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 thing that concerns Galicians most is inflation, particularly of food items. I imagine this holds true for all of Spain. Hard not to believe supermarkets – along with banks slow to increase saving rates – are profiteering. Especially when my Hamburg friend tells me just how much vegetable prices have fallen in Germany.

Galician placesIpalaces to visit this winter. Should the sun ever shine here again.

Actually, I need to be fair to the weather gods. The sun came out of ts 2-week shell this morning, raising the temperature from 17 to 27 as I write. But I’m still going to search out a plug-in ceramic room heater today, for this evening. And future evenings until I can no longer put off switching on the underfloor – and underperforming – central heating.

Vigo has 2 football teams in the top 2 Divisions, Celta in the La (Primera) Liga and Celta B in La Segunda. If, at the end of the season, things as they are now, Celta’s reserve team on its way up will pass its first team on its way down. Which will surely demand a change of names. And at least one sacking. The current manager of the first team is Rafael Benítez, who’s previously succeeded and failed – very profitably for him – with teams rather more illustrious than Celta. Bing tells me he was appointed on November 2, 2023. Which rather knocks my confidence in its AI accuracy.  Wiki says the date was 23 June 2023, which seems rather more likely.

Portugal

About bloody time . . . The Portuguese police have apologised to Madeleine McCann’s parents. The force admits the investigation was handled poorly and that it now supports the German authorities’ suspicion about Christian Brueckner. Maybe the Portuguese and Spanish media could also apologise, for treating the McCanns as, effectively, murderers of their own child. But fat chance, I guess.

Europe

This Guardian article levies some serious antisemitism charges against European nations, citing these numbers for the level of ‘extensive antisemitic attitudes’ within respective populations:-

• Hungary 37%
• Poland 36%
• Spain 26%
• Belgium 24%
• France 17%
• Germany 12%
• The UK 10%
• The Netherlands 6%

Spain hasn’t had much of a Jewish population since around 1492, so one wonders about the factors behind its high number. This article – from a Jewish journal – attacks Spain because of attitudes struck and statements made by government members of the ‘far-left’ stamp. These, the author claims, apply standards to Israel that it would never dream of applying to itself – because, fundamentally it sympathizes with the Arab view of Israel as an alien interloper and therefore ultimately in the wrong, regardless of what international law says about the right of self-defense. But, then, if you think Israel was an illegal entity in 1948 and has been ever since, it’s hardly surprising that you reject its claim that its defensive measures are legal, even if they are ‘proportionate’. However you define that elusive concept.

The EU

Another Guardian article claims that Europe’s chaotic response to the Israel-Hamas war reveals how weak it is – to its enemies’ delight. Not so long ago, says the journal, A geopolitical Europe seemed to be in the offing. But, as of now, thanks to its failure to unite and help de-escalate the conflict, there’s been a turning point and Europe’s role in the world has been unravelling. Much easier, it seems, to be an economic power than a political one.

The USA

New York has had a Society for the Suppression of Unnecessary Noise since 1907. I can’t imagine there’s anything like this in Spin but hope springs eternal, as they say . . .

(A)GW/Energy/Net Zero

Too much wind in or too little?

The Way of the World

A few weeks ago, having read of Azerbaijan developments, I looked up Nagorno-Karabakh on Google maps and, as expected, saw it as an Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. Checking yesterday – after the Azerbaijani invasion and ethnic cleansing of ‘up to 120,000’ Armenians – I saw that the enclave no longer exists. The world’s media and governments have chosen to ignore this event but this surely can’t merely be because the Armenians are Christian and the Azerbaijanis Muslim. Possibly it’s because no important country – other than possibly nearby Russia – has a dog in this fight. Whatever, you can see where N-K used to be on the map in this Wiki article.

Did you know? . . .

I think I’ve said that. Against the wiles of super intelligent cyberfraudsters, the only effective response is insurance against almost inevitable loss. Well, I got this yesterday.

And this morning brought an email beginning . . . Hi Anna, Your neighborhood is now using a free app called Nextdoor W Esplanade and you should join too. Why someone should send me an email about something in Weymouth in England and address me as Anna, I can only guess. But it’s not actually a scam. Just a data-harvesting app that you’d surely be unwise to subscribe to. Whatever its putative/actual benefits.

Finally . . .

One of those headlines . . . A naked opera singer armed with a bow and arrow went on a rampage at a care home.

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.