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

More on that controversial JC Semana Santa poster here.

An enterprising couple take advantage of España vacía.

Water problems in the North East.

Says the Olive Press: Malaga province holds the unenviable crown of eating up the largest chunk of the average renter’s household income. The Costa del Sol and surrounding areas eat up a staggering 53% of family income a month just to pay for the roof overhead. The figure is the highest in all of Spain, Following not far behind are the Balearic Islands at 48% and Barcelona province at 41%, with others trailing not far behind. Across Spain, the slice of a paycheck going up in smoke each month has climbed 3% to a hefty 33%.

Portugal

Tractor-driving Portuguese farmers block roads to Spain as protests against EU rules grow.

The EU

The positive take on this is that this form of political corruption is probably at a lower level than in most other states/superstates. (Are there any others of the latter?)

Russia

How things are seen from Finland.

Putin is not having things 100% his own way. But it doesn’t matter. Anti-war voices prove a headache for Putin. Despite growing discontent over the war in Ukraine, the president’s grip on power is as vice-like as ever. . . . The Russian words for elections — vybory — and choice — vybor — are almost the same, giving rise to the slogan among opposition figures that the upcoming vote is a case of “vybory bez vybora” or “elections without a choice”.

Russia v Ukraine

Robots come into their own . . .

(A)GW/Energy/Net Zero

More on NZ and its impact on farming – and, thus, society at large – in Europe. Something has to give. All very predictable and predicted.

Did you know? . . .

This short film used to be shown, I think, whenever the BBC broke down. Or parts of it anyway.

Finally . . .

One of those headlines . . . Tesla driver crashes into a fjord and is saved by a passing floating sauna.

There was a terrific rugby match between France and Ireland last night. Strange to note that the popularity of the sport in the latter country is born of English imperialism. As for France, Bing AI says that: Rugby was introduced in the early 1870s by British residents. One of the pioneering clubs was Le Havre Athletique, formed in 1872. The English Taylors RFC, established by British businessmen in Paris in 1877, further contributed to the sport’s growth in France.

The Usual Links . . .

You can get my posts by email as soon as they’re published. With the added bonus that they’ll contain the typos I’ll discover later. I believe there’s a box for this at the bottom of each post. I guess it’s logical that this doesn’t appear on the version given to me . . .

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.