Cosas de España/Galiza

A very good motto for life in Spain is Keep it simpleI. I’ve comprehensively ignored this advice by inviting c. 40 folk to a lunch in my garden and then compounded this mistake by giving them 2 dates to chose from – despite knowing full well that some won’t reply and some who say Yes won’t actually appear on the day. Result – a logistical nightmare. Fortunately, it’s a joint lunch with my Spanish neighbours and they’ve eliminated the problem by cancelling one of the optional dates. Very pragmatic, the Spanish.

More local snippets:-

– I read that there are 43 cases of Diogenes and Noah syndromes in Pv province but had to took them up. In case you’re similarly ignorant . . Diogenes syndrome is a disorder characterised by self-neglect, domestic squalor, apathy, compulsive hoarding of garbage and more importantly lack of shame. And Noah syndrome is keeping a higher-than-usual number of animals as domestic pets without the ability to properly house or care for them, while at the same time denying this inability.

– This year there’s a lot more guided tours being given to Spaniards in Pv’s old quarter. So, I’m wondering if these are provided free. Must check with the guide I’ve occasionally chatted with over recent years. And who used to be the only one.

– Having been surprised at the cost of just one lemon and one red pepper, I did a bit of research last evening:-

1. Mercadona supermarket: Green peppers €2.29 a kilo

2. Shop 1: Both red and green peppers €3.99 a kilo, up from (modified)€2.99

3. Shop 2: Green peppers  €3.99, red peppers €2.99 (Understandably sold out). 

So, draw your own conclusions. About home-grown produce in this case.

Ukraine v Russia 

Richard North being disturbingly realistic today: For all the virtue signalling of the G7 leaders, they simply don’tt command the wherewithal to give Ukraine what it needs. To begin to make a dent, the leaders would have to put their industries on a war footing, investing billions to ramp up production. And therein lies a potentially even more intractable problem. None of the G7 countries is actually at war with Russia and, on the brink of a global recession, to gear up as Ukraine’s arsenal would require major sacrifices on the part of their citizens – for which there is no democratic legitimacy. Each of them can pledge support to Ukraine but, as the sums mount, there’ll be a limit to the tolerance of their hard-pressed taxpayers. And it’s probably that prospect which is holding back the leaders. They are limited to virtue signalling because they are unable to deliver the goods and have no mandate to do so. In the meantime, the people of Ukraine are being taken for a ride, buoyed up by false promises of support that can never be fulfilled. If nothing else, we owe them more than false promises. So . . . The loss of part or all of Donbas plus some literal territory to the Russian invader under a Peace Deal negotiated by . .  M Macron? Who’d be surprised? Who wouldn’t be disheartened?

What will Putin say about yesterday’s mall massacre? My guess is he’ll claim it wasn’t intended and then he’ll publicly sack some hapless commander.

Span(g)ish  

Un toey: Seems to be ‘A toy’. As is TOEY PLAY on Amazon.

Finally  . . .

Gmail seems to be letting through to my Inbox more and more of the ‘IPL’ and ‘BHL’ courier phishing emails. The phishers are getting cleverer, I guess.

To amuse . . .

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

Welcome to  new subscriber Rachel Wilson, based in Canada, who might or might not actually read the posts she gets by email.