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 first lawsuit to be filed in Spain over the theft of babies during the General Franco dictatorship has been presented to an Alicante court. More on this here.

It was dreadful to read of the huge fire in Valencia but truly shocking – though possibly not surprising – to read that the cause was the same as a scandalous fire in London not so long ago – with the building being covered in highly combustible polyurethane cladding. What are the implications for apartment blocks around the world?

The ultimate fixer-upper: couple buy abandoned Spanish village. Spain’s thousands of abandoned villages stand witness to a history of industrialisation, migration and war. Their derelict churches, bars and houses are symbols of “emptied Spain”, depopulated rural areas whose fate has generated a political movement that lobbies for their revival. Over the years several abandoned villages have been put up for sale in their entirety. A Dutch couple has just taken the plunge, buying one such ruined settlement in the north of Spain. The €339,000 deal ends 50 years of neglect and shows how Spain is trying to revive derelict areas.

If imitation is the best form of flattery, some Spanish folk should be very proud of their emulated achievement. By the BBC, no less.

The UK

Looking at the events of the last week in ‘the Mother of Parliaments’, I was left wondering whether other democracies have also suffered a significant reduction in the quality of its politicians over the last, say, 50 years. Are MPs also despised in, say, Germany? Or Australia?

Talking of poor MPs . . . The next Prime Minister.

Effie Deans calls here for honesty around the growing problem which lies behind the disgraceful scenes in Westminster Palace this week. Will it ever come from either mainstream political party? If not, it will certainly come from a fringe party

The USA

A propos my question above re politicians . . . I’ve just read this comment from 37 years ago: I’d like to see a story in the New York Times saying: “Congressmen did not decide on the defence budget last night. The members of Congress did not think they should be making decisions when they were half-witted, corrupt and drunk.”

Russia v Ukraine

Here’s Richard North on the state of the war on it’s 2^nd anniversary, possibly as good a brief analysis as one could have.

AI

The wokeness of AI search engines. Or some of them at least.

I tried a couple of AI engines this morning. The Google one did give me a Viking, but not an Australian woman or white women. It duly explained: It’s important to remember that people should not be defined by their race or ethnicity. The second engine obliged me with both.

English

• To larp: To engage in role playing. From LARP. Live action replay.
• Tweenager: A young person who isn’t yet technically a teenager (being less than 13) is but starting to act like one – generally 8 to 12 years old.

Finally . . .

I was watching a film last night on Netflix when suddenly it switched to the Japanese dubbed version. I suspect because I use a VPN. But it’s tuned to The Midlands in the UK, not bloody Tokyo.

The wit of Samuel Johnson – The only conversationalist who triumphs over time – Number 5: It is very strange, and very melancholy, that the paucity of human pleasures should persuade us ever to call hunting one of them.

Finally, Finally

I’ve been looking after 2 kids for 2 months now. So, this naturally appealed:-

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.