The twenty second

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It was lottery day here yesterday, well maybe the day before yesterday if I type as slowly as usual and I end up posting on Saturday. Thursday was the day of the  fat one; el Gordo. As usual the number singing children of San Ildefonso and who would carry away the new fatter than ever prize was the big news story for the morning news.

We have a new president though. Mariano Rajoy. Señor Rajoy and his new ministers had been sworn in the days before. The media stuttered but there was no doubt in my mind that the lottery ended up being relegated to second place. Something almost unheard of. The lottery here is huge.

What I found even more impressive though was the support for the new man. Not necessarily a political support but just the hope - the hope against hope - that this man and his new team can pull the country out of the deep hole that it's in. A hope that had the left leaning press pulling their punches. A hope that had hard bitten radio journalists finishing their interviews with new ministers with personal good wishes.

It reminded me of all those Apollo and Shuttle launches - swept along by the event - "Go, go, go!"

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