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

Thanks in large part to Franco, the percentage of both first and second homes in Spain is reputed to be the highest in Europe. On this theme, the VdG tells us today that: Despite the fact that mortgage rates continue to rise, the demand for second homes continues to grow. The coastal areas of the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community account for most of the purchases. In Galicia, the Pontevedra coast continues to lead the market, with an upward trend in prices, followed by A Coruña. However, housing on the coast of Lugo is among the cheapest in Spain.

Hard to believe that in the 1960s Spain was poor and officially part of the Developing World. And then came tourism. Followed, later, by the EU with all its financial benefits – courtesy of taxpayers in richer member states. Decades later, Spain is still a net beneficiary, I think. Maybe no one in Brussels has noticed it’s now a lot richer. . .

Apparently, you can get a bus from Lisbon or Oporto all the way to France, passing through Galicia en route. Indeed, the Flixbus stops in Vigo, SdC and La Coruña. But you can’t get on it there to go to France or, say, Germany. Possibly illegally, the (protectionist?) Galician Xunta says you can only go to another EU country if you start your bus journey here in Galicia. Doubtless with a Spanish company.

Someone has done a survey on the world’s ‘friendliest’ cities. For what it’s worth, here are the Top Ten, none of which are here in Spain:-

• 1 Sydney & Toronto
• 3 Edinburgh
• 4 Manchester
• 5 New York
• 6 Montreal
• 7 Melbourne
• 8 San Francisco
• 9 Dublin
• 10 Copenhagen

It’s just struck me that 90% of these are Anglo. Indeed, except for Copenhagen in Denmark, all are located in ex-English colonies . . . Ironically, some see England as an ex-Danish colony. Clearly, the Danes benefitted from the 2-way relationship. Before they were all slaughtered in the St Brice’s Day Massacre of 13 November,1002. Possibly a Friday. Unlucky for some, they say.

Madrid came in at no. 19, just beating Barcelona at 20.

Pv city din’t figure. Thank god.

Neither did Liverpool a city vastly more friendly than bloody Manchester!

The USA

The Way of the World

Does anyone listen to the boilerplate garbage spewed by governments and companies when they’re accused of some nefarious activity and then ‘confess’ and ‘apologise’. Highest standards . . . Lessons learned . . . Best practice . . . Concern for our customers/voters . . . etc

Did you know?

Thanks, I imagine, to the efforts of the Portuguese, the Kingdom of The Congo declared itself a Catholic state in 1492- the year before Columbus/Colón set sail for the East Indies and bumped into the West Indies before he could get there. But never, ever accepted that he had.

Finally . . .

Funny what one thinks about when half asleep. Early this morning, I got to pondering on the surnames of teachers and friends of my school years. I hadn’t thought about it before but I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised – as all my schooling was Catholic and on Merseyside – that the majority of these were Irish – Corrigan, Clare, O’Rourke, Kavanagh, O’Grady, Malone, O’Shea, Conolly, McCarthy, Gorman, Cain, Ryan, O’Halloran, Wherly, et al.

I’m on Day 3 of clearing my garden. It’s more than a tad boring and so I was pleased to see that a residual bit of jasmine was peeking out of the front hedge, to brighten my day.

As for the wisteria, no flowers but a ton of foliage to cut down and take away. Does any plant grow more than that one?

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.