More changes

Changes? The changes in this case are those between Granny as she was then - aged 19, taken in a university tutorial, and Granny now. She has just seen herself in a film made by a student filmmaker in which - out of the kindness of her (very kind, of course) heart - she agreed to take part; and now, seeing the result - no, not the film, that's excellent, justifiably it earned its director a first - seeing her indubitably aged self, she rather wishes she hadn't. In the light of that distressing experience she can promise you wouldn't recognise her now. She doesn't wish to be recognised - her blog is, for various reasones, anonymous - but showing you this will not blow her cover. Oh no. Oh no. Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear.

More changes; or envisaged ones. She went to the village threatened with extinction today. Sat playing dominoes with the Attic Woman, watching an as-ever fish-gutting cook with his entourage of evil seagulls. Things are shifting a little. A photograph has been found from 1985, three years before the Ley de Costas was passed showing the village not much different from the way it is now - and showing, almost certainly, Beloved's own house. This is helpful. It means the land to be taken is now most likely just the 20 metres back from the shore. The restaurants - most of them - would remain. But the Ministry is still demanding not only the removal of the houses on the the shore sides of the road, but also the terraces alongside the sea, made by the still legitimate restaurants on the other; including the nice terrace on which Granny and the AW were sitting, shaded by umbrellas, shielded by a glass screen from the prevailing north winds. Nothing wrong with it at all, or any of them. An amenity for those eating, drinking, no more. What idiocy. Part of the problem, it turns out, is that the Canarian government failed to register the area correctly at the right time - labelling it 'suelo rustico' rather than 'urbanistico' , but by oversight rather than intention. The law doesn't recognise oversight. It's just called 'tant pis'. Or too bad, to you. TOO BAD.

The island, of course, has its own conspiracy theories. 1) That Costas is here trying to get at the local mayor, because they can't get at him for the way he has expanded - against all embargos - the main resort. 2) That it is all designed to get rid of the little people and set up an exclusive tourist resort on behalf of the usual suspects. Granny herself thinks this is a little far-fetched even for here. There are only black, stony beaches on this side of the islands. The sea is dangerous, full of lethal currents. Drowning tourists would not on the whole be good for business. Also Costas is supposed to be getting rid of such resorts except those that pre-dated the law and that have the right paperwork.

But, who knows. Whoever knows anything here. El Pais did yesterday list 42 sites throughout Spain which Costas wishes to see removed including the dire Valencian-built hotel on this island - but the village was not among them. This may mean simply that El Pais got things wrong. On the other hand it might not. El Pais also headlined - a very rare event - the national media rarely recognises that the Canaries exist - a major -MAJOR - scandal in this Canarian province. On the big island, every PP councillor from the ruling group on one council (the PP is roughly the equivalent of the Tories), bar one, has been arrested for corruption - relating to land development, real estate, of course, how did you guess. Even the daughter of the chief culprit has been taken in, for laundering the money from her mother's ill-gotten gains. The Canarian government, rather washing its hands of things, has requested the national government takes the matter in hand; it will dissolve the whole council most likely, rule the district from Madrid. Just in like Marbella. Granny seems to have heard it all before. (Is Putin watching this time too?)

Granny will not apologise for quoting again - if she did before - the 1880's travel writer, Olivia Stone, who said - of the Canaries - it is strange how everyone here wants to be the mayor. Nothing changes in the town - but all the mayors end up with fuller pockets. This is one area where NOTHING seems to change.

More about Beloved's - genuine - changes, tomorrow. Really.