NEWS IN BRIEF

Sanctions on Glovo for employing 800 immigrants without permits

The Labour Inspectorate has imposed new sanctions on the food delivery company Glovo for a total of 56.7 million euros, following an inspection in Madrid for the use of false selfemployed workers and for irregular foreign workers.

for children. That unrivalled pleasure and the energy feedback from stroking the warm coat of a living creature is a very special connection. Troubled children – and indeed adults as well, have been known to find their way back to social serenity through friendship with an animal.

I remember this well from my own childhood. No matter what turmoil was going on around me the consistency of my dog and the few farm animals around me seemed to make sense of it all.

We kept up to four milking cows at any one time. Cows were much friendlier and tame in those days, due in part to having constant and closer contact with humans.

I named a cow Maeve once – after Master Lawlor had told us the story of Queen Maeve. Maeve would be haltered by a cow tying attached to the manger in the shed. I would go in and put my arm around her neck, give her a big hug and stroke her face. Maeve, in between pulling tuffs of hay into her mouth, or chewing the cud when she had all eaten, would turn her big, kind, liquid eyes in my direction and that’s when I started to tell her stuff.

Nothing I whispered into her big hairy ear sounded stupid to either of us, and I could tell Maeve my deepest secrets and they were safe there.

I would be embarrassed when Daddy arrived unexpectedly and he would say the same thing every time: ‘don’t be petting that cow or you’ll make her wicked.’ I knew my father was wrong on that one, because nothing could come between Maeve and me. Children are unbelievable perceptive and they see things that adults would never notice.

Bernie.comaskey@gmail.com

*Author, entrepreneur and newspaper columnist, Bernie Comaskey, now spends most of his time on a farm in Ireland; but he retains his strong links with the Costa Blanca.

My brother Willie and I often named a cow, pig or calf after a human that we knew. The resemblance would be uncanny. This was never intended as being disrespectful – but if the fattening pig looked like … ah, we’ll leave that one; but if the pig looked like someone we knew … the pig looked like someone we knew!

Watching the birth of a calf is observing a miracle. I am still as much in awe of this creation of new life as I was as a child.

Nature is more than amazing; and to see how even a ‘first-calver’ will immediately take over the situation is a privilege to behold. The cow will clear the afterbirth and lick her baby clean and dry.

Bernie has published four books; ëIf Ever a Man Sufferedí, ëThe Best of Bernieí, ëThe Teamí, and ëJust Between Ourselvesí. Bernieís books are available at half price, on sale from either Spanish Solutions or ëThe Leader.íCall 637 227 385 for info.

Within half an hour the calf is on his feet and looking for a feed of life-sustaining colostrum, as Mammy nudges her baby into position to get fed.

I know that my six grandchildren are very blessed to have a calf of their own and watch it grow and change.

Like all of them, I hope and pray that Finn and Messi may enjoy a long and happy partnership.

DON’T FORGET

Education is knowing what you want, knowing where to get it, and knowing what to do with it after you get it.

Driver injured after freight train derails in north of the country

A freight train driver was injured in Pontevedra on Tuesday when the engine and the first two wagons derailed.

Adif said that it took 48 hours to remove the wreckage of the accident and fully reopen the track.

EU to send mission to investigate Pegasus espionage affair

The EU committee on the use of spyware is sending a mission to Spain in March to investigate the use of Pegasus spyware. The mission has already conducted investigations in Israel, Poland, Greece, Cyprus, and will be going to Hungary in February.

Brit arrested for helping Russian oligarch dodge sanctions

Spanish police arrested a British citizen, Richard Masters, at Madrid airport on behalf of the United States for allegedly assisting a Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, in evading sanctions on his $90 million yacht. Vekselberg has close ties to the Kremlin.