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 Far Left is perennially fissiparous. Inevitable when people and parties think only they are the purest of the pure. So it was with Podemos and Sumar, with the former rising and falling like a rocket over 10 years and now bound for the scrap heap of politics, while the latter morphed from a `movement’ into a party and a key (further left) ally of the PSOE. On the Right, ‘right-of-centre’ Ciudadanos also came out of nowhere and has also thence returned there. Lenox Napier provides some detail on the Podemos phenomenon in his blog here.
• Oooh . . . The DT reports that: The exiled king, Juan Carlos, may have helped leak rumours of Spanish Queen’s ‘affair’ in a revenge move. The disgraced ex-king’s supporters are ‘stirring it up’ after he was frozen out of royal ceremony, sources claim. Well, he was never as principled as he once seemed. So, it could be true, I guess.

Economics: A warning about our energy prices.

Before Covid, I used to enjoy travelling to and from Madrid on the night-train. But the plague knocked that service on the head and now I read – in Lenox’s latest issue of Business Over Tapas – that, whereas these are increasing in the rest of Europe, there are now no night-trains left in Spain – despite its size. Or at least none connecting the country’s cities, says Lenox. But maybe you can get from Madrid to Istanbul.

Here’s a foto of a narcolancha, equipped with 4 outboard motors, which I think is one more than usual but I don’t have any narcoamigos to ask . .

The foto of Tió de Nadal/Cagatió in this article on Spain’s (sometimes odd) Xmas celebrations, makes me wonder if he was the inspiration for the Colin the Caterpillar cake . . .

Portugal

So . . Is Portugal about to join the march towards the far right?

Evidence therein of the curse of a significant rise in tourism in Lisbon, as in Oporto, Barcelona and SdC. Something now being faced by Pv city?? Or experienced, I should say.

(A)GW/Energy/Net Zero

A bit of explanation of the trouble at t’mill I mentioned yesterday.

Quote of the Day

In his wonderful Canterbury Tales, Chaucer had one of his characters insult the cook with: Thy breath full sour stinketh. A 19^th century dramatist of grundyist tendencies changed this to: Thy breath resembleth not sweet marjoram. Which rather takes the sting out out it. And replaces it with a tame spice.

The Way of the World

This is a fascinating article on the subject of ‘Black Box ticking’ in the USA. From someone who’s well aware of its consequences, both beneficial and prejudicial.

Social Media

I read a while ago in the Voz de Galicia that Facebook, Instagram and X had all stopped providing News. But that’s not the reason the UK’s National Crime Agency has advised parents not to let their kids use FB. It’s because Meta’s decision to introduce encrypted messaging has prompted child safety concerns. We Boomers are lucky enough not to have to wrestle with these problems. Though we do worry about our grandkids, of course.

English

Grundyism: A narrow, prudish, intolerant, or conventionally-minded attitude, especially in personal behaviour. It’s often used of someone who is overly concerned about what others might think of them, or who follows rigid rules of etiquette and morality.

Spanish

Aguacero: Downpour

Did you know? . . . .

One of the politicians named in the article on Portugal above is Alexandra Leitao Her surname means ‘piglet’ and is used for the dish of crsipy suckling pig. On reflection, possibly only with the right accent. As in O leitão foi transformado em leitão. Piglet to suckling pig. Wiki demolishes my theory re the accent here.

Finally . . .

At least one reader with an email subscription has not been receiving my posts in the last few days. I’ve no idea why not and suspect the only way to deal with this is to cancel and start a new subscription. Sorry about that.

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.