7th of November 2010

Two important events will happen in the Iberian peninsula on that day, if I remember correctly:

in Barcelona, Pope Benedict XVI will "inaugurate" the central nave of the Sagrada Família church during mass with about 10.000 people attending;

in Madrid, MTV will give it its European Music Awards with a huge number of people attending.

There probably won't be too many people with difficulties of deciding which event to attend...

Recycling in the countryside

Since March 1, our village participates in the recycling of organic waste. For this purpose, during the last week of February there was an information booth at the square in front of the village hall where everyone intersted could go and receive information on how to separate organic waste from the other stuff. And besides the information, one got a recycling kit: a special dustbin, biodegradable waste bags, a timetable for the fridge to remind one of the recollection days, and a leaflet with information on where to bring the different kinds of waste. Glass, paper, and plastics one has to carry to different containers.

Campaigns by the Generalitat

As you can see from these images, the Generalitat de Catalunya (government of the autonomous region of Catalonia) has a good agency for its campaigns. This one is meant to encourage people to incorporate healthy habits into their daily lives, such as eating five pieces of fruit or vegetable, climbing steps and walking. The Generalitat does not have many means to solve people's real problems these days, i.e. creating jobs or making adequate economic policy, more or less a prerogative of the central government in Madrid. It could do more in the field of education, but the teachers' unions are opposed to anything that looks like more work for or accountability of teachers.