Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable
– Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’

My thanks to Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas for some of today’s items.  

Cosas de España/Galiza

Covid: Per La Vanguardia: The high vaccination rate and low incidence rate make Spain the country in the world closest to controlling the epidemic. And: Spain is leaving  behind its 5th wave and preparing for the end of restrictions. Almost certainly sooner in Madrid than elsewhere.

Good news for folk in remote villages. The post Offices (Correos) has plans to give you an ATM. 

More good news. The end of all that bloody plastic packaging around fruit and veg. Albeit from some time in 2023

Bad news: It’s hardly surprising to read that most Spaniards believe political and social tensions are growing. 

My thoroughly scientific signalling-at-roundabouts survey has led to the conclusion that a maximum of only 25% of drivers do this correctly. This is a slightly harsh verdict because I’ve  noted as an error not signalling if going straight on when there’s no earlier exit(s). I do this myself but Spanish law dictates that once on a roundabout you must signal your exit. It always makes me smile when, possibly belatedly remembering the rule, drivers signal right after they’ve left the roundabout.

The UK

Richard North avers that there’s no instant cure for the UK’s energy crisis. Primarily, we are experiencing the results of political rather than technical failures. To sort the problem, we have to sort our politics and, in many ways, that is a lot more challenging than addressing the technical issues. The UK, he’s says, is facing a perfect storm. But with a degenerate, incompetent liar at the helm he’s not optimistic it’l be effectively dealt with. Full article here.

The USA

Biden’s popularity rating is now lower than Trump’s. Probably temporary but what a country!

Spanish

There’s a word in Spanish which can be spoken but not written. See here. Unique to Castellano?

Which sort of reminds me . . . Last week I saw the words poya and poyas written on the back of a toilet door. They say spelling in ‘phonetic’ Spanish is easy but mistakes are often made around B/V, LL, and H. Far more than I ever thought there would be. And they can’t all be by dyslexics.

Finally  . . .

My friend Ian in Oz tells me that Chaplin was the star of a Blackadder episode. See this article and a clip on youtube below. I was pleased to hear Blackadder’s (Rowan Atkinson’s?) dismissive view of Chaplin’s comedic talent. There was no accounting for taste in 1915. Or now, even. But I must watch The Great Dictator and see if I smile at any point.

Note: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here