Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable
Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’
Cosas de España/Galiza
The writer of this article fears that democracy in Spain is in a state of crisis, with its destruction proceeding apace. Witness lest week’s circus in the Cortes, he says.
Possibly in a post-Covid attempt to compensate for lost profits, some cafe-bars in Pontevedra city are charging 35% more for a bottle of beer than elsewhere. Likewise with a coffee. And, I suspect, with wine but I’ve yet to check this out.
I mentioned yesterday the possible decline of Pontevedra city, compared with the opposite in Santiago de Compostela, Vigo and La Coruña. One probable reason is the absence of real commerce and industry in Pontevedra, a city of bureaucrats. We have just one factory – a wood processing plant – and our (left-wing) mayor has spent the last 20 years trying to get rid of it. And will probably succeed, in line with his vision of car-less city occupied only by an increasing number of residents, tourists and ´pilgrims’ on the 3 Caminos now passing through it. He’s currently in Paris, selling this vision of the urban future to what used to be The Pearl of the West.
Talking of tourism . . . This is an article – full of stats – on the sustainability of the sector here in Spain.
On the subject of yellow flora, María reminds me that the next things to bloom will be gorse and broom – tojo/toxo and retama/xesta in Castellano and Gallego, I believe. On one road out of Pontevedra city, you pass through the village of Xesteira. You can probably guess what grows a lot around there.
Maria addresses the Ukraine mess here.
The UK
There’s a hole at the heart of Boris Johnson’s premiership, says the writer of this article. As if we didn’t know.
The Way of the World/Social Media
Bad dating experiences are apparently traumatic enough to warrant revenge and public annihilation, it says here.
English
In an article cited above there appears the conjunction Whatsmore, which I’ve always thought was 3 words – What is more/What’s more.
Spanish
What is more/What’s more/Whatsmore – Además. An unusual example of Spanish using fewer syllables.
To note:-
El furor por . . : The furore over . . .
Vuelve el furor por ir en autobus a La Luna: ‘The return of the craze to go by bus to La Luna’. This, by the way, is a ‘discoteca‘ for middle-aged folk on the outskirts of Pontevedra city, (in)famous for the aggressive widows bussed-in to it on weekend evenings. I’ve yet to check it out but have talked about doing so for 20 years now.
Finally . . .
A confusing headline x 2: Parrot wins snowboard slopestyle gold.
For new reader(s): If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here.
Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain 