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

A couple of comments on Spain’s excellent performance against France last night:-

• The Times’ sports commentator: Spain has the best, most entertaining and adventurous team in the tournament.
• This Spain team can play both games: direct, electric, irrepressible attacking football which knocks you off your feet, and the old standard, that benumbing, beguiling passing football which robs you of agency and leaves you chasing shadows.
• The Spanish coach: This is a very versatile kind of team with many styles. But that is because of the footballers we have.

While we wait for the completion of the AVE high-speed track between Ourense and the coastal cities – I’ve lost count of the predicted finish dates – we have news from the VdG this morning of the planned/proposed line coming up from Oporto to Vigo: It’s about delays, of course: El AVE a Oporto se retrasa. Fue en el 2022 cuando se anunció el estudio de demanda y planificación del tramo fronterizo del tren de alta velocidad entre Galicia y Portugal. Pero fue ayer cuando salió la licitación del estudio, que al menons llevará 2 años. Será entonces cuando se sabrán los datos de demanda y coste de la obra, que determinarán, por ejemplo, si la vía tendrá ancho ibérico o internacional. También se especificarán las paradas. Y aquí hay una dura lucha entre las localidades lusas por contar con una. Don’t you just love that ‘at least 2 years’. The rest of my lifetime might not be enough.

I’m always astonished at the highest grades demanded for university courses here in Galicia. This year, as usual I think, the highest is 97%%, for a joint degree in Maths and Physics. How does one achieve this? Are they all multiple-answer questions?

Yesterday, I got the guide of summer events in Pv city. As always, this was published too late for those of the first week of July. And, as in recent years, it’s entirely in Gallego, as opposed to being in both official languages of the region, as it used to be. So, bugger the tourists from Madrid. And the guiris, of course. Including those who speak a bit of Spanish. Or think they do.

My daughter has brought a vegan friend from Madrid for a few days. As a result, I’ve discovered we have a vegan restaurant in Pv city, near the basilica of Santa María la Mayor. Not that I’ll be patronising it much. If at all.

The UK

Richard North returns today to the subject of (Muslim) sectarianism, almost inevitably taking issue with The (Leftist) Guardian. Which is, I’d guess, the most-read newspaper among the UK’s Muslims.

A Daily Telegraph columnist writes, from the right of centre: We must all take note of the growing threat to the democratic and civil values that we hold so dear. It is not just Jews who must be aware of the threat of Islamism. Any movement that is defined by intolerance, sexism and prejudice is a danger to us all and should be treated as such by everyone who wants to preserve a free and peaceful society.

France

Probably even unhappier today than it was yesterday . . .

China

Something on the economy.

The Way of the World

A question for our times . . . . How shocked were you by news that Midsomer Murders now includes a trigger warning that it may contain “crime scenes” in case some pearl-clutching halfwit fails to spot the clue in the title?

English

A centuries-old question: Shood Inglish speling bee chanjed?

Spanish

Un recordman: Someone – very probably male or female – who’s broken a record.

Finally . .

I cooked 2 meals this afternoon that were both new to me, catering for a vegan in each case, which ain’t that easy:-

• Chilli veg, and
• A potato salad using the oil from tuna cans in the dressing. Though not for the vegan guest, of course.

I expect my guests will all claim they are great, even if they aren’t. That’s what friends are for.

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.