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

Political things are happening down South – I think – which might well make the PM’s predicament even worse than it is now. Which is that there are 3 imminent elections – in Cataluña, in the Basque Country and for the EU parliament – which could well deprive him of some of the support he needs to get his administration-saving amnesty Bill through Congress. Or at least show that the PSOE has lost a lot of voters because of said Bill.

It wouldn’t happen in every country, I guess, but a Spanish judge recently labelled the (Socialist) PM ‘a psychopath without ethical limits’. Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas tells us that the Permanent Commission of the Judiciary has unanimously decided to take disciplinary measures against their colleague. Which presumably will have come as a surprise to him.

Good to know that Galicia is rising rapidly up the ranks of seafood-exporting ‘countries’, having recently overtaken the UK.

The UK

Those scandalously greedy vets, here and here.

The USA

Donald Trump faces 91 criminal charges and other hearings in civil cases that could cost him millions of dollars in damages. Click here if you want to track at least some of these.

(A)GW/Energy/Net Zero

By Jove, when he gets (uncharacteristically)positive, AEP really goes full throttle: Nuclear fusion for the grid is coming much sooner than you think. And: Britain is on the brink of striking gold in the race for limitless energy. BTW . . . As the author of Fossil Future said, all this research, development and construction is powered by fossil fuels.

Quote of the Day/Social Media

• The internet is, in many ways, the alcohol of information – both the root of and cure for all the world’s misunderstandings. It is a Petri-dish that both cultures and then immediately debunks the most grotesque conspiracy theories about everything – from tales of celebrities harvesting blood to claims that Taylor Swift’s love life is is a deep-state psy-op. Wild theories rise but then get sifted at lightning speed as their inconsistencies are exposed.

On the other hand. . .

• From what I can see, Reddit and its communities and threads is rather like the internet was back in the good old (pre-social media) days of the 80s and 90s. To my surprise, I seem to have joined it years ago. As someone has written: The ability to look at Reddit as a proxy for the many different things people are interested in online offers the reassuring possibility that we are not entirely obsessed with cryptocurrencies and pornography. It turns out the internet is a lot like us; it has a variety of interests an hobbies and holds wonderful surprises – if we remember to look for them.

The Way of the World

Says one UK columnist, in a must-read here: One day, we’ll look back on era of puberty blockers with horror. Chemically freezing the sexual development of troubled children will become a topic of gruesome fascination, like lobotomies in the 20th century. I’m sure that’s right but, meanwhile, the UK is said to be leading the way as regards ‘transgender common sense’ setting an example that other nations ‘battling with the dangerous ideology of trans extremists’ are sure to follow. 

Global Politics

A couple of overviews:-

• There is a fundamental dishonesty in the language of politics in the 21st century. Liberal buzzwords disguise authoritarian crusades. The old language of equality is marshalled to the cause of devastating women’s rights. Gay-friendly slogans are used to justify the grotesque policy of putting young gays on a metaphorical rack in order that their supposedly faulty sex might be corrected. Tyranny is snuck in under a banner of ‘freedom’. Enough is enough. Liberty and equality must be defended from their fake champions.
• The future of the centre-Right globally is to harness the rage of the working and middle classes, to act as competent revolutionaries, to make people’s lives better via reforms, to root out wokery, regain control of the borders and boost growth. Absent this, angry voters are voting for Right-wing parties everywhere. Except in Britain, it seems. So far.

Covid

The pandemic’s stark legacy: widening inequality between countries

Spanish

A todo gas: Full throttle

Did you know? . . .

It takes 6 days by ship from Cape Town to reach the world’s most remote inhabited island – Tristan da Cunha, a British overseas territory. It has the UK postcode TDCU 1ZZ.

Finally . . .

Until recently, I would attach relevant labels – such as Pontevedra or Camino – to my posts, while ignoring the – sometimes bizarre – additions suggested by WordPress. But last week I switched on this, allowing only WordPress labels, such as Tourism, Europe and Travel. Lo and behold, readership significantly increased, in line with the promise that the WP Labels would improve SEO visibility. Apologies for taking you down this shallow rabbit hole; I realise it will be of interest to (almost)no one. Just an expression of delight on my part, as I labour at the coalface in the blogging mines. For which, after more than 20 years of slogging there every day of the year, I think I can be forgiven.

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. And this is something on the so-called Beckham Rule, which is beneficial – tax-wise – for folk who want to work here.