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

Politics: Says The Times here: Anger grows in Spain as [the PSOE leader] Sánchez speaks up for separatists. The questions arise: Can one imagine a rally as large as that in Barcelona taking place in any city in the UK against Scottish or Northern Irish independence? If not, why not? Is it merely because these cost England money, whereas the opposite is true of Cataluña, mutatis mutandis? Or is ‘Spanish nationalism’, for one reason and another and despite the importance of one’s patria chica in Spain, a good deal stronger than ‘English nationalism’? A final thought – It’s also impossible to imagine Mrs Sturgeon being tried for ‘sedition’ in the UK, if she’d gone ahead and held an illegal referendum on independence for Scotland. ‘Good bloody riddance’ would have been a widespread view in England. Interesting differences. Resulting, of course, from different histories.

A Guardian article on that exhibition in Madrid on the treatment of Jews in medieval Spain.

I recently said I thought there were at least 12 newspapers in Galicia, with its population of 2.8m. If you go to this map and zoom in on Galicia in the top left corner of Spain, you’ll see I seriously underestimated the total. Which seems to be closer to 30. This compares with Greater Mancheser (population of 2.6m) which has only 8.

The police in Santiago de Compostela are calling for new laws that would allow them to fine ‘pilgrims’ for antisocial behaviour. I wonder if the police in SdC do anything about illegal e-cyclists there. They certainly don’t in Pv city. Likewise ‘petty’ shoplifters. And food-delivery employees who slalom through the pedestrianised areas of the city at speed.

Such is the rental market in Pv city these days, aspiring tenants are forced to go through the sort of casting* usually associated with much larger cities, with the essential requirement being proof of a decent regular monthly income. Difficult for staff in the hostelry business, whose official nomina** document often understates their real income.

• * audition
• ** statement of income

Another quote from Cees Noteboom’s ‘Roads to Santiago’: The Christians finally crushed the Almohad military power at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. This victory launched the final phase of the Reconquista, although it would be three more centuries before the Muslims were driven out for good. The Christians assembled a single army formed from those of the kings of Castilla, Navarra and Aragón, contingents of French knights, mercenaries and friar-soldiers of the new military orders and this advanced steadily from the Duero and the Ebro to the Tagus, across the vast meseta. The land here has not lost touch with its past and preserves its memory in the names of the towns and in the strongholds that lie scattered in the landscape like great beasts, and in the walls and gates of the cities.

Portugal

There was a wonderful performance by the minnows of Portugal last night in the final game of the first round of matches in the rugby World Championships. Go to minute 6.20 here to see the frantic final five minutes and the reaction of players and fans to a well-deserved victory over a ‘top-tier’ team in a riveting match.

Ireland

The author of this article asks if the EU is ‘about to turn on Ireland’, as its status as a ‘tax haven for multinationals’ comes under scrutiny. The main claims:- Ireland’s economic model is obviously at the expense of its neighbours, but for years this was tolerated. That’s for 2 reasons: firstly, as a quid pro quo for Irish good behaviour during the Eurozone crisis and, secondly, as a gesture of solidarity against the villainous Brits.

Germany

Just in case you thought government-run railway systems are always superior to the privately run version . .

The USA

A worrying warning here: Europe must brace itself for a Trump victory. A second term would hollow out Nato and plunge the continent into its gravest security crisis since the 1930s. God forbid! Khodaa nakonad, as my Persian friends say. Just remembered it.

Finally . . .

There were some amazing men, of various nationalities, who endured huge hardships to research ancient religions. languages and cultures in the deserts between Tajikistan and China in the 19th and 20th centuries. You can read about them in Peter Hopkirk’s fascinating Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Treasure of Central Asia.

There are several reviews on Amazon. Most give 4 or 5 stars but, as ever, there’s always someone who gives a very low rating. A classic of this (idiot) genre here: It disappointed me, because I thought it was a real novel and not some fragments of what happened.

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.