Covid

My masks now come in useful for keeping my nose warm these cool autumn nights, ahead of me turning on the CH.

Cosas de España/Galicia   

Lenox Napier asks here where all Spain’s good architects went. Good question.

Never having travelled on a train on Sunday before, I’ve just discovered by how much Renfe raises its prices on that day. More than 100%. Which is a tad ironic as travel on local trains and on the cercanías can now be free. There might be a connection.

For red wine lovers . . . An old friend has sent me the news that: Until recently Grenache was a scorned grape, but it is now enjoying an international revival. It started in Spain where Garnacha, as Grenache is known there, was the country’s most-planted grape until a reverence for Tempranillo dislodged it from the top spot. Because Garnacha is particularly tolerant of drought, and its hard wood means it has not suffered from the vine trunk diseases that have decimated plantings of many other vine varieties, the average age of Garnacha vines is relatively high. As a result, its produce tends to be distinctly superior.

There are some spectacular fotos of the Alhambra here. Much better than mine. But, then, the photographer didn’t have to contend with dozens of inane folk taking selfies of themselves with their backs to what they should have been looking at.

Too late, I’ve read that Roncesvalles is a sparsely populated municipality in the Pyrenees. Not the throbbing place I expected it to be last month when I drove there, intending to find a hotel for the night.

The covers have finally come off this fine building, where works have been carrying on for some time now. So I can snap the 3 escudos (shields/coats-of-arms) I couldn’t find a few months ago. I’m told it will all be tourist flats.

And this is that building plus the one next door, showing just how bad the problem of graffiti can be in Pv city. These buildings are right in front of the Parador. A pretty spot . . .

Talking of spots . . . If you watched the Pv video I cited yesterday, you might recognise this as the place where Sara Mantiel was asking her (ex)man why he wasn’t talking to her anymore. You can see how well granite buffs up:-

Russia

It’s alleged that for every one of the 300,000 men who were recently called to arms, two fled the country. Apparently on the very few operating airlines who’d all raised their prices far more than even Renfe.

Quote of the Day

The economist, Thomas Sowell: Liberals take positions that make them look good and feel good — and show very little interest in the actual consequences for others.

Or, as the father of a friend said to me when I was 19: It’s easy to be tolerant when you’ve nothing to tolerate.

English

I can’t keep up . . . . 

Deadnaming:  Calling a transgender person by their birth name when they’ve changed their name as part of their gender transition.

Moob: 1. A man-boob. 2. A plump or untoned breast on a man. Verb gerund: Moobing.

Besom: A broom made of twigs tied round a stick.

Did you know? 

The Irish tribe which invaded Scotland while Angle-Saxons were moving to England were called the Scotti.

The British Isles comprises thousands of islands, of which only c. 200 are occupied. 

Finally   . . . .  .

To amuse . . . I had to think about it . . .

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.