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 Voz de Galicia reports that the latest flu virus is sweeping through the region, with hospital cases for this being 4 times greater than those for Covid – in La Coruña, for example.

Also from La Coruña – from reader David there – comes this further bad news. Especially for those in business, I guess. As he is, I think.

Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas takes a look at the prospects for 2024 here.

When I filled up with petrol in the UK on 29 December, it was €1.57 a litre, compared with €1.60 a litre in Santander 7 days earlier. I’ve read today that prices are falling and are averaging €1.50 a litre in Spain this week. I wouldn’t normally cite this but this is the first time I’ve seen UK prices anywhere near those in Spain. That said, prices [in Spain] remain at historically very high levels, almost unthinkable before the outbreak of the pandemic or the invasion of Ukraine, and which have caused an inflationary escalation unknown in decades.

Portugal

Just for the record, prices for petrol here are much higher than in Spain. As is anything to do with car ownership. Low hanging fruit for the taxman. Everything else is cheaper. Sometimes appreciably so.

The UK

As I was saying . . . Reform’s rise should terrify the Tories far more than Labour.

The EU

By forcing the pace of integration, the euro is working much as intended, even at the risk of provoking an almighty political backlash. Yet the economic justification has comprehensively failed. Rationale here. Trigger warning for Europhiles: The Eurozone isn’t about to collapse – it’s worse than that- A once acute, life-threatening illness has given way to a chronic, long-term condition

Some optimism for 2024, from The Guardian.

Quote of the Day

About some North Americans who’d chosen to do a river cruise in Russia: Either by choice or by accident they had picked this tour, and they were about as happy as if they’d signed up for a lemming migration.

Spanish

David in La Coruña – who has inside knowledge – has kindly told me the best the Spanish can do for ‘My favourite watering-hole’ is the colourless Mi bar de siempre. Anyone know a better phrase?

Did you know? . . .

Dear dog! Last year grandmacore was a thing, but in 2024 it’s older men to whom the youngsters are paying style homage. It’s all over social media

Finally . . .

This is a coaster my sister gave me for the G&T she kindly made me last night:

And she has the ‘posh Scouse’ accent to go with it . . .

Which reminds me . . . I asked said sister if there were any plug sockets in her dining room. She replied: Yes.Plenty. But, unfortunately, the wall units were installed in front of them . . . This reminded me of a favourite cartoon of mine, which I’ve, sadly, never been able to trace. The scene is the great wall of China and the emperor, on horseback is talking to the (downcast) chief engineer, who has a lot of smiling Mongols standing behind him, between him and the wall. The emperor is saying: When I asked you to build the great wall of China to keep out the Mongol hordes, couldn’t you have checked what side of it they were on before you finished it?

Two points on this:-

• I think the cartoon was by the wonderful Bill Tidy – a Scouser, of course – but have never been able to trace it. Not even here.
• Bing’s AI earch engine offered to draw a cartoon using the above info. The first attempt, was in a word, useless. With more info, the 2nd attempt was a bit better . . .

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.

Ais it’s the start of the month . . . Finally, finally . . .

Some readers, I hope, will know that the verse I cite at the top of my posts is the opening quatrain of Fitzgerald’s wonderful – but very ‘free’ – translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which you can read about here. Some verses are well known, of course, eg:-

The moving finger writes; and, having writ,
moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit
shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.

My favourite:-
Myself when young did eagerly frequent 
doctor and saint, and heard great argument
about it and about: but evermore
came out by the same door as in I went.