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 Galicia/España

HT to Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas for these tidbits:-

• Beware! Or at least wary. Fake gas inspectors are are said to be operating again in Spain, pretending to be employees of utility companies.
• A British tabloid, The Sun, has tested 5 Spanish beers and given the best rating to Estrella Galicia. Which is good news for us residents. Even we wine-drinkers.
• Back in 1917, Granada’s Teatro Alhambra was closed down after projecting a pornographic movie. Astonishingly, the script and finance came from the king, Alfonso 13. This merry monarch is said have financed several such films, notwithstanding the opposition of Catholic prelates. Who preferred to see them in private, perhaps.
• Today has been National Bullfighting Day – El día de la tauromaquia. Not everyone will have been thrilled about it.

Talking of Catholics in Spain . . . My sister – the Catholic one, not the Jewish one – has told me of this book by a priest who writes about his Camino journey. More religious than most, I imagine.

And talking of Galicia . . . I guess we’ll soon see some of these arriving along our coast. Or even in Vigo harbour.

Possibly 24 of the best walking tours in Spain.

Ukraine v Russia

Richard North is pessimistic this morning . . . I would not be surprised if we’re moving into the end game. It is no longer unrealistic to think in terms of a Ukrainian collapse. But what might be even more difficult to predict is the nature and extent of the political fallout, which is likely to be with us for a long time. Indeed.

Russia

Vladimir Putin said Russia and China’s deepening relationship is a “stabilising” force for the world. More verbatimly: Relations between Russia and China are not opportunistic and not directed against anyone. Our cooperation in international matters is one of the stabilising factors in the international arena. . . . . Can he really believe that? Quite possibly, I imagine. Who knows what really goes on in his mind? Or, anyone’s, for that matter. Sane or insane.

The Way of the World

• A Japanese academic in the UK accused her boss of racism when the latter said she liked sushi. The judge, taking an old-fashioned view, declared the complainant ‘over-sensitive’ and dismissed the case. Maybe the judge will now be prosecuted for a hate crime.
• An amusing take on what some young couples are said to be doing these hi-tech days.

Opinion of the Day

If you haven’t been in one of the great cathedrals of football, you’ve missed out in life. To feel in your chest a rising crescendo of support, to hear chants split the air, to feel the ground tremble beneath your feet, is to glean an insight into the human condition. Perhaps it’s no surprise that footballers at their home ground experience a surge in testosterone when compared with playing away, doubtless an evolutionary overhang from the Neolithic revolution when a willingness to fight to defend one’s turf was an imperative for survival. How could you fail to be inspired when walking into a stadium where “the fans create an incredible sea of red, an undulating wall of support that seems to shake the very foundations of the stadium”. And isn’t this what helps to explain the otherwise mysterious phenomenon of home advantage, where teams comprising footloose global mercenaries win significantly more points than when playing away.

Spanish

Organizaciones lobistas: Not ‘wolfish organisations’ but ‘lobby groups’.

Do you know?

Britain is said to have fallen in love with ‘bubble tea’. I’ve no idea what is it and, in truth, have no interest in finding out. My guess is that it came from the USA, as most things do. Both good and very, very bad.

Finally . . . Did You know?

The Poznań is a form of sporting celebration that involves supporters standing with their backs to the pitch, linking shoulders side-by-side and jumping on the spot in unison. It is mostly associated with supporters of football clubs Lech Poznań in Poland and Manchester City in England. It takes all sorts.

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.

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.