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

Tout Madrid is said here to gripped by a play about the disgraced ex-monarch, who’s portrayed as King Leer.

I’ve been to Oviedo 4 or 5 times and last time was very disappointed with my meal in a popular sidrarilla place there, so was somewhat surprised to read this.

The Voz de Galicia today: The Galician fishing fleet doesn’t want Big Brother In the midst of a revolt by agriculturists and farmers, which has forced Brussels to give in to pressure from member states and to relax some of the strictest requirements of the CAP, Galician fishermen want the EU to also attend to its demands. The main one is avoiding the permanent eye of the digital Big Brother that Brussels wants to place on the region’s inshore fishing. To this end, the Xunta has sent the central government a document with 23 proposals for it to submit to the regional authorities. Among them is that inshore vessels that are shorter in length or that are never at sea for more than 24 hours should be exempt from mandatory geolocation. And also to be allowed to turn off the automatic identification system when the captain considers it necessary to maintain the safety of the ship or the crew. Which would be rather a large loophole in the law, I guess. Big enough for a coach and horses, as they say, to be driven through it. Or a trawler even.

The UK

British politicians remain in total denial over extremism, says this Telegraph columnist. Rather than confront the real issue, the intelligentsia live in a fantasy land where death threats are the norm. Richard North would surely agree.

Britain must regain its self-belief and take some risks: We have brilliant scientific minds, some of the best universities, a major financial centre in London — so why the pessimism? Good point and good question. The barriers, says the writer, could well be cultural. Pessimism correlates with reduced investment and stunted economic growth. 

Germany

How Germany said ‘Nein’ to Elon Musk . . . Almost two years after its Berlin gigafactory opened its doors, Tesla is facing growing opposition in the country. . . . It comes as EU governments are desperate for their domestic manufacturers to catch up with Tesla’s electric car leadership.

Russia

It’s reported that: Russia has suffered its bloodiest month since the war began, as its forces made a series of gains in high risk attacks along the front line. The Kremlin’s forces have pushed back Ukrainian soldiers and captured a string of towns and villages around the 2-year anniversary of the war. But the gains came at a cost of some 29,000 men killed or wounded in February alone. Even if true, this is probably of little – nil? – consequence to President Putin. Who answers only to his (rather elastic) conscience.

The Way of the World

From a Catholic site . . . Springtime of Vatican II update: As the Catholic Church in Spain collapses, one Spanish priest is reduced to serving 43 parishes all by himself. And as the German Bishops prepare for mass blessings of same-sex couples, some German priests are blessing bicycles and calling for radically woke reform. While European farmers physically block Agenda 2030 with tractors and manure, Pope Francis warns against eating too much beef. No wonder even non-Catholics such as Jordan Peterson are now blasting Pope Francis for putting climate concerns over and above the salvation of souls. Scraping the spiritual barrel . . . .The good news? Cardinal Burke makes a dramatic call to action and worldwide spiritual warfare against enemies of the Cross.

Spanish

Readers Paideleo tells me than in Madrid taxi drivers are known as pesetas. Or used to be, at least.

Did you know? . . .

In Spain, bullfights are virtually always fatal to all 6 animal contestants but never to the 3 humans. Here’s a place where things are reversed. The corralejas, bullfighting Colombian-style. These mix San Fermín’s Running of the Bulls, where the brave, the drunk, and the dumb outrun marauding bulls, and Spain’s traditional bullfighting. But with important differences. Here the bulls don’t die. Only the men.

Finally . . .

The aphorisms of 18th-century German physicist George Christoph Lichtenberg: To read means to borrow; to create out of one’s readings is paying off one’s debts

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.