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/Galicia

Sumar is the main coalition partner of the socialist PSOE party, now again in government. It’s further to the left of the PSOE and its leader is calling for an increase in the minimum wage. I wonder how effective this will be in the (large) hostelry sector, where the 12-8-24 rule is said to operate. There seems to be 2 versions of this:-

• Employees work 12 hours a day, 8 days a week, and 4 weeks a month, without any rest or overtime pay. Or 96 hours a week and 384 hours a month, which is far above the legal limit of 40 hours a week and 160 hours a month.
• Employees work 12 hours a day, get paid for 8 but only 4 are declared to the Hacienda, to evade taxes.

Despite this, there seems to be no shortage of South Americans willing to work on this basis. Though not so many young Spaniards. Which presumably contributes to the high youth unemployment rate.

Talking of folk working . . . This coming week, Wednesday and Friday are national holidays, giving employees the chance of at least one ‘bridge’ day-off between them. This isn’t academic for me. The day before I left Poio, I had a new boiler installed but the engineer couldn’t get it to work with the thermostat. So, another técnico has to come, and I wonder whether he will this week. My house will be very cold when I get there tomorrow evening and waiting more than a week for heating isn’t an attractive option. Tuesday seem to be the only real chance I have of a visit. Good job I requested this a week ago. But . . . we will see.

Something that’s of a concern to all Northern Europeans in Spain, not just Brits. My impression was that that things had been tightened up in pharmacies over recent years, so was surprised to read that: ‘Nolotil’ is prescription-only but widely available over the counter.

In Spain, as in the UK, the rail-track company, ADIF, is separate from the train operator, RENFE. Competition to the latter is now being introduced from France and Italy. One wonders if the Spanish government is aware of the almighty mess caused in the UK by this model. But at least in Spain both companies are state-owned, not private.

The UK

That bothersome 90/180 days rule . . . It’s reported that Spain has moved closer to abolishing it. Assuming Brussels will allow it to do so.

Portugal

Meanwhile, our Brit-loving neighbours are taking another tack . . . Ignoring the EU rule. – a response not unknown in pragmatic Spain in other areas. Since 2021, 1,550 Brits have been deported from the EU. Sweden accounts for half of that number and France has deported 80. On the other hand, Spain and Portugal have deported none.

In contrast to the pragmatism of Spain and Portugal – and possibly, say, Italy and Greece – British civil servants were notorious for feather-bedding EU rules. In other words, amplifying them, in their own employment interests. What I’ve called a British form of corruption.

Ireland

More here on the risks being run by the (‘woke’) government there.

Germany

The Guardian gets round to the country’s current travails.

(A)GW/Energy/Net Zero

Anyone surprised? . . . Electricity generation in China and India, and oil and gas production in the US have produced the biggest increases in global greenhouse gas emissions since 2015, when the Paris climate agreement was signed. Emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, have also risen, despite more than 100 countries signing up to a pledge to reduce the gas. The data shows that countries and companies are failing to report their emissions accurately, despite obligations to do so under the Paris agreement.

Quote of the Day

Possibly just a tad OTT . . . In essence, the UN is a hypocritical organisation as ineffectual as the League of Nations ever was, except far, far more corrupt. It has become, these past 20 years, an unholy alliance between grasping, despotic, Third Worlders on the make, totalitarian states such as Russia and China and a convocation of dim-witted liberals and Marxists from western countries.

English

APP: Authorised push payment: Where you are convinced to transfer money directly to a fraudster who’s pretending to be your son or daughter. [Is there anyone in Spain who’s not had the wotsap message beginning Hola, Papa. He perdido mi móvil y . . . ?]

Finally/Did you know? . . .

The fastest ball game in the world is jai-alai, also called Basque pelota.

The Usual Links . . .

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.