Cosas de Spain/Galiza 

Here’s a foto that would never appear in the British press, of a protester in Germany:-

And here’s a related cartoon. TBH, I don’t really understand it:-

Perhaps a comment on ‘normal’.

Down in Cádiz, they’re building a tunnel. Or, rather, they’re not. Because construction is plagued by floods. This, it seems, is because warnings were ignored and the (cheaper) ‘cut and cover’ method of construction was chosen. See here on this ‘accursed tunnel’.

The cursed tunnel of the Port of Cádiz: the flood that delayed the work for years and triggered its cost

There are at least 3 artisan ice-cream shops in Pv city’s main street. I’m reminded of Vincent Werner’s comment that: The Spanish business landscape is mostly service companies quickly copying each other’s tactics and services. The reason is simple:  since services don’t require production and if the company already has the infrastructure in place, why not copy-paste a competing service? . . . Copying is less of a struggle than inventing and launching something new yourself. Spanish companies prefer the shared risk of failing together with competitors over the risk of staying behind while competitors make successful innovative steps. A cowardly strategy, but very common. Like the disappointing amount of registered Spanish patents, innovative strategies or marketing campaigns are rare on Spanish soil. Which might well rank as an OTT view.

Talking of construction . . . It’s good to read that the lack of rain this summer has allowed rapid progress on Pv city’s new bypass highway, the A57. Which should be open within the next decade. Though no one can understand why it’s being built, as we already have the ‘old road’ (N550) and the autovía(A9). Perhaps the EU insisted on giving us money for it.

Reader Danny has told me about his blog, written from near where I used to have a rural property outside Pv city. Here’s his latest post. The GR 94 he mentions ran past my front gate – I think – but I never saw anyone on it. Only wild horses.

Cool Galicia

Which reminds me . . . I’ve been to many wild horse round-ups – rapas das bestas -in Galicia but don’t recall kids being involved in the challenging task of wrestling horses to the ground so that their manes and tails can be cut  . . . .

So, what is Galmesán, giving us the adjective galmesano. It’s the local version of Parmesan cheese.

The UK  

It’s pretty clear that the UK is in an almighty mess. The reason for this might well be that: In one government after another, almost everything has been short term. No one planned for wars, floods or pandemics. No one invested in the house building and other infrastructure needed to cope with the levels of mass immigration deliberately introduced by the Blair government. No one ensured energy supplies by building enough nuclear power stations. What governments focused on instead was winning elections.

One deplorable aspect of British – Anglo? – society is that the salaries of senior business executives and even quangocrats have massively outgrown those of other folk. The average pay of FTSE 100 CEOs has jumped by 39% to £3.4m a year since 2020. And multi-million salaries and bonuses are now paid to water and energy chiefs. With these salaries available for clever folk, why would any of them want to be a poorly paid Cabinet minister or even Prime Minister. Other than a true psychopath, of course. Or a buffoonish narcissist with no principles whatsoever. 

As they say . . . In a democracy, people get the governments they deserve.

Italy

Another OTT view?  . . . Italy is no longer a democracy; it’s an appendage to the EU empire. There’s really no other way of describing a system where democratically unaccountable institutions, such as the European Commission and ECB, are able to arbitrarily decide the policies of elected governments or even forcibly remove them from office. So citizens can hardly be blamed for thinking that voting is, ultimately, pointless. More here.

The Way of the World 

How the UK arrived at transgender insanity:-

How trans ideology hijacked the gay-rights movement

Finally

I confess to snorting when my daughter asked me to get some tea on my trip into town with my grandson yesterday. For there are 13 bloody packs of the stuff on my shelves* and I never touch it. I was allowed to chuck away only 4 of them. For now. The list:-

Twining’s breakfast

PG tips

Earl grey

Decaff

Earl grey decaff

Hinojo/Funcho – (Fennel in Spanish/Portuguese)

Maca (‘Peruvian ginseng’) with ginger

Strawberry and Raspberry

Verde with Soya

Mezcla verde/blanco/rojo

Menta

Manzanilla

Unknown in plastic bag – brought by my sister last year?

For new readers: 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.