrote a piece about the reduction in speed limits entitled “Naaaaw: This Fucking Government“.
Now, personally, not having been bought up in the liberal environment of Mojacar in the 60’s, I dislike “naughty” words (discouraged in Los Gallardos in 90’s) so I didn’t use a nasty word, although I felt like it. “Fishcakes” is a good one I always enjoy when the hammer meets ones’ thumb.
A little more steam built up when Pepe Blanco said he was switching off 50% of the street lights on roads to save on the electric cost. You want to save electric cost? Don’t switch off the useful lights illuminating dangerous roads, of which Spain is full… switch off the millions of flippin’ street lights placed on empty urbanisations across Spain. Stand on the Garrucha hill looking over Vera and Vera playa and count the useless street lights, for example….
I’m now building up to “effing”, after this piece in El Mundo informing us that the FEMP (Federation of townhalls and provinces) think limiting car access to cities by their numberplate (odd days odd numbers, even days even numbers) is a great idea and should be implemented ASAP. (Let’s limit access to cities by numberplates in English). The side news that Zapatero, flitting around the middle East, has decided to sell off Spain’s cajas to the Arabs is also annoying.
The PP, always keen to stir things up, have asked who will fine speeders who break the 110kph limit without breaking the older limits. They point out that if you do, say, 125 kph, you’re not breaking the official speed limit as enshrined by law, you’re breaking an energy savings plan, so you shouldn’t be fined by the traffic police under traffic laws, but by administrative police under energy laws. Think it’ll stand up in court?
I mean, they [the FEMP] come out with a bright idea -namely, freeing up public transport, lowering the cost and improving service to fill up the buses- then come out with a stupid idea like that.
They also came out with the bright idea of relocating government offices to places the citizens can actually get to, rather than in the middle of cities, and making office blocks install energy saving sensors switching off the power and a/c in rooms that aren’t being used.
Here’s another great idea that hasn’t been suggested: park and ride.(It’s a free idea, if you want it, I shall be happy with a small statue in an out of the way plaza. Or maybe an hijo predilicto).
Any more of these ideas, and it’s possible – I warn you now- I may do a Galliano. Just substitute “jew” with “f*****g socialist”.
I lived in Genova in the early 90s when the Italians tried the odd/even number plate idea. Ever resourceful the locals either bought a second car or swapped with a neighbour/friend. End result was the number of cars registered in the region actually increased so the commune scrapped it.
After the event it was discovered that number plate vendors had done a roaring trade!