Spoiling the view

It's called the Crisis here rather than the Recession or the Credit Crunch. A whole country teetering on the brink whilst some overpaid fat cats at Moody's or Standard and Poor's play with plus signs and their ABC to make some of their pals even richer.

The text books I use at work to teach English include several topics over and over again - holidays, music, food and work. I've learned not to ask "What's your job?" So many of my students, young and old alike, are without work and so I've altered the questions to give them at least the linguistic opportunity to maintain their dignity.

The current Spanish President said today that he won't be standing for re-election and the various new demands placed on the Spanish banks to placate the World's financial elite have Maggie's bank struggling after the scale of its debts scared off some potential merger partners the other day.

Whether it's persistent stories of spending cuts or individual tales of woe things still don't look too bright here. And then there's my view - the view from the balcony that is. The picture is the office supplies shop across the road. It seemed busy enough - people coming and going all the time but not any longer; now it has a For Sale sign up.