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

HT to Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas for these tidbits:-

• From El Huff Post: ‘Iberia cancels 444 flights due to the strike from January 5 to 8: more than 45,600 travellers are affected. The company will offer other travel options to relocate customers, as well as allow the modification of dates or the refund of the amount of the tickets.
• From SVI: ‘Brits are increasingly choosing to live abroad as more than 200,000 seniors chose to live in the EU. Over a million British pensioners are currently living overseas while receiving state pension. This number surpasses that of pensioners residing in London .

If you, inter alia, make money by renting out a room or your property, you probably need to know this. Especially as Spain’s Hacienda is among the best at using the latest technology.

Correction: The non-guiri-infested resort of Cadaqués is in Cataluña, not Asturias.

The UK

Richard North here cites several caustic commentaries on a ‘fraudulent’ press conference given by the newish, right-wing Reform Party. Including a very amusing one from the always-acerbic John Crace of the Guardian. RN’s own view of Reform: Beyond the dog-whistles, there is no serious (or any discernible) intellectual base to the policy offerings. In the unlikely event they got close to power, they would be just as clueless as the rest of the parties as to what to do about the pressing problems of our age. . .  Despite the Telegraph’s wet dreams, it will never be mainstream. . . . Whatever the question, it isn’t the answer. But, in the near term, it could well rob the Conservatives of many seats. Which’ll please folk who really believe will be much better. Reminding me of a Samuel Johnson comment that When it’s between a flea and a louse, there’s not much competition. Or something like that. [Actually: There is no settling the point of precedence between a louse and a flea.]

This is a public service announcement for readers compelled to live in the moribund UK – A professional’s view of the best coffee beans in the supermarkets there. ( .)

The 5 star options:-

• Morrisons The Best Colombian Coffee Beans  £1.71/100g
• Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Fairtrade Kenyan Coffee Beans £1.72/100g
• M&S Fairtrade Colombian Coffee Beans £1.87/100g
• Co-op Irresistible Fairtrade Kenyan Coffee Beans £1.59/100g Our favourite, and a relative bargain.

BTW: The worst beans were from Starbucks – Nil stars. Just sayin’, as someone who declines to visit their establishments, even though I’m no coffee connoisseur. Full article here

BTW2: Coffee nerds have had to move to higher ground to demonstrate their superiority: Chemex, pour over and siphon are the new buzz words. I have no idea what they are.

Iran/Persia

Those who don’t know the history of this country will be unaware that the Persian Sasanians inflicted huge defeats on the (Byzantine) Romans, one of which is described here. In fact, it was because the Sasanians and the Romans had exhausted each other in endless warfare between 224 and 651CE that the Arabs were able to take the new religion of Islam northwards and westwards, by the sword. As Bing puts it: The third phase (502–651 CE) was the most intense and destructive of the Sasanian wars against Romans, as both empires entered a state of decline and crisis

This is how Valerian’s ignominy in represented in a huge wall carving near Persepolis, the magnificent Achaemenid capital in southern Persia, destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330BC. Some say in revenge, some say by accident. Whatever, that was a huge shame but the ruins are well worth a visit. Unless you’re likely to be arrested as a spy.

The USA

Possibly your intro to ‘lab-grown meat’. Allegedly, those behind the push for this include Bill Gates and BlackRock, who are bankrolling several companies in the burgeoning industry. In Spain specifically: The Brazil-based JBS SA is building the world’s largest artificial meat plant in San Sebastian and is spearheading the push to make it available everywhere. I wonder what our empandas de ternera . . . will taste like in, say, 5 years’ time.

A one-time big fan – Nikki Haley – is now attacking Donald Trump, claiming that chaos follows him everywhere. Impossible to believe she’s just woken up to this. But it now suits her to says so, as a claimant for the Republican candidature.

Quote of the Day

Midlife women are obsessed with sex (only not with their partners). Really?

The Way of the World

Effie Deans here describes her student days in Scotland, back in the 1980s. Like my earlier experience, hers is several light years away from today’s student environment. But the main thrust of her article is the claim that holocaust denial has gone mainstream. If so, it’s truly tragic. For my own part, I’ve long felt that the films we used to see as kids back then should be shown every year to schoolkids. Something which is never going to happen, allowing them to grow up in ignorance of recent evil on a vast scale. And to worry about being upset by someone’s chance remark. Or pronoun abuse. Remaining self-obsessed infants, maybe.

Finally . . .

There is enduring rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester, just as there is between Pv city and Vigo. In a survey of the best 10 UK cities in which to live, Liverpool came 11^th, as The One to Watch. Manchester wasn’t cited but I suppose you could argue that next-door Salford more than compensated. But I doubt anyone in Liverpool would agree.

The Usual Links, for first-timers . . .

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.