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 Spanish judicial system seems to be as politicised as that of the US. Eight ‘Conservative’ members of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial have demanded a plenary meeting of the institution to consider whether an amnesty to Catalan separatists would breach the rule of law and violate the Constitution. And if it does, what then?

Just as I feared . . . But: summers in the north 20 years ago when it was “raining, raining, raining all the time” . A false memory, at least as regards Pv city. Though it did rain for 2 weeks during one August, to the dismay of my visiting daughters.

Don’t forget that, if over 60, you can get discounts on Renfe trains. And now you can apply or renew on line. And you can now get a plastic card, not a bit of paper that falls apart in your wallet.

Yet another reason for me to be angry re train prices to and from Madrid . . . A new high-speed train connecting Murcia and Madrid is to launch in Spain next year with low-cost prices. Murcia, like Galicia, used to be a poor relative as regards a high-speed train service, I believe. Perhaps the lines are easier to install down there. More importantly, there’s competition.

Funny things have happened to Galician wine prices in the last 20 years:-

• Albariño: You can now buy this ‘premium’ wine in supermarkets at lower prices than in 2000. And even the better quality ones – eg Terras Gauda are ‘only’ around 25%, not 100%, more expensive
• Godello, Ribeiro*, and Mencia: The quality of all these has improved greatly and prices have risen accordingly. Basic Ribeiro brands are more expensive than several Albariños and the better ones cost almost as much as Terras Gauda(c.€14,50-15.00 these days). But can cost a lot more, for the very best.

*The better Ribeiros are a blend of 3 grapes – treixadura, godello and loureira. ‘Significant quantities’ were exported to England in the 17th and 18th centuries – until the trade was knocked on the head by the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713). Which also cost Spain Gibraltar . .

Ireland

Says this (Irish) columnist: Ireland’s criticism of Israel has made it an outlier in the EU. Irish support for Palestinian rights stems partly from its own experience of colonialism and violence – but that’s not all. What else lies behind it?

(A)GW/Energy/Net Zero

There is, says this columnist, a miracle technology which could solve our energy problems, which works now and which merits massive government intervention.

The Way of the World

I heard the phrase ‘the activist class’ yesterday and took to thinking about what it might cover. I came up with quite a lot, and was struck by how different life is for the young of today than it was when – post WW2 – I was at university and then starting my career. Back then there were anti-Vietnam war protests and, I guess, a choice between communism, socialism and capitalism. And possibly between theism and atheism. Oh, and there were the (1st wave?) feminists, of course. But today’s scene is vastly more complicated. Witness:-

Concepts which might be considered coterminous – to some degree at least – with ‘the activist class’:-

• The woke
• The Elite
• Progressives
• Environmentalists
• Anti-capitalists
• The Far Left

And then there are all these sub-groups, several of which will overlap, of course. Possibly even being the same animal with a different label . . .

• The Greens
• Feminists* – 5th wave?
• Identitarians
• LGBQT etc.
• Transgenderists
• Intersectionalists
• Safe Space-ists
• Trigger warning-ists
• Cancel culture-ists
• Net Zero-ists: Anti-carbon fuel-ists/Extinction Rebellion/Just Stop Oil/Gaia-ists/Anti-human-ists/Anti-nuclear-ists
• Anti-racists: BLM/First People-ists/Reparationists/Anti-white privilege-ists
• Anti-colonialists: Reparationists
• Anti-cultural appropriation-ists
• Anti-statue/symbol-ists

So . . . Quite a smorgasbord-ish environment in which to grow up and become antipathetic to so many people and things. I wouldn’t want to be young now.

* Per Google’s Ngram, ‘Feminist’ first appeared in 1909 but rocketed up in the 1960s.

Spanish

Surnames in every language can be descriptive of a trade or job, as with Porter, Painter and Packman* in English. Some Spanish examples – as well as being very long – can strike one as rather odd. Take Espinosa de los Monteros. This – per the RAE – literally means ‘Thorny woman of the people who search and pursue game in the mountains, or look for it to the place where the hunters are waiting for it.’ Though I don’t suppose this image runs through the heads of those reading or saying it. I will keep my eyes out for more.

* After coming up with these, I asked Bing for names beginning with P that denoted a trade or job. You can see the list at the end of this post. I could have done better, if only because Packman isn’t included

Did you know? . . .

Deliveroo has been operating for 10 years but has yet to make an annual profit . . . So, why continue employing all those worried-looking riders of motorbikes, scooters, and e-bikes who race through pedestrian areas?

Finally . . .

It’s still raining. But the barometer is rising. . . I might get to mow my lawn this afternoon.

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.https://www.ageinspain.org/moving-to-spain

BRITISH SURNAMES

• Painter: a person who painted walls, signs, or pictures.
• Palmer: a pilgrim who had been to the Holy Land and brought back a palm branch as a token.
• Parker: a keeper of a park or forest.
• Parson: a clergyman or minister of a parish.
• Payne: a person who worked as a peasant or rustic.
• Paynter: a variant of Painter.
• Peacock: a person who sold or kept peacocks, or had a fanciful appearance.
• Pedder: a peddler or hawker of goods.
• Penman: a person who wrote or copied documents, or a skilled penman.
• Perry: a person who made or sold perry, a drink made from pears
• Piper: a person who played the pipe or bagpipe.
• Platt: a person who worked as a plaiter of straw or mats.
• Plummer: a person who worked as a plumber, or a dealer in feathers or plumes.
• Porter: a person who carried goods or luggage, or guarded a gate or door.
• Potter: a person who made or sold pottery.
• Priest: a person who worked as a priest or minister, or had a priestly appearance or manner.
• Prior: a person who worked as a prior, the head of a priory or monastery, or lived near one.
• Proctor: a person who worked as a proctor, an official or representative of a university, church, or court.
• Pryor: a variant of Prior.