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

Today’s encierro in Pamplona was again short and ‘clean’, with no serious injuries and only a few minor ones.

Which reminds me . . . I cited 200 deaths around the country during 2022 bullruns because I’d read it somewhere. But I did think it was high. So wasn’t surprised to read last night that: Al menos 98 personas murieron en encierros y festejos taurinos en España desde el año 2000 y de ellas, seis fueron mujeres. El de 2022 ha sido el año más trágico con 16 muertos.

Talking of Spanish traditions . . . I’ve also said that there are brothels on the edge of almost every Spanish town. Sometimes more than one. Driving on the old road to Vigo today, I noted that the 4 or 5 that used be alongside that road have gone – even the one connected to the Hotel Eden – and only a newish one – Club KM130 remains. This advertises itself rather coyly in the Yellow Pages here.

I was taking my sister to the autobus station in Vigo, to catch a coach to Oporto airport. Unusually for Spanish cities, the bus and train stations are quite far apart. Or, rather, they used to be. I was heading for the former but decided to check my memory of the route through the city with my GPS, only to find that there’s a new bus station next to the huge new shopping complex above Vigo’s main train station. So, thank god for Google Maps. Something I don’t say very often. Especially when it sends me the wrong way in a city.

The UK

Some folk are trying to revive ‘England’s answer to the Camino de Santiago,’ from London to Walsingham. Good luck to them, though I doubt there’ll be good wine and tapas along the route.

An interesting article on the origins and importance of the NHS, said by the columnist to be a reflection of a British obsession with ‘cakeism’. I find it very hard to believe it will ever be reformed into something like the superior models which came after it in Europe.

Germany

A transgender self-identification law has been blocked at the last minute in Germany over fears it will be abused by criminals trying to escape punishment. ‌Under current laws, trans people must have their new gender recognised by a court and provide 2 testaments. This was set to be replaced by a “self-determinination law” which would make changing gender a civil procedure, removing the requirement for a medical diagnosis. [I believe this is how things currently are in Spain, under a socialist government which likes to see itself as in the van on social issues. But things might well change, if the right-of-centre parties assumes power later this month]

The EU

Again, not only in the UK . . . The latest Eurobarometer survey reveals that immigration has soared into 3rd place in the list of Europe-wide issues of concern – ahead of climate change, the economic situation and energy. Furthermore, the differences between 1st and 2nd concerns and the 3rd are tiny: 27% inflation, 25% the international situation and 24% immigration.

The USA

So, not only in films . . . A murder suspect with military training is on the run in Pennsylvania after breaking out of jail using bedsheets.

Very good news . . .

(A)GW/Energy/Net Zero

It was presented as a new utopia. Clean abundant energy, available to all. Millions of new jobs, flourishing economies and a cleaner, greener world. And all while cutting bills and freeing up money spent on light and heat to be used elsewhere. However, as the transition to net zero speeds up, and wind and solar power replace oil and gas, it is becoming increasingly clear that prices are not coming down fast. Instead experts fear that going green will make the inflation crisis worse. More here.

English

‘Snatched jawline’: A new ‘beauty pressure point’

Did you know?

The word ‘gypsy’ comes form ‘Egypt, through which the original folk passed on their way westwards from India. Here’s a marvellous documentary on their music.

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 – updated a bit in early July 2023.