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’

Covid etc.

Oh, no.

Cosas de España/Galicia

I think it’s fair to say the The Corner’s columnists are to the right of centre. Here’s one of them on the failings of Spain’s public administration.

Public administration does not work

Right on cue comes the report that, notwithstanding a drive towards Net Zero and a target of 340, 000 electric charging points by the end of 2023, it takes a ‘up to’ 2 years to complete all the paperwork. Which probably explains why there are only 16,500 at the moment. I guess most people could divide the balance by the number of remaining days to arrive at an (utterly impossible) daily number but why bother to get exact on this?

A nice story about the discovery of an old synagogue and the uses to which it’s been put since c. 1492.

How ironic . . . While – up here in ‘always-raining’ Galicia – we’re on our 18th or 19th day of sun, down in Málaga, they’re experiencing a ‘monsoon’.

Yesterday, I had a dish which included something call Duroc. But not before checking what it was, of course. Which was this . . . An older breed of domestic pig. Developed in the USA, it forms the basis for many mixed-breed commercial hogs. They are reddish-brown and golden yellow, large-framed, medium length, and muscular, with partially-drooping ears. They tend to be one of the least aggressive of all swine breeds raised for meat. And very tasty.

This is something on a favourite place of mine. It turns out that it’s has been closed for several months. I’d just thought that – because of bizarre opening times – it had been closed each time I’d decided to have a tiffin there. No one tells me anything . . .

France

Will become the first country to introduce a digital certificate for viewers of online pornography. A government app on their phones will establish if they’re 18. Sites that don’t comply will be banned. The Germans are likely to follow suit.

The Way of the World

Reading about 11th century heresies, I came across these statements; It was a world of immense and increasing disparity between ‘the powerful’ and ‘the poor’. The authorities were dealing with the practical question – always urgent and acute in changing times – of how to maintain social order when the means of acquiring wealth and power had outrun the traditional mechanisms of control. And I thought ‘Sounds familiar’. And ‘Plus ça change’.

Quotes of the Day

1. Society is obsessed with trigger warnings – yet somehow, our children can still access porn. Practically all children seem to be given phones by the age of 12 – at which point, they will have free access to sexual content online

2. Oh, dear. Madonna’s latest face-lift – ‘un lifting’ – has made her look like a monstrous baby crossed with a koi carp.

Form your own view, here and here.

English

‘Brushing’: When you’re sent goods you didn’t order, usually from China, by traders who want to up their sales figures and post glowing, fake reviews.

Spanish

A tale revolving around the difference between Salir and Dejar, both of which can mean ‘To leave’. Inter alia,

Spanglish

Un after: A night club. After hours.

Did you know?

I finally decided to check on what a ChatGPT might be . . . It’s a model which interacts in a conversational way. The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer followup questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests. So, I thought I’d try it, by asking if Galicia should be the 7th Celtic Nation. This was despite the fact that ChatGPT suffers from multiple limitations and that this is a quite a tough question to answer. The reply I got was: ChatGPT is at capacity right now. The developers are working hard to accommodate all users. That was 4 hours ago and the answer is still the same right now. Some way to go, then. As with Google’s competitor – Bard – which got egg all over its face just after launch.

Finally . . .

Here’s Spain’s Eurovision entry. And here are the lyrics of this modern Flamenco(?) number.

For new readers:-

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 post routinely is to sign up for email subscription. As opposed to using a Bookmark or entering the URL in your browser.