Digging deep

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We went to Lorca on Wednesday. It's a big town by Murcian standards - 77,000 people. All we remembered of our last visit to Lorca was that there was a lot of dog shit on the pavements. There still is. We thought it was scruffy. Down at heel. It was also dug up but then the whole of Spain is dug up at the moment.

Construction was the motor of the economy before everything fell apart. Rodriguez Zapatero, our president and Mr. Bean look alike, decided to spend some state money to stop all the brickies and hod carriers ending up on the dole. He must be a bit of a fan of FDR New Deal type thinking. The money is channeled through a scheme called Plan E but everyone calls it Plan Zapatero. Local and regional governments have followed his lead.

It really is a plague, a friendly plague in the longer term I suppose. Everywhere roads are cut, streets are dug up, parks are being redesigned. Gangs of job creation youngsters are refurbishing old buildings and learning old skills. They wear bright coloured overalls and safety gear which experienced Sapnish workers would normally leave safe behind in the site hut.

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