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

A couple of nice articles on what you can get to eat and drink here in Spain:-

• From Mac75, on Xmas dishes
• From Thomas Oliver, on churros. Not so good cold.
• The origins of Cava

At the Monet exhibition I attended last week, I read that: The colours of the landscape change because the sunlight varies in both intensity and colour over the course of the day: it begins with the pinkish hues of dawn, grows more intense and cold in the morning, and then warms up and turns red in the evening. This effectively explains why I haven’t moved in 23 years from a house I intended to move on from after only 2 or 3. The view from my salón gives me this experience every day. Unless, of course, my boa vista is shrouded in the Atlantic Blanket.

The UK

The most important thing to know about King Charles is that he has installed as head of the royal medical household Michael Dixon, who’s described as a homeopath and a champion of faith healing and herbalism, and the possessor of ‘a questionable CV’. The ‘team of doctors’ in Buck House must love him.

More importantly . . . Grovelling to wokeism has tipped UK universities into an ethical void, says this Times columnist, who is always good value for money.

Germany

From a British satirist . . .Why are Germans so miserable? Three years ago, John Kampfner – a British journalist who writes regularly for The Guardian – published a book entitled: Why the Germans Do it Better: Notes from a Grown-up Country. Essentially, it was about the innumerable ways in which Germany is superior to poor old Brexit Britain. It now seems, however, that life in Germany isn’t quite as blissful as we thought. Because, according to a new poll, the Germans are the 2nd most miserable people in the EU. In the latest annual “happiness rankings” by the EU’s own statistics agency, only Bulgarians are more dissatisfied with their lives than the Germans. Frustratingly, the poll doesn’t reveal why the Germans have grown so glum. It may be to do with their stagnant economy, or unrest over mass immigration. I, however, have an alternative theory. They’re bored. According to a report in The Telegraph this week, a mayor in Germany has been accused of paying a civils servant c. €350k to do nothing. Investigators allege that, in five years’ employment on an annual salary of €70k, the civil servant did not a single jot of work. If this is what modern Germany is really like, it doesn’t just blow apart the German reputation for efficiency. It also explains why Germans are so depressed. Sitting around in an office doing nothing for 5 years, anyone would lose their zest for life. In Britain, as it happens, we appear to have the opposite problem. Civil servants at t¡a government Department are demanding the right to work only 4 days a week, because they find a 5-day week too gruelling. The solution is obvious. British civil servants should all move to Germany, where they won’t have to do any work at all. German civil servants, meanwhile, should all move to Britain, to stop them feeling so bored.

Quote of the Day

From the article cited above on UK universities. . . .Wokeism has nothing to do with left-wing politics or social justice; it is more akin to a kind of religious fundamentalism. . . . This isn’t an agenda for the working classes; indeed, nobody with the slightest contact with the real world has the faintest idea what kids indoctrinated into a farrago of unfalsifiable pseudo-ideologies are babbling on about when they proclaim that “words are violence” or that “feelings are facts”.

The Way of the World

Like me, reader Aleksandras finds it hard to believe that the Germans are the 2nd unhappiest folk in Europe and he cites this list of suicide rates to support our scepticism. It contains some very interesting numbers. With some allegedly admirable countries – eg Sweden – doing a lot worse than others. And some countries having unexpectedly high rates. Confusing.

Did you know? . . .

Last Friday was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 2nd national holiday of the week in Spain. A quick check with (Catholic!) friends last night confirmed the accuracy of the first sentence: Contrary to popular belief, the Immaculate Conception celebrates the conception of Mary and not her son, Jesus Christ. Christians believe that on 8 December, Mary’s mother became pregnant through natural means.And that, from the very first moment of her existence, Mary was pure and without sin. [Specifically ‘original sin’ – defined as: ‘A belief hat humans are born with a tendency to sin and disobey God, because of the disobedience of the first humans, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden]. It’s an important belief in the Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations. According to it, humans need grace and forgiveness, which they can receive through faith in Jesus Christ and baptism. For me it was just another day when my bloody new boiler wasn’t providing me with heating and the technician wasn’t at work.

Finally . . .

Another devastating review of a new film, reminding me of the arguments I used to have about Boney with my – sadly deceased – Dutch friend, who worshipped him for his positive achievements and rather glossed over his obvious negatives. Why the French see him as a demi-god, I will never understand. Other than because he compensates for so much bad they’ve experienced at the hands of Krauts and Rosbifs over the last 2 centuries.

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.