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Peter Edgerton
Malaga
Friday, 6 June 2025, 11:26
The devil is, indeed, in the detail. I vividly remember the first time I was charged one euro and ten cents for a cup of coffee in Malaga and it felt like the floodgates to much heavier and more frequent increases had been opened. They had.
People often cite the popular morning beverage being priced at one euro rather than the hundred pesetas it had been for a long time before the introduction of the new currency to Spain in 2002 (a 60% rise) as the turning point, but I'm convinced it was those extra ten cents that let loose the inflationary hounds of Hades upon an unsuspecting public.
Similarly, in the UK, the first time I heard a policeman address a driver he'd stopped as 'mate', it felt like the sky had fallen in. What was wrong with the perfunctory, if slightly pompous, 'sir' which had always served perfectly well hitherto. Imagine if the Guardia Civil adopted a similar approach here in Spain. I doubt that "¡Alto, tío! ¡Manos arriba, campeón!" would inspire the same level of respect/fear they currently command, somehow.
A final example in this genre that I'd offer is the night I thought the petrol pump was broken at a station I'd pulled into, only to be told for the first time that I would need to pay for my fuel in advance. "Crikey," I thought, "I did get a parking ticket once but this seems a bit much."
What do all of these occurrences have in common? Well, a tendency towards the gentle erosion of the pillars we base a functioning society upon, I suppose. Each one not of much particular import in itself but each holding open the door to further, incremental steps in the same direction and waving them through with a certain bonhomie.
All of which brings me to the supermarket chain Aldi which is piloting a 'pay-to-enter' scheme in one of its London shops to see if it may help to stem the tide of wanton thieving currently gripping the nation. It's a form of deposit you pay when you go in and I can see the logic. During the ten years the Shakespeare pub was open, we had a smattering of 'non-paying' customers and it was always really annoying, especially if you'd been nice to them - you'd feel like you'd been taken for a fool, which, of course, you had. Having said that, the idea of everyone paying a deposit everywhere they go is a bit dispiriting, isn't it?
The inherent trust that's engendered here in Spain by the fact that 99.9% of people will sit down to eat and drink to their heart's content before happily paying the corresponding bill is a marvellous tribute to a strong, respectful society and, as such, it should, I think, be fondly treasured.
Righty-ho, I'm off for a non-deposit coffee which I suspect will taste especially good today.
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