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

The VdG reports that: The lack of labour has become a major problem for the recovery of the Spanish economy after the pandemic. Companies currently have more than 150,000 unfilled jobs. The depopulation of large areas of the country and the lack of technical profiles are some of the causes. But the employers’ association regrets the “low level of intermediation” of public employment services and “an education that is not accustomed to continuous training.” It also refers to family support and subsidies as other factors that reduce the urgency for placement. From what we can see, this September is not, for many, the month for returning to work. All those (Covid) laid-off folk on a 2 year break, courtesy of el paro?

The headline reads: Olive oil prices surge over 100% to record highs, sparking cooking oil thefts. In Spain, this is down to the long summer drought, though some suspect at least a bit of supermarket profiteering. Production here this year has dropped by more than 50%. Italy and Greece have also suffered and things have not been helped, globally, by Turkey’s decision to suspend bulk olive oil exports. I guess prices will eventually fall back. But probably, as ever, not to where they were.

Two Fascinating Spain articles that feature Galician cities:-

• Cheap cities around Spain in which to rent
• Europe’s longest promenade

I have to confess I didn’t know about Ourense’s thermal offerings.

Citas in Spain aren’t what they might be elsewhere. I’ve had 2 postponed in the last week. One learns to be flexible.

Which reminds me . . . The arrival of 3 Private Eye magazines in just over a week has rather endorsed my allegation that Correos ceases to function in July and August. That’s 6 weeks’ magazines, by the way. Which I will struggle to do justice to.

I’ve yet to try ‘Roman pizza'(pinsa) in the new place in Pv city – Perbacco! – but perhaps I should really be thinking of eating in Chiswick. At the place of a “pioneer of contemporary pizza”, who is at least Italian.

Today’s (lyrical) quote from Cees Noteboom’s Roads to Santiago:- There’s no point in repeating over and over how empty these Spanish landscapes are, however true it may be. Perhaps I am more susceptible because I come from a country [The Netherlands} suffering from overpopulation, but it never ceases to amaze me – to strike me, like a blow or a shot. Not all day long, but at particular moments, BANG, and there it is again, the complete absence of artefacts, the absence of movement, as if the vastness of the landscape can only express itself by something equally immeasurable: time. This is getting rather too close to “the everlasting silence of infinite space”, but it can’t be helped: this land evokes feelings of eternity. To sojourn here is to have lived a long time, to have to pursue one’s direction for ever.

The UK

To be dismissed as a right-wing view? . . . Britain is poor because it is a city state attached to an agrarian land mass. Wisened elites since the late 19th century have relentlessly prioritised global finance and symbols of economic competence over innovation and productive growth. To cure Britain of its longstanding sickness, what the patient needs is not subsidies, centralised industrial plans and EU integration but highly focused R&D, massive deregulation and ideally lower taxes. . . As Swedish exceptionalism and the triumph of the vaccine taskforce proved during Covid, a society dedicated to innovation and personal responsibility is ultimately a safer one. When it comes to tackling climate change, resolving key innovation bottlenecks in carbon capture and wind power storage – in no small part through deregulation – is a far superior strategy to endless subsidies and Soviet social engineering. 

Rumour has it that the government is going to roll back on some of the deadlines for various measures aimed at keeping the UK at the forefront of countries aiming for NZ by 2050. Possibly because the PM’s been convinced – ahead of a general election – that the public is more interested in seeing the government fix the weak economy, the collapsing NHS and out-of-control immigration. Not to mention the current cost-of-living crisis. Needless to say, feathers are already flying all over the dovecot. Especially green ones.

The UK & Brexit

An opportunity consummately foregone? The impact of Brexit is difficult to separate from other factors. At its worst, it is suspected of stifling trade and investment, contributing to inflation, weakening the pound and causing serious labour shortages. At its best, it has delivered very little if any discernible economic growth four years after Britain’s departure. We can debate till the cows come home whether it is the decision itself or the failure to capitalise on it that is the problem, but even the most ardent Brexiteers now acknowledge that it hasn’t worked.

The EU

Draghi, it says here, faces his toughest ever battle to unite the EU on fiscal policy. Something to be devoutly wished – and long demanded – by EU-philes. Una asignatura pendiente, as the Spanish say. For quite some time now.

The Way of the World

How things have changed in 15 years.

A worrying warning . . . While no one yet knows how the current AI technologies are going to affect white collar work, there are already indications from the less salubrious professions. A text-based AI called WormGPT, built from an open source model, is being offered for sale on hacker forums, offering scammers a tool designed specifically to craft phishing emails, run sophisticated confidence scams, code malware and more. Its developer describes it as “An alternative to chatGPT, one that lets you do all sorts of illegal stuff and easily sell it online in the future… Everything blackhat-related that you can think of can be done with WormGPT, allowing anyone access to malicious activity without ever leaving the comfort of their home” How one might go about guarding against nascent tech like this, let alone regulating against it is unclear. So, er, watch out.

English

A barbaric pile-on: The social media response to accusations made against someone with a big following. Against the accusers, of course.

Did you know? . . .

An investigation has been launched in the UK into the “widespread” use among Premier League footballers of snus, a smokeless tobacco product linked with heart conditions and cancers. It comes as a tea pouch and is placed between the gum and top lip. It’s banned from sale in the UK and every country in the EU except Sweden but is legal to consume and is not on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances.

Finally . . .

To amuse: A diversity survey sent out by the UK’s Local Democracy Reporting Service asked “What is your sexual orientation?”and failed to give the option of ‘heterosexual’. The LDRS admitted it was an error and asked those who had yet to fill out the survey and didn’t fancy declaring themselves ‘bisexual’, lesbian/gay woman’, ‘gay man’ or ‘prefer not to say’ to simply tick the ‘other sexual orientation’ box. Adding “If your sexual preference is other than heterosexual and you would like to include what that is, please use the comments section in the last question to let us know.”

Something rather more serious on the subject of transgenderism.

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.

For those thinking of moving to Spain:- This is an extremely comprehensive and accurate guide to the challenge, written by a Brit who lives in both the North and the South and who’s very involved in helping Camino walkers. Which is possibly why – I’ve just belatedly realised – his nom-de-plume is Johnnie Walker . . . And I’d thought he was a big whisky fan.

Which, it turns out, he really is . . .