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/Galicia

Nice to read this article on an artist – unknown to me – who’s been ‘reclaimed from fascism’. Mist get to see her work next time I’m down in Madrid

Here’s Lenox Napier on folk who want to separate from other folk.

Down by the river that snakes around Pontevedra, the Galician regional government – the Xunta – has removed building and large machines from a sizeable site alongside the road and converted it into a beautiful public park. Taken with continuing improvements within Pv city itself, it’s clear that things are getting better here. Which isn’t exactly a feeling I experienced during my recent 6 months on the North Cheshire-South Manchester border in the UK. I’m not claiming, of course, that this is happening throughout Spain. It certainly isn’t in España Vacía in the interior, for example. And not in the cities overrun by tourists. Which Pv city isn’t yet. And will possibly never be outside the spring, summer and autumn months.

The VdG today contains this comment on one likely effect of the degree of tourism we do have. . . La pandemia resultó mortal para muchos negocios de hostelería, aunque pasado el encierro, el sector sigue siendo el mayor creador de autoempleo en Galicia. Por cada nueva tienda de ropa, últramarinos o zapatería que aparece in las comunidad, se abren 8 bares. Tocamos a un establecimiento de este tipo por cada 146 habitantes. Los analistas creen que tal proliferación es por el aumento del turismo, la poca inversión que precisa el negocio y por ser un flotador para la inmigración. [Primarily from South America, of course.]

I’ve been cleaning the little terrace in front of one of my bedrooms today. The red tiles were blacker than the blackest jet objects you can buy in Santiago de Compostela. Testament to an extremely wet winter, which I was (sort of) lucky enough to miss.

The UK

The issue of sectarian politics again, a new – and unwelcome – thing in British politics. We will soon know if Richard North’s concerns about this have been exaggerated or not.

France

Macron’s deal with the hard Left puts France on a collision course with Brussels, it says here. And could be quite expensive

Italy

Has lost its ‘basket case’ image and stolen the UK’s millionaires, it says here. Personally, I know where I’d rather spend my millions.]

The USA

A rather troublesome insight into Trump’s behaviour towards his allies at a chaotic NATO summit. Thank god he’s older and wiser now . . .

China

Laughing at the weakness of the West, allegedly.

Quote of the Day

A view from the Right . . . Over 14 years, the Tories have presided over the inexorable expansion of a fearsomely useless administrative state; a system in which the pace of change is determined by the technical tussles of bureaucrats and lawyers, where improvements can only ever proceed at the speed of the slowest printer in the building and must always be overwhelmed by the appropriate safeguards and audits. The result has been a game of policy snakes and ladders.  More here. The writer doesn’t expect things to get better under Labour, of course.

Did you know?

Only 7% of British workers say they wear a suit to work.

Finally . .

To amuse . . .

Finally, Finally . . . Pseuds Corner

• As grotesque as Disney might still be as one of the most effectively illustrative go-tos for the horrors of mass-market capitalism, it’s impossible not to feel that swell of wonder when the studio logo kicks in. Someone from The Guardian
• The mixed response to Emerald Fennels 00-set thriller evinces a movie-going conundrum: how do we assess entertainment that is predominantly indexed on vibes? Someone else from The Guardian

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. Finally, some advice on getting a mortgage.