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

Welcome to the polarised, insult-driven world of Spanish politics. And its endemic corruption. Just 4 months into its 2nd term, Spain’s PSOE government is already mired in corruption allegations. The latest scandal emerged this week and focuses on the wife of the prime minister. Details here.

Can this really be true?

Spain’s greatest living artist moves into Gaudi’s Barcelona home. A retrospective of Miquel Barceló’s work has opened at La Pedrera.

Relatedly . . . Gaudi’s Sagrada Famila might be finished in 2026. But . . .

This week’s weather . . . After a hot weekend, it will be ‘unstable and changeable’ – and ‘cold’ – for the Easter weekend. Raising the prospect of the cancellation of some Semana Santa processions again this year. God is clearly something of a cosmic joker. If you really want to workship me, I’m going to make that tough for you.

The UK

A Sunday Times columnist has a stab here at explaining why the number of therapists has almost doubled since 2010. Meaning, there are now 60,000 of them in the UK. Which has reminded me that the number of lawyers – both solicitors and barristers – has increased more than fivefold in the UK since I started studying it, quite a fefw years ago.

The EU

How Macron and Scholz broke the Franco-German alliance at the heart of the EU. The breakdown of this continental partnership is a threat to Europe – and could be catastrophic for Ukraine

From that article: The sputtering of the “French-German engine” that has led Europe from the days of Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer’s EEC was in many ways predictable for years. It has little to do with the respective political families of the two countries’ leaders but more the passage of time. Some of us have been predicting it for years. Probably all students of history.

Germany

Pessimism about the economy is rife, it seems. Here’s an example of it. Not good news, either for Germany or for other European nations.

France

Hawkish Macron opens Europe’s door to the UK. After years of naiveté, the French president’s new-found zeal in opposing Putin is welcome.

Russia

Putin’s approach to domestic terrorism.

Quote of the Day

If you need any proof that the current stage of capitalism has achieved madness, hark ye to this, from Camilla Long, in yesterday’s Times: So football’s slick corporatists, grasping middlemen and diversity gollums have finally come for it: the England flag. On Friday, unveiling our new team kit, Nike — an American sportswear company that once hired a trans woman to promote bras — told us:-

• The clothes would celebrate “heroes of the past with a modern twist”.
• There would be “graphic side panels” on the away kit that would “pay homage to forward-thinking fashionistas”.
• “Trim on the cuffs” would somehow honour past “legends”.
• Most importantly, there was a “playful update” to the St George cross: it was now purple, blue and pink, much like the Pride flag, and hidden at the back. This would “unite and inspire” people.

Asks the pugnacious but brilliant Ms Long: Can you imagine this happening in America, Italy or Japan?

The shirts, by the way, cost 125 quid and are said to be flying off the shelves. And I thought the KateGate trolls had demonstrated peak gullibility and cretin-ness.

The full article here.

The Way of the World

Someone’s ideas on how to solve the problems of Generation Anxious in the UK.

Spanish

La gota Malaya: A common expression in Spanish politics. Originally used by a Spanish politician to describe the torture caused him by his opponents. It seems to be a confusion born of 2 different tortures:- 1. ‘bota malaya’- foot compression, and 2. ‘gota china’ – water droplets.

English

A Deconstructing Whiteness Officer: I’ve no idea either but the Church of England is advertising for one, to be part of a new ’11-person racial injustice unit’. If you’re applying, it probably helps not to be white.

Finally . . .

Yesterday I got a FB message from a very attractive French woman, inviting me to a chat, albeit in Danish. But our ‘mutual friend’ knew nothing about her and 2 of her alleged friends didn’t have her in their Friends lists. Needless to say, ‘her’ replies to my questions were evasive and she eventually gave up when I told her that I lived in the 7^th Circle of Hell and, when she asked where this was, said it was just beyond the 6^th Circle. My life in the UK is quite boring, as you can probably tell.

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.