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

The time has come, the tortoise said, to talk of roscones and polvorines . . . . Lenox Napier on Xmas down South.

A reason to visit Sevilla . . Spanish Golden Age treasures have been brought together in an exhibition. 36 sculptures by Pedro Roldán are on show in his home city, to commemorate 400th anniversary of his birth

Two articles on the relationship between Spain and Portugal:-

• Neighbours Spain and Portugal put reconciliation in the frame
• The strange estrangement of Spain and Portugal. Rubbing shoulders on Europe’s southern peninsula, the neighbours sometimes have prickly relations

A couple of readers have taken up the subject of driving schools. Like David I was, for quite some time, confused by the sight of 2 or 3 people in the back seat of a learner car. I assumed they were relatives, giving support. Or undermining confidence. But they’re actually other pupils. Are they all paying for the same hours, I wonder.

Between 1528 and 1536, a shipwrecked conquistador – Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca – and a couple of companions trekked from the East coast of the USA to the Pacific, effectively going native along the way. When they finally came across some (slave-gathering) Spaniards on the coast, the Indians whom ANCV had gathered along the way refused to believe that their 3 companions were the same people as the detested Spaniards. The Indians – who were pagan – then gave a lesson in Christianity to the rapacious Spanish Christians, As ANCV wrote later: They said the Christians lied. For we had come from the sunrise, the others from where the sun set. We cured the sick, the others killed the healthy; we went naked, while the others went in fine clothes on horseback with weapons. And also that we asked for nothing and gave away all that we were given; while the others seemed to have no other aim than to steal what they could and never give anything to anybody. This was the reply given by the Indians to the Christians. In breach of a promise made to ANCV, the Indians were later enslaved.

I patronise the Casino café-bar in Pv city because, even as a non-member, I’m allowed to. And because it meets all my needs. Including – usually – a quiet place in which to read and write. But the internet is essential and this is the 3rd or 4^th day without it. So, is this the latest place to stop supplying wifi to clients? I guess I’ll know when I get back from the UK sometime next year.

‘Black rice’ – made with squid in its own ink – might not look very appetising . .

But it certainly is

The UK

After a good innings gin has fallen out of fashion – tho’ not with me. Also vodka. But . . . .Whether served neat, with salt and lime or in a margarita, tequila fever is surging. It was  the only spirit where sales and value rose in Britain last year. The world is clearly ending,

The USA

Who’d have thought it? The US has an ‘open’ football(soccer) competition – akin to the FA Cp – that goes back to 1923. Only the Irish have a older one

The Way of the World

Not at all nice . . . ‘We spit in your beer’ – inside Europe’s grassroots fight against overtourism. Europeans are taking matters into their own hands with bogus posters, hostile graffiti and misleading signposts. More here.

Did you know? . . .

In 1967, 2 psychiatrists asked 5,000 medical patients about recent difficult events in their lives. They found a positive correlation with illness. The sum of the “life change units” you’ve amassed in the past year, they said, gives a rough estimate of the effect on your health:

Death of a spouse: 100
Divorce: 73
Marital separation: 65
Imprisonment: 63
Death of a close family member: 63
Personal injury or illness: 53
Marriage: 50
Dismissal from work: 47
Marital reconciliation: 45
Retirement: 45
Change in health of family member: 44
Pregnancy: 40
Sexual difficulties: 39
Gain a new family member: 39
Business readjustment: 39
Change in financial state: 38
Death of a close friend: 37
Change to different line of work: 36
Change in frequency of arguments: 35
Major mortgage: 32
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan: 30
Change in responsibilities at work: 29
Child leaving home: 29
Trouble with in-laws: 29
Outstanding personal achievement: 28
Spouse starts or stops work: 26
Beginning or end of school: 26
Change in living conditions: 25
Revision of personal habits: 24
Trouble with boss: 23
Change in working hours or conditions: 20
Change in residence: 20
Change in schools: 20
Change in recreation: 19
Change in church activities: 19
Change in social activities: 18
Minor mortgage or loan: 17
Change in sleeping habits: 16
Change in number of family reunions: 15
Change in eating habits: 15
Vacation: 13
Major holiday: 12
Minor violation of law: 11

• A score of less than 150 means your risk of stress-related illness is slight.
• A score of 150-299 means your risk of illness is moderate (but 30 percent lower than the next group).
• A score of 300+ means you’re at risk of illness.

Finally . . .

I paid my cleaner for next Monday’s work, last night. She looked at me paused and said she wouldn’t be coming that day. Why not, I asked. Because it’s Christmas Day, she replied. I get worse ever year.

To amuse – – –

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.