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

Kissgate: An article on the sexism, racism, and machismo in Spain’s football world. A haven for dinosaurs, apparently. Sr Rubiales possibly isn’t the worst offender. His mother certainly won’t think so. As he’s a saint.

Spain loves its rules. And Spaniards love to ignore them where they possibly can. There will be, says Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas, 81 new rules to ignore under the Animal Welfare Law coming into force in late September. This includes obligations in respect of dog insurance and (on line) classes for owners.

Kids are, of course, an (almost) unalloyed joy and, on balance, worth having. But Spain effectively taxes them via the highest return-to-school costs in Europe. Possibly the world. Most parents here have to fork out for text books every September – because they’re always ‘renewed’ annually, making last year’s ‘obsolete’. HT to Lenox for the news that, this year, this is estimated to be €309 per pupil, 19% up on last year. And then there’s other items, taking the total return-to-school cost up to €449 per pupil. On top of which are uniforms, school buses, food, excursions, insurance, extra-curricular events, and AMPA(parent-teacher association) fees. In total, the annual cost is estimated to be to €1,500 a year. But, as ever, things differ from region to region, with some administrations paying for some of the cost of books and some all of it. As you’d expect, the most expensive regions are Valencia, Cataluña, and Navarra, with the cheapest being Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, and the Canary Islands. .

A friend has just shown me a €600 bill for some of this year’s books, at prices of €25-53 each. The highest, of course, is for Lingua Galega. Pretty scandalous. Probably one of Spain’s cartels dating from the Franco era. And still benefitting the same families. Just a guess.

I used to regard September as my favourite month – still hot and far fewer tourists. I still do but things have certainly gone downhill, as the Spanish tourists of July and August are being replaced by ever-more foreigners. These include the vastly increased number of ‘pilgrims’ on the Portuguese camino. Not the young backpackers who don’t even stop in the old quarter but the older, richer walkers who can afford to eat in restaurants or tapas bars every night. Especially if they’re only doing 5 days from Tui or 10 from Oporto. There’s so many of these that September is now El mes de los guiris. Last night, everyone around me in Plaza de Leña seemed to be speaking English. All in an Irish accent. Do they come in planeloads to Oporto or Vigo? Very possibly; an Irish friend here tells me that both Ryanair and Aer Lingus fly to Santiago de Compostela and Oporto. Bloody Catholics!

Both Lenox Napier and I know full well that, while we might be welcome to take our coffee or wine – alone I mean – in winter, come the tourist season, we’re made to feel – even as very regular customers – rather less welcome. Proprietors try to hacer su augusto during the summer months and don’t like solitary guests taking up a table for 4, or even 2. Especially if they aren’t going to eat around meal times. Their Covid-era losses have, of course, made them even keener to maximise their income now. And, as I’ve said, a number of ruses are being used. This week, Lenox has cited the case of some restaurants refusing to allow folk to eat alone, never mind just drink. ‘Swings and roundabouts’ doesn’t seem to be a concept familiar to many/most proprietors. I’ve been known to take my (2 x €2.80 x 365) custom to those who do. To save you the effort, that’s €2,044 a year. Plus many meals for me and my visitors. Not to be sniffed at. Except that it is . . . Lenox says that this shortsightedness is labelled localphobia. Worst in Barcelona, apparently.

Talking of foreigners . . . I clocked a new development last night – a circle of c.10 of them – each holding a sheet of paper and listening to someone addressing them in English. Presumably ‘pilgrims’ who’ve paid – handsomely – to be guided along each stage of the camino. I guess if I were younger – and poorer – I’d be more than happy to take their money.

Germany

Good to see AEP being negative again, this time on Germany’s economic strategy, which he regards a s stark raving mad. Opinions will differ.

France

So, there’s to be a French traffic controllers’ strike – as there is every summer – to follow the possibly-French-caused chaos of this week in the UK. They clearly don’t care who they offend. But, then, this has always been their reputation. Even if it isn’t true.

(A)GW/Energy/Net Zero

The number one purchaser of Russian LNG is China, followed by . . . Spain. Possibly because of a recent contretemps with Morocco. More generally, Richard North points up the – surprise, surprise – hypocrisy of the EU when it comes to Russian LNG. Particularly Belgium, where the EU is based.

Did you know?

In April 1941 the chap who’d been president of the Republic during the Spanish Civil War, Manuel Azaña, was deprived of his nationality and fined 100 million pesetas. There were 2 incredible aspects of this brutal example of Franco’s ‘justice’:- 1. the unprecedented huge amount, and 2. the fact that he was dead. I guess there’s 3, if you accept that he was doing nothing illegal in resisting the Nationalist uprising. Needless to say, this wasn’t the worst act they committed after their 1939 victory.

Finally . . .

Some readers will recall the bar with the upside-down name and which:-1. always opens much earlier than others in Pv city’s booze barrio and 2. has had 3 names in the last few years. Well, now it has another one. And it might be selling itself as an Irish bar:-

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