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

When several firecrackers went off early this morning, I assumed it was the normal-ish hour for these of 7.30. But it turned out to be 4.11, which wasn’t good news. From my salón window I later saw tell-tale puffs of smoke in the hills at the odd times of 9.18 and 9.38. I assume they have something to do with the celebration of Easter but have no idea what. I doubt they’re the time(s) of the Resurrection and subsequent events on Day 3. And I do hope the earliest sounds weren’t those of gunshots in some village in the hills. Unless it was a question of wild boars.

Something else I don’t understand is the trend of the retail trade in Pv city. This is the start of what was – during the 2002-7 bum years – the location of the most expensive shops in the city. But 2 of the upmarket dress chops there have recently closed, and the foto show a popular (ex)restaurant on the left and a place that was once an household goods shop and then a pizza restaurant on the right:-

My impression is that new places opening up are more-expensive-than-average restaurants, dentists, ophthalmologists, health food shops, and bakeries. All for the higher end of the market, I guess.

At the lower end . . . I’d estimate the flea market this morning in Pv city comprised at least 90% (illegal)gypsy stalls. Meaning that the ratio of total tat to not-quite-tat was higher than ever. One guy even had a bit of an iron girder measuring about half a metre. For whom??

Some Chines chappie called Sun Tzu said long ago that: If you wait by the river long enough, your enemies’ bodies will eventually float by. In like vein, if you sit outside one of the places in Pv city’s Tapas Street (Rúa Figueroa), you’ll see the same folk pass you 2 or 3 times – as they search the old quarter for somewhere to eat.

And, if you sit outside the Dukela Moroccan restaurant, you’ll see many would-be diners get up and go when they’re told it’s not a Galician tapas place. I’ve suggested to the owner she puts up a sign that even village idiots can’t miss.

Talking about eating . . . I didn’t expect to see this group of 12+1 diners inside a garage on Friday night, hastily snapped . . .

The UK

Effie Deans takes a caustic look at the Scottish Nationalist Party and the civil war that’s taking place within it.

Another columnist writes today that it’s been another truly fascinating week in the life of Europe’s hippest, most progressive banana republic, Scotland.

The Way of the World

I find it impossible to know where feminism is these days, suspecting we’re on the 4th or even 5th ‘wave’. But this is a helpful article from a 73 year old lady who’s lived through them all. She’s not too impressed by the latest wave, whatever number it bears.

Quote of The Day

The fashion for beards is a craze too far. I don’t know when it became a thing – handsome, fresh-faced men opting to look like W G Grace or two thirds of ZZ Top. It has gone too far and must stop.

This is a what WGG – a famous 19th century cricketer – looked like:-

I actually saw a chap who was the spitting image of him – face-wise- in the flea market earlier, But taller and slimmer

English

Wedge politics: The sensationalist exploiting of divisive cultural issues. Said to be Labour’s strategy for future elections, involving the sort of ‘attack ads’ so common in the USA. So, clearly a good thing . .

Finally . . .

A modern travail . . . PayPal last night told me my bank has set up another layer of protection and I’d have to input a number it would send me. After doing this several times – each time being told it was wrong – I was advised my card was frozen. However, my bank then told it me wasn’t, adding they’d rejected the payment because the address they had was different from the one PayPal had. All this took a good chunk of time but I will return to the fray today, to ensure – I think – that they both have either Illa de Tambo or Isla de Tambo. One of these is Spanish and the other is Galician, though I can never remember which is which. I just have to make sure they share one of them.

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.