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

Well, as expected, Podemos and other Left groups finally agreed to campaign under the Sumar banner but the war isn’t over yet. The founder of Sumar – Yolanda Díaz – doesn’t want the her parliamentary colleague – Irene Montero – on the list of candidates to be submitted by next week. Sra Montero is the Equalities Minister and, as it happens, the wife of the founder of Podemos. Apparently they aren’t the best of friends. The current Podemos General Secretary insists they won’t accept the veto against ‘a comrade who has pushed the feminist transformation further than anyone else before’. Quite a cat-fight. This Times article – Spain’s far-left Podemos admits the party’s over – gives an insight into the goings-on. I wouldn’t bet on Sra Montero being on the list. Her star isn’t in the ascendancy.

Aljazeera here addresses the question of whether Spain’s many Moors v Christians fiestas are racist. Of course, no one involved thinks they’re a racist. Or that anyone should be upset by the festivities – as with the Dutch pre-Xmas parades featuring a blacked-up boy called Zwarte Piet. Which is not exactly the question.

Here’s all you need to know – possibly more – about the celebration of the feast of Corpus Cristi here in Spain. Which was actually 2 days ago. It’s celebrated with fervor and enthusiasm across Spain, with each region showcasing its unique customs and traditions. Whatever these are in Pv city, I think I’ve missed them every year for 23 years. Nothing seems to have been done in this barrio of Madrid this year.

Portugal

More hyperbole? The fashionable new summery white wine source is Portugal, which is not just home to spritzy vinho verde but fine dry white burgundy taste-alikes with thrillingly high acidity, original flavours and a wonderful whack of steely minerality. Their tongue-tingling intensity often reminds me of top-notch Chablis. I plan to pass through the Dao area next week en (scenic) route back to Galicia and will certainly buy a bottle or 6.

The UK

So, Boris Johnson is quitting parliament – ‘At least for now’. Richard North has some choice adjectives/phrases about him this morning, here. I might already have confessed that, based on what I’d read about him and his ‘intellectual brilliance’, I was optimistic about him becoming PM. Huge mistake. I’m no longer with those, like the chap cited by RN who think Johnson is a political genius and an irreplaceable loss to the Conservative Party and the country. ‘Good’ and ‘riddance’ are the words that now spring to mind, as they did for RN. Though I, too, suspect Johnson sees himself coming back to lead the Conservative party after the imminent Labour government loses power in 2029 or even 2034. Probably with a different wife in tow. But this time as a millionaire on the back of ludicrous after-dinner-speaking fees. And ‘consultancies’.

For those interested, here are the damning views on the man of 4 columnists of The Times, a Conservative-supporting paper, don’t forget. If the country is lucky, it’ll never see the likes of him again. But who really knows? Politics is show-biz now.

More amusing and nowt to do with BJ . . . . An apt comment: Given that Britain has only just emerged from the longest and most miserable winter in living memory, perhaps it’s understandable that the BBC seems so startled by the sudden appearance of that strange round yellow thing in the sky. All the same, I wish its reporters would stop panicking about it. According to BBC News, today is going to be so terrifyingly hot that the public has been issued with a “heat-health alert”. Apparently, the “Head of Extreme Events” at the UK Health Security Agency warns us to “keep hydrated” and “check in on” any vulnerable friends, family or neighbours. Sounds alarming – until you glance at the actual forecast. The maximum predicted temperature is 30C, or 86F. In short: a lovely, but unremarkable, summer’s day. Yet councils all over the country are urging us all to “take care”. As if the sun has escaped from a lab in China, and we need to go into lockdown till Chris Whitty can work out how to get rid of it. This nonsense isn’t just hysterical. It’s patronising. Pensioners keep being warned that they’re in particular danger. Maybe so. But unless they’ve just emigrated from Lapland, surely they’ll have experienced a sunny June afternoon at some point during their 7 or more decades on Earth. So I’m fairly sure they know how to cope. Anyway, BBC reporting is meant to be balanced. So while telling us that going outdoors will give us heat stroke, it should also tell us that staying indoors will cause a deficiency in vitamin D, leading to osteoporosis. So, since we’re doomed either way, we might as well enjoy ourselves.

Quote of The Day

As with all its products, so with its USD3,500 virtual reality headsets, Apple can bank on a tranche of early adopters – most of them men under the age of 50 – who are devoted to the brand and pride themselves on being at the cutting edge of technology. And, thanks to the potential of the device to both record video in 3D and show it to other users across the internet, it seems safe to say the company can also depend on another, not unrelated, group of customers: enthusiastic consumers of porn. It won’t be the first time pornography has been a key driver of sales of new technology.

The Way of the World

I’ve pointed out a couple of times that – unlike the US and the UK – Portugal, The Netherlands, Spain and France get a free pass when it comes to the history of slavery. As do the very involved African and Middle Eastern countries. Here’s something on the role of Islamic countries in the appalling business. The author is black and, as far as I know from elsewhere, his facts are correct. But some will doubtless question his views.

English

It strikes me that, if an individual wants to avoid ‘he’ and ‘she’ etc., there’s an existing alternative to the neutral ‘they’, one which has the advantage of being singular. It’s ‘it’ and its derivatives. I wonder why it wasn’t chosen instead of the (at times) confusing plural option.

Anyway, here’s a few new nouns to get used to, per Stonewall’s definitions:-

• Abro: People who have a fluid sexual and/or romantic orientation which changes over time
• Ace: People who experience a lack of, varying, or occasional experiences of romantic and/or sexual attraction
• Grey: People who experience attraction occasionally, rarely, or only under certain conditions.

It looks like Stonewall is yet to think of a word for someone who’s fed up to the back teeth with its obsession with gender differences.

Did you know?

There’s an unexpected reference to Madrid in this Peter Sarstedt song from 1969.

Finally . . .

Here’s a few baggage tips/hacks for those facing the challenge of flying these days.

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.