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

Immigration doesn’t seem to be the problem here in Spain that it is in, say, the UK, Germany, France and Italy. Are all the boat people arriving here being sent to populate abandoned villages in España vacía perhaps?

This is the sign for PV city’s* innovative EFZ.

No one seems to know what it really portends, possibly not even the mayor. And there are no definitions supplied in small print at the bottom of the sign. But nice that there are Spanish, English and (?)Italian versions of the main message. We’re assured that the new cameras on the street aren’t to identify motorists to fine but are there merely to collect data . . . And I’m a Dutch uncle.

* Actually, it seems that national law obliges the erection of these from 1 January in towns and cities of more than 50,000 residents.

One sees quite a few finished buildings in Poio and Pv city, at various stages of incompletion. This lovely place opposite the Parador has been under reform for at least a couple of years and, like many others, no longer seems to be an obra in process but,rather, in suspended animation.

One wonders what the reasons are for all this unfinished business.

Ireland

Odd that Ross Lake House in Galway – due to host 70 asylum seekers from next Thursday – has suddenly burnt down. Faulty/short fuse?

The Way of the World

Excessive illegal immigration – A global, not a national/regional problem? In almost all ‘high income’ countries, the worry about [excessive] immigration transcends concern even about the economy. The Guardian would probably disagree.

Is Disinformation Destroying Democracy? An interesting podcast here. After listening to it, the thought struck me that, while traditional news channels tried to deal in facts, logic and rational discussion, social media is all about emotions. This, as they say, sells.

Quote of the Day

I’ve always told my children that the most important thing they can do in life is make people laugh. It used to be fairly easy: you just said something funny. But in the new world, where giving offence is not allowed, it’s not easy at all.

Do you know . . .?

A warning, re candies/sweets from the USA.

Finally . . .

I’m off to the the UK on Wednesday, for at least a month. I’m slightly afraid to go as, since I went to see Pv FC play, they’ve risen to the top of their league. It might well be that I’ve been their local talisman. And aprés moi . . . . . .

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.