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

Spain is following in France’s footsteps with a proposed ban on domestic flights that can be replaced by a rail trip of less than 2.5 hours. This will probably hit business travellers more than those travelling for leisure.

Olive oil has become the most stolen product in supermarkets across Spain, with organised criminal gangs targeting the “liquid gold” to resell on the hidden market.

Severe weather is set to sweep across Spain, it says here. I fear it’s already arrived in poor rain-and-wind-battered Galicia. I blame it on Zara having it’s HQ in La Coruña? And why not?

The estimable Max Abroad brings us Gaudi’s first house. Which won’t be to everyone’s taste.

Portugal

This is the northern Portuguese village which is said to have helped to bring down a PM and set in motion today’s general election. In which, the right-wing populist Chega party is predicted to claim up to 20% of the vote, on the back of a backlash against corruption. Shades of Spain and the PP party under Sr Rajoy a few years ago. And the rise of Vox.

The UK

A US blogger finds that the UK is not remotely like Hollywood’s vision of it and wonders what’s happened to The Land of Hope and Glory. That stirring song, by the way, is felt by many Brits to be a better option for a national anthem than God Save the Queen/King. Even if the lyrics are a tad rubbish. And, these days, utterly vainglorious. Perhaps, as with the Spanish anthem, they could be left out and everyone should just hum it. Emotionally.

Gallego

This is something that came up when I was sending info on Palos de la Frontera to some friends on a road trip down South. Google Translate makes a complete mess of it, though I think I can just about do it justice. The references to Pedro Madruga are in line with the theory that Columbus/Colón was born in Poio and, possibly, was said Pedro. If in Pv city, a visit to the Colón museum next to his birthplace is a must . . A primeira viaxe de Colón iniciase nesto porto de Palos, o 3 de agosto de 1492, comandando Colón a nao capitá “La Gallega”, que tras alugarlla ao tamén galego Xoán dá Coxa cámbialle o nome e dedícalla á patroa de Pontevedra: Santa María a Maior. A nao construíuse no arrabalde da Moureira, antigo emprazamento dos estaleiros de Pontevedra. O feito de que Colón saia de Palos non é algo casual, pois é un señorío outorgado a Paio Gómez Chariño de Soutomaior pola conquista de Sevilla aos mouros e que agora pertencía aos descendentes dos Soutomaior: o Señorío de Moguer pertencía aos Portocarrero e o de Palos, por iguais partes, ás familias Juan de Silva e Francisca de Castañeda. Colón regresa ó porto de Palos, tras facer escala en Lisboa, o 15 de marzo de 1943 despois de sete meses e doce días de viaxe. Da que pensar que os amigos de Pedro Madruga sexan os amigos que despois tería Cristóbal Colón, os inimigos de Cristóbal Colón sexan casualmente os inimigos de Pedro Madruga e os sitios onde dixo Cristóbal Colón que estivo, sexan os mesmos onde estivo Pedro Madruga.

English

A nice theory: ‘English is not a language – it’s just badly spoken French’. English might be the most spoken language in the world, but a new book claims it owes a startling amount to its Gallic origins. There might well be a few experts who’d disagree.

I wonder . . . Can French or German or even Dutch – do something like this with the noun ‘ovary’ and the verb ‘to shrivel’?- If you read Horner’s messages, it’s not the content that’s striking: that’s the usual boring, ovary-shrivelling rubbish.

Did you know? . . .

All about Carmen, from blogger Paul Whitelock down in Ronda. Actually, I don’t think I know any Carmens. None in my wotsap or Google contacts lists. Perhaps those who are friends or acquaintances all go by the ‘María’ which often precedes it.

Finally . . .

I switched off the England v Ireland rugby match last evening when Ireland looked like they were going to come back and win. So, I missed the most dramatic end ever to a rugby match. And England’s last-gap victory. But at least it saved nerves that would have been shredded over at least the last 10 minutes. Worth seeing here.

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.