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: The view of a right-wing commentator on the – probably successful – shenanigans of the acting PM, keen to stay in office.

If you read the FT article cited yesterday on the increasing attractions of the north of Spain, you’ll have read that: The north’s lack of crowds was another attraction, he noted. But that may be about to change. Well, if you read this blog regularly, you’ll know that it already has down here in Rías Baixas. But not yet enough to force me to look for another bolthole.

You’ll also have read that Galicia is experiencing less rain these days. Try convincing any of us here of this right now!

It’s reported that: Young Britons are half as likely to smoke as their parents were at the same age. And that: Last year13% of men and 10% of women were smokers. I fear that the numbers are nowhere near that low here in Spain. And that, worse, young women smoke (far)more than the young men. Like the friend who just passed away at only 53 of lung cancer.

Thanks to one factor and another – some geographical and some historical – Spain is certainly a fertile place for archaeological finds. The latest is that Large-scale warfare occurred in Europe 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Lenox Napier tells us of his Stateside adventures in his Spanish Shilling blog.

During the winter, I’m most often to be seen in the café of Pv city’s Casino. As elsewhere in Spain, this isn’t a gambling joint but a private club. In this case one which, a year or so ago, threw open its café-bar to riff-raff. It’s just about perfect for me, being one of the few cafés which still offer Wi-Fi, as well as all the newspapers I could wish for. Plus the 2 TVs are sound-less and the management has kindly agreed to put Blues on the (separate) music loop. Perhaps best of all, it’s pretty quiet. Unless the next table is occupied by 5 ladies of advanced age who’ve perfected the art of all talking at the same time. So, overall, a very good spot for me in winter, when I don’t want a terraza to sit on. But it’s the last place I’d have expected to see a picture of the British Prince of Wales attending a Durbar in Sri Lanka – then Ceylon – in the late 19^th century. . . .

Talking of spots in town . . . O Burgo bridge got its revenge on me for complaining about its poor drainage . . . As I set foot on it last night, there began a deluge which promptly ended the second I stepped off it, drenched to the knees. A coincidence? I don’t think so.

The EU

Allegedly . . . Europe is turning against Strasbourg’s imperial court: Britain isn’t alone in finding the ECHR deficient. However, reforming it is probably not going to work. . . In order to amend the text of the ECHR, the agreement of all 46 of its member states would be needed.

Gaza

Someone has asked this rather blunt ‘philosophical’ question? What you rather see totally destroyed – Israel or Iranian-backed Hamas and Hezbollah? It certainly make you think, even though it might not come down to that. That said, if you accept it’s a ‘war to the death’, the question is surely one you need to give some thought to.

The Way of the World

I guess I should have included social justice warriors(SJWs) as members of ‘the activist class’ yesterday. As one of the possible coterminous descriptors.

Social Media

Why believe anything?? . . . Gaza: Fact/checkers have expressed alarm at the lies being lapped up by the masses, as social media companies fail to stop falsehoods stoking unrest on both sides. Disinformation (inaccurate content shared deliberately to deceive) and misinformation (untruths promoted unwittingly) have been symptoms of warfare for centuries. But this is the first conflict to erupt in the age of freely available AI and X which is believed to be making digital dissemination particularly unruly. AI tools are generating fake photographs and videos of victims, as old footage from other conflict zones is routinely recycled and presented as new. Propaganda has been parroted by users without hesitation — or artificially boosted by bots — while full-time provocateurs pump out clickbait and conspiracy theories for profit.

Quote of the Day

Social media has hysteria on tap and can whip up a global conspiracy in one viral tweet.

Why read this stuff, other than to strengthen your prejudices? Is it any wonder that some folk have long despaired of democracy?

Did you know? . . .

The strange British surname Younghusband is derived from Young Osban, the latter being a variation of Oswald. The most famous Younghusband is a 19th-20th century adventurer called Francis, the subject of Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer, by Patrick French. I was amused to read last night of his bride-to-be, Miss Helen Magniac: Quite what made Younghusband fall in love with her is hard to fathom. She was fatter, taller and older than he was; had a doughy face and no interest in Asia or mountains or mysticism; was intensely snobbish, severely depressed and terrified by the thought of intimacy. Quite a catch, then . . .

Finally . . .

I often see headline question to which I inwardly respond : Who TF cares? This is yesterday’s: How does Harry Styles’ interior designer decorate her home?

To amuse 1: Not the first time I’ve seen this GPS-created scene in Pv city’s main square, and surely not the last:-

To amuse 2:

I fear it’s not a bed-bug but a cockroach . .

Complaints Section . . .

I didn’t get to mow my lawn yesterday. And the barometer has now plummeted back to Stormy. And that’s after Ciaran has passed over.

I discovered last night that 6pm of a Friday isn’t the best time to go to the supermarket. As the car park was full, I drove off. This morning, I found out that 10am of a Saturday is almost as bad. For one thing, although the sign said there were carparking spaces available, there weren’t. And my frustration and irritation weren’t helped by my witnessing not just 2 but 3 car-drivers having a 10 minute conversation next to one of their 3 cars while, all around them, drivers were trying to manoeuvre around tight corners and pillars, waiting for them to drive off. And sometimes bumping into said obstacles. . . . A better/worse example of the Spanish lack of consideration for strangers I’ve possibly yet to see , ,

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