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

Pre-election politics:- Two (understandably) worried articles from The (left-of-centre) Guardian, here and here. I fear the writers will be disappointed in a couple of weeks. But I hope not. BTW . . Given what else is happening in Europe (and the USA), the references to Franco can be overdone.

So, Spain has a new Wimbledon male champion, in Carlos Alcarez. But a (considerably less famous) Brit – Henry Searle – won the Junior male championship . . . So, honours equal. Almost.

Pamplona’s reckless fools are just Spaniards. Here’s a Brit proving just how reckless he is. I once had a boss with his name but am pretty sure it’s not him . . . By the way, my understanding is that, like horses, bulls and cows go out of their way not to tread on people on the ground in front of them as they run. If correct, you’d have thought Mr Hoskins would have known this, after particapating for 23 years.

It had to happen . . . One of the city-tour guides in Pv city is now contributing to the already-high urban noise level by using an open microphone to talk to large groups of tourists, instead of a closed one for him and earphones for his listeners. Said groups can now exceed 40 pax, in varying degrees of attentiveness. The city gets more like Santiago de Compostela with each passing year. One day the chat will be in English, I guess/fear. Especially if someone happens upon the ‘authentic’ body of the (mythical) Greek founder of Pv city – Teucro.

A new place – La Copa de Oro – opened in Pv city’s ‘tapas street’ last summer but has since closed down, despite the significant investment in fitting it out over 2 or 3 floors. The owner of the nearby Moroccan place told me yesterday that the (Catalan) owners had done a bunk, owing money to several people. My guess is that the latter don’t think it would be worthwhile pursuing them through the (congested and dilatory) courts.

Talking of copas . . . These are fotos of the place I mentioned recently, apparently called Lulos, not Sapoc, as I wrongly recalled. The first foto is the right-way-up and the second is the one I cited, upside-down. Both glass panes are broken. No idea why. Perhaps the owners have also done a runner:-

On Friday night, my elder daughter told me she’d made arrangements to meet local friends during the morning and at lunchtime. I warned her not to be optimistic and, sure enough, both meetings were ‘postponed’. My daughter, who lives in Madrid, said this was a rare occurrence there, leaving me wondering if Galicians are more informales* than Madrileños. And, if so, why. The greater changeability of the weather??? I have, of course, frequently said that the Spanish don’t have plans, only intentions. Maybe I should have said ‘Galicians’ . . .

*The RAE: Dicho de una persona que en su porte y conducta no observa la conveniente gravedad y puntualidad. On line: Informal; Casual; Unreliable.

The other day, for the first time in more than 20 years, I had to queue outside el parking of my usual supermarket. And again, once inside. Perhaps this is normal at 11am, at least on a Friday. I have been warned.

The UK

These are expressions a columnist yesterday recalled being said by her grandmother. They were all favourites of my (Scouse) mother:-

• If you act like a child, I’ll treat you like one.
• Why would I get a dog and bark myself?
• Who’s ‘she’? The cat’s mother? (If you used ‘she’ in the presence of the person*)
• Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about!

*Not acceptable in British culture but apparently is in the USA. And in Oz and NZ?)

Quote of The Day/The Way of the World

It was with dizzying speed that sports became captive to the blind zealotry of transgender ideology. Now, belatedly, they have discovered that they can throw off the yoke of noisy, belligerent activism just as quickly – A comment on the decision of the International Cycling Union – following in the steps of the governing bodies of athletics and swimming – to restrict the female category solely to those born female. But not yet the IOC.

English

Cliodynamics: ‘A new academic discipline dedicated to exploring how civilizations rise and fall’

Spanish

Una cabeza de serie: A seed, as in tennis at Wimbledon-

Did you know?

Be warned: There’s a new bit of ransomware called Big Head which disguises itself as a Windows update. Worse, there are multiple variants of it.

Finally . . .

To my surprise, the prodigious wisteria has bloomed again in mid-summer. Having not bloomed at all for at least 7 years. Perhaps confused by the unusual weather pattern.

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.