Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight. And, lo, has caught the sultan’s turret In a noose of light!

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable

                 – Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’ 

Cosas de España/Galiza

Spanish politics: This is a rival’s comment about a minister who’s the wife of a prominent Podemos politician. It might be considered more than a tad misogynistic by some: Montero está donde está porque el macho alfa ha fecundado. 

And this cartoon, from the Faro de Vigo, would possibly be considered dubious even by some non-snowflakes:- 

In addition to the DNA testing being done on the alleged bones of Christopher Columbus in Sevilla, similar tests are being done in Galicia, in my barrio of Poio to be exact. With the objective of proving that not just one of his ships – La Santa María/La Gallega – came from here but also the man himself. We’ll soon know. Maybe. One wonders what will happen to the museum dedicated to him at his alleged local birthplace, if the results go the wrong way.

Talking about Sevilla and bones  . . . It’s good to read that – very belatedly – the corpse of the revolting general – Milans de Bosch – is being removed from the Alcázar there.

Life in Spain: Reader María tells me that some development near her has been ‘in process’ for a few years but nothing much has yet happened. I suspect I can ’top’ that, for her comment reminded me that it’s 15-20 years since I first heard that the small O Vao/O Bao commercial park on the road to Villagarcia was going to be expanded and would even include a Decathlon store. A couple of years ago, vegetation was cleared, as if something was about to happen, but nothing did and it all grew back. Same thing with the ‘plan’ to knock down the (illegal) gypsy houses near the site and to allow a new spur road up into my sub–barrio of Boa Vista. Not to mention the AVE high-speed train that’s going to come down from the Ourense-Santiago stretch directly to Pontevedra, first heard of around 2005 and still being talked about. Not to forget the high-speed train from La Coruña to Oporto and Lisbon

After months of drought – and fears for our reservoirs – we’ve now had more rain in a month than for many a year. This is god’s double cosmic joke . . . The first on all of us who live in Northern [‘Green’] Spain and the second on me, as the rain affects my satellite reception and is depriving me of TV pictures during the World Cup. The – sort of – good news is that a dry, cold spell will hit us in early December. When I will be forced to switch on the central heating, I guess. It never rains but it doesn’t . . . 

I go on a bit about the dangers of using zebra crossings in Pv city, especially when it’s dark and raining. But this week a woman was hit on one I used to venture across 4 times a day when I parked my car in a different place, before risking the walk into town.

Some of Vigo’s Xmas lights. There are a lot more . . .

I recall the Blackpool lights being better. But, then, I last saw them when I about 10 . . .

The UK 

One wonders if all the scandals about the mis-spent billions of taxpayer money at the start of the Covid crisis – many of them going to politicians and/or their friends – will ever come to light. And what will be done about them, if they do.

The Netherlands

At least one Dutch expert believes the country should quit the euro, though not the EU, citing the failure of many other members to follow the rules. Pretty standard practice in some of them, including France, Italy and Spain. The eurozone increasingly reminds him, says the article, of the Italy of the 1990s: a country of high inflation, high debts and repeated currency devaluations. I’m reminded of when the UK joined the EU and many/all British companies complied with the obligation to report to Brussels any potential anticompetitive Agreements, only to find that no other company in the entire EU had ever done so.

Netherlands Should Consider Euro Exit: Former Central Banker

China

A leading UK scientist is reported to have criticised biosecurity in Wuhan laboratories as the “Wild West”,  but only in private when discussing the possible origins of the coronavirus with colleagues. In public, he contributed to a paper that concluded the virus showed no signs of laboratory manipulation.

The Way of the World

The question has been asked – Why do so many young women these days prefer to drink beer from a bottle? The (saddening) answer is that this gives them greater control of what is put into their drink.

English

London’s Westminster council wants to be more diverse and inclusive. So it will stop using the term Bame – black, Asian and minority ethnic – in favour of the global majority. Get used to it.

Spanish

Fecundar: To impregnate. But possibly capable of a different, cruder meaning:

Pretender: A false friend: The RAE:- 1. Querer ser o conseguir algo. 2. Hacer diligencias para conseguir algo. 3. Dicho de una persona: Cortejar a otra. To court/hit on. Officially:- 1. Intentar conseguir el amor de una mujer acompañándola y halagándola. 2. Asistir, acompañar a alguien, contribuyendo a lo que sea de su agrado.

Halagar: 1. Dar a alguien muestras de afecto o rendimiento con palabras o acciones que puedan serle gratas. 2. Dar motivo de satisfacción o envanecimiento. 3. Adular o decir a alguien interesadamente cosas que le agraden. 4. Agradar, deleitar.

Did You Know?

The oft-cited advice that people should drink 8 glasses of water a day may be too high. Research now suggests that 2 litres of liquid a day, or 8 250ml glasses, is often more than is needed by people who live in temperate climates. Many adults need to drink only about 1.5 to 1.8 litres a day, about 6 or 7 glasses. The new estimate takes into account that about half our total daily intake of water comes from food.

Finally . . . 

1. 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.

2. Should you want to, the easiest way to to get my posts routinely is to sign up for email subscription. As opposed to using a Bookmark or entering the URL.