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

One Spanish tradition I’ve never got/gotten into, nice as it sounds.

HT to Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas for this item . . . The ins-and-outs of dealing with squatters((okupas) in Spain from Idealista here, in English.

The Voz de Galicia complains today that: It seems doctors of the future don’t want hear about specializing in family medicine. There are hardly any places filled for health or MIR training in this specialty in Galicia. This year there are 155 positions free in family medicine. And the same problem occurs at the state level: barely 31% of the places were filled. There are only 3 branches that have worse figures in Galicia: no one opted for the positions of occupational medicine, preventive medicine and geriatrics. So, openings for many more South Americans. TBH, I can’t recall the last time I was attended by a doctor who wasn’t from South America. Other than my GP, about 10 years ago.

Portugal

Some of the country’s best wines. Or at least the ones you can get in the UK

The EU

The coming entry/exit system for non-EU citizens. Eg Brits.

The UK

The High Court has rejected the demand that a (well-funded) Muslim student is entitled to a prayer facility in a secular school, as one of those increasingly ubiquitous animals – a ‘Human Right’. The Equalities Minister has said this ruling is a victory against activists trying to subvert our public institutions. Which seems to be right. One hopes there will be more of these successes.

Quote of the Day

A follow-up to the Orwell quote . . . Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending weird beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons: Michael Shermer in the Preface to his book: Why Smart People Believe Weird Things. Which I’m enjoying. Though I fear I might have bought it before.

The Way of the World

AEP suspects China is betting on a global conflict.

Transgenderism

The UK Secretary for Health says it all here. And gets a good response from her opposition ‘shadow’.

Social Media

Hard to believe it’s a priority for some people to complain about WhatsApp adding capital letters to typing and online? What’s even harder to understand is that Whatsapp has capitulated(!) and backtracked, in the face of a few users who are variously “irritated”, “angry” and “annoyed” Maybe the CEO of WhatsApp is a teenager. And easily upset.

Spanish

Erbianbís: Roll it around your tongue

English

• Gotten: In British English, an age-old but obsolete past participle which is making its way back into the language through the American English version spoken by the 16^th century colonists. See this comment
• Spit: Ditto. I spit/I spat.

Did you know? . . .

Recycling uses a lot of energy, so is not always sensible. The most recyclable materials are, in declining feasibility:-

• 1. Steel. Really, really effective. But who has a girder in the garden?
• 2. Cardboard
• 3. Aluminium/Aluminum
• 4. Newspaper and similar
• 5. Glass – by colour
• 6. Plastic. This is the most difficult of all to recycle and so hardly ever makes sense. This, of course is, contrary to the claims by manufacturers for several decades, designed to make us all buy more plastic products. The exceptions to this are PTE and HDPE – used for soft drinks and large milk ‘jugs’. These are designated by the numbers 1 or 2 in the middle of the recycling logo. As for those ‘identified’ as 3 to 7, these go to a landfill; or are burnt to create power; or end up in the ocean. [I wonder if this logo only exists in the USA, where ‘single channel’ recycling is the norm, in contrast to the numerous channels for different materials than exist in European countries. Not always the same ones, of course.] Items categorises as 3-7 should go into the trash, not into a/the recycling bin.

Finally . . .

The company Humane has launched the ‘AI Pin’ – a wearable, screenless computer meant to wean users off their phones. But, as it is unable to perform even the most basic functions – eg make a call – it’s been described as the worst product ever.

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.