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 . .

The Catalan elections outcome:

• The FT: The Socialist win draws a line under separatist turbulence. The party hails a ‘new era’ with victory over pro-independence forces. But it fails to secure enough votes to govern alone.
• The Corner: The socialists win and the separatists lose out. But it will be a difficult victory to manage,

Dashed hopes for Zorra. Spain ranked even lower than the UK in the Eurovision ‘music’ extravaganza – 22nd v 18th.

Let’s hear it for Lenox Napier, who finally gets some recognition – and, hopefully, more readers for Business Over Tapas  –  from the Voz de Almería

María returns to the fray with Can’t They Feel the Heat?

The UK

The tide is still turning . . .Civil Service diversity jobs will be banned in a new crackdown on Whitehall “woke” spending. In a radical overhaul aimed at ending the “back-door politicisation” of the Civil Service, mandarins will be ordered not to hire any new staff dedicated to boosting diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI). Under the plans, there will no longer be any jobs in devoted solely to diversity and managers will be forbidden from hiring 3rd-party DEI contractors.

The EU

• The most poisonous Eurovision in history.
• “United by music”? Not a chance – from pro-Palestine protests to Joost Klein’s ban, this has been the most controversial competition yet.

But someone liked it . . . Eurovision eccentricity is alive and well. The night produced its trademark mix of bizarrely bananas, magnificently camp moments. We had a man called Baby Lasagna bellowing about milking cows while draped in lace doilies. We had a bloke with a blond mullet hatching out of a giant blue egg and setting his flesh-coloured Y-fronts on fire. We had a rap about Mother Teresa, a screeching witch, disco strippers, boyband twins, nasal armour, plentiful pyrotechnics and an eye-popping amount of near-nudity.

And here’s some amusing sympathy for the British performer, whom – of course – I’ve never heard of.

Ireland

A man of Irish descent socks it to the country’s elite. And to the singer(?) who so memorably represented the country on Saturday night. The only performer I happened to see before I rapidly switched off.

The USA

Still at it . . . Donald Trump turned up the invective and profanity for a huge rally crowd in New Jersey when he repeatedly blamed “total moron” President Biden for the criminal charges against him. Trump said that “weak and pathetic” Biden was “only good at cheating at elections” as he vented at “fascists” and “lunatics” he said were running the country.

Someone who disagrees that there’s no class system and no class war in the US. And who can explain why working class, Latino and black voters ares said to be increasingly pro Trump.

Quote of the Day

Does anybody know what a political argument is anymore? Or a political principle? Or even a political idea? There was a time, within living memory, when ideas and arguments were the proper business of democratic life. There were philosophical debates about the power of the state versus the freedom of the individual, and on how much government should intervene in the creation and distribution of wealth. It was always thought to be necessary for serious contenders to make it clear where they stood in this great discourse. There was even a profound, and dangerous, dispute between international powers about whether the “temporary dictatorship” of the proletariat might be necessary to deliver social justice.

Russia

Desperate Putin is forcing Ukrainians to fight for him. Citizens in occupied territories are being conscripted into the army ranks – a flagrant war crime. TBH, I don’t suppose he needs to be desperate to be doing this. Just ruthless and nasty.

The Way of the World

Seen in a Post Office this morning, this sign:-
Don’t be offended if we ask about your package
Can you imagine customers of previous generations having to be asked this? Certainly not those who survived a world war.

AI

This was written in 1996. I wonder if AI has brought the predicted date a lot closer, only 28 years later . . . If science and technology continues progressing at its current rate (consider how far we have come from room-size computers in the 1940s to today’s laptops), in a thousand or a hundred thousand years, not only will populating the galaxy and universe be possible, but supercomputers with super-memories and super-virtual realities will essentially replace biological life. Life and culture are just information systems—genes and memes—to be reproduced in these supercomputers.

English

Empath: Someone who has a heightened sensitivity to the emotions of others.
Mandarin: From the Portuguese mandar, to command. Someone in charge. And an orange fruit . .

Spanish

Thanks to that article on Lenox:-

• Internado: Boarding school pupil
• Encalado: Whitewashed
• Tirada: Print run; circulation
• Madrazo: A blow, strike

Do You Know?

Who decides these things? Sake is now the ‘in’ drink in the UK.

Did You know

The tuba part in Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 – “From the New World” – consists of only 7 notes near the start and 7 at the end, 40 minutes later. It’s said that Dvorak put these in solely because he was concerned that the tuba player was hitting on his wife and Dvorak wanted to ensure he was in the orchestra for an upcoming tour . . .

Finally . . . .

Can you believe? The humble back garden has became the battleground for the war on woke. From your choice of compost to your stance on slugs, the way we garden has become a hotbed of controversy.

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.

If you’re thinking of moving to Spain, go to one of my early April posts to see a link to an excellent guide on this.