Cosas de España/Galiza 

After Franco, Spain became a thriving democracy but it is now increasingly polarised . . . Polls after the outbreak of the feud in the PP party suggest for the first time that the right-wing populist party may overtake the PP. Oh, dear. This link might work.

The Spanish can make a fiesta of anything. This weekend we have one for pastries in front of Pontevedra’s town hall. Here’s the poster at the entrance to the showcase for Galician bread and cakes, to test your Gallego:-

There were 2 brochures at said entrance. Both entirely in Gallego. This is the way of things these days and I strongly suspect it’s because subventions are only forthcoming if the use of Spanish is neglected.

With Carnaval approaching, there were many costumes on the city’s streets last night. Here’s Boris Johnson, for example – insufficiently tousled:-

And here are several blonde bombshells, one or two or whom are actually female.

And, finally, some Irishmen seen yesterday lunchtime, one of whom could only manage green soles on his trainers:-

Ukraine

Richard North peers through the ‘fog of war’ here.

Politics: the invisible war

Russia

Moscow’s English language RT News is back up on the net, after being downed by hackers. It doesn’t, of course, cite stalled Russian progress reported on elsewhere.

So, at least some Russian banks have been exiled from the SWIFT system, which might well stop these from operating worldwide and effectively block Russian exports and imports and, so, cripple the country’s economy. Germany seems to have done a complete volte-face on this, as on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. I rather doubt Putin and his advisers are very surprised. Or worried about the impact on ordinary Russians.

China doesn’t seem to be as supportive of Putin as he probably expected. Which can only be good news.

The UK   

My sister went to her local post-office to pick up an undelivered letter containing her certificate of Irishness. And was met by this:-

I’ll never complain about Correos again. Possibly-

The Way of the World 

You heard it here first, probably: The Taliban are calling for peace in Ukraine.

A small hopping insect – the sakondry – that tastes like bacon when fried has been identified as a possible solution to a growing hunger crisis in Madagascar. It’s not only tasty but also extremely nutritious, containing high levels of protein, minerals and vitamins. They look delicious.

Finally . . . .

If you’ve ever wondered about the names of days in English . . . 

You can easily see the origin of Spanish day names from the left hand column. Except domingo. And maybe sábado. Theories welcome.

For new reader(s): If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.