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

The BBC here tells us quite a bit about the narco-sub that ended up only a few metres from a house I bid on back in 2000, in the Bahía de Aldán between Pv city and Vigo.

As ever, Spain’s macro economy provides better news than its micro reality. As evidenced by this article on mortgage payment challenges.

There’s a lot of controversy about ‘15 minute cities’ in the UK. See this article. I can’t help wondering if Pv city – though not mentioned there – was among the first of these. We even have placards telling us – in the style of an underground map – how many minutes walking it takes to get from A to B. Though not for the aged, of course.

Some of the prices in the supermarkets are quite shocking. While the cost of red peppers has fallen from €4 a kilo to €2.85, I had to pay €3.60 yesterday for a bottle of Lea & Perrins sauce. I can’t swear to it but I think it was ‘only’ €2.50 a short while ago. Bird seed has gone from €1.25 to €2.00 and back down to €1.85. Does it come from the Ukraine? A pre-roasted chicken – a staple of my week – is still at €6-7 each, compared with €3-4 last year. It all adds up.

The EU

Illegal immigrant aren’t just a problem for the UK. Richard North cites here examples of the challenges faced on the Continent, difficult to resolve on a pan-EU basis.

AEP says here that there’s a giant black cloud hanging over Europe’s economic recovery. And that: Nothing like this has been seen since the creation of the euro. He has no doubt that, as ever, political and legal motives are driving things, not economics. 

The Way of the World

Transgender censorship in action in the UK, to the detriment of a Spanish researcher. Modern liberals can be remarkably illiberal.

The risk of cheats using artificial intelligence systems means that schools can no longer rely on coursework to assess pupils. An education think tank says the improvements to ChatGPT and other AI tools means written coursework is “no longer viable due to the insurmountable risk of cheating”. Its report calls for written exams to be the primary method for assessing students. Progressing backwards.

I wrote yesterday of the age-old trick of using a good cause to gain power and riches. The London Mayor, as described in the above article on ’15 minute cities’, certainly seems to be playing this game. To the annoyance of many.

Quote of The Day

Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse is shattering into a million pieces. Something he can possibly afford. Rather less so the hundreds/thousands of employees being laid off at Instagram and Facebook.

Spanish

• Un tinerfeño: Maybe I should have guessed . . . Someone from Tenerife
• Una oruga: A caterpillar
• Jamón Jabugo: Cured ham from Jabugo – A quaint little town known for producing the best Iberian ham.
• IA: AI

Did you know?

Geely, is a Chinese car company which owns Volvo and Lotus. I never knew that.

Finally . . .

A close friend of mine who was a mentor during my teenage years, has been honoured in Liverpool for his work in the world of art. Well done, David:-

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.

Finally, Finally . . . Another Flashback.

Blog of 15 October 2015

Spain/Galiza

The rate of change here is not terribly rapid. So it was interesting to read that some supermarkets in Madrid are to be open from 7am to 2am. We should get this here in Galicia in 10 to 15 years’ time. [Not so far]

The AVE high-speed train: Driving through the mountains of Galicia, I finally saw some evidence that this mythical beast really is slowing making its way here. Still on track for 2018, I guess. At least a decade late. [It finally arrived in 2021 . . .]

Ahead of the December elections, the governing PP party has suffered 2 body blows: The EU has said its pre-election budget is essentially fiction. And the small party with which it will certainly have to seek a coalition has refused to countenance President Rajoy staying in power. In truth, it’s hard to believe anybody in the PP actually wants this.

That Segovia basilica I mentioned recently isn’t the first church I’ve had to pay to get into but it is the first to operate an X-ray machine.

A bit of Spanglish? I saw a sleeveless puffer jacket described as a ‘corse’. From ‘corset’??