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

Not good news. The loss of purchasing power in Spain is greater than in most other OECD countries.

Watching the 5th run in Pamplona this morning, it wasn’t hard to discern that there were very, very few females willing to risk injury or even death. Much less than 1%, I’d guess. Not so drunk? Or just not so stupid?

A bizarre place in the Basque Country. Sometimes Spanish, sometimes French

It’s not only the UK which is having a wet summer so far. My daughter’s friend and her son only saw the rain stop this afternoon, just before getting the train back to Madrid, after only a brief 4-day stay. The shared transnational factor might be unusual patterns caused by the vagaries of the Gulf Stream. But I repeat my warning to all would-be visitors to stay away, in case their holiday is ruined. By evil seagulls, if not by bad weather.

Normally you can’t avoid umbrella sellers on days like this but there was none to be seen in Pv city centre at 11.30 this morning, when I wanted to replace the one I’d left in the UK. Admittedly, the drizzle couldn’t have been any lighter. Not that this stopped visitors from Madrid and further South from dressing as if we were experiencing a downpour in the North of Scotland. And me both jacket and umbrella-less! We’re hardy folk up here.

The UK

A nice report on last night’s game . . . England puffed their way to the Final, surviving against Slovakia with seconds to spare, and beating Switzerland on penalties. Yet, in Dortmund, they arrived. This was the England we’d been hoping to see. This was the England performance that is the pure product of structure and ethics and culture and coaching, and having fine players to put on the pitch. Good teams win playing badly. And that’s all England were. A good team, playing badly. Then, suddenly, they weren’t. And, if England didn’t deserve their penalty, they deserved their parity, and their win.

Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings . . . My grandson is half-Spanish, so I asked him who he wanted to win on Sunday. He opted for Spain, as some of his team – ‘Atleti’ – play for them. But he then said he didn’t want England to lose. When I stressed that one team had to, he came up with the suggestion that they play indefinitely, with each team scoring immediately after the other one had. Or possibly at the same time. No loser, but no winner either. Brilliant. And only 5.

The EU

Is braced for a weakened Macron, says the FT here.

France

President Macron sought to end the chaos at the heart of the French political system with a call for mainstream parties to unite in a grand coalition. In an open letter he’s said he wants all parties except the hard-left France Unbowed and hard-right National Rally to work together. Needless to say, this has infuriated both the Left and the Right. Couldn’t be happening to a nicer guy.

Germany

Wow! Can things really be this bad.

The USA

It’s a worrying fact that Joe Biden appears to be on 4% battery, but is so old no one can find a compatible charging lead.

The Way of the World

Every product in the UK – and almost certainly the USA – now comes with a hyperbolic adjective. Nothing is merely New and Improved! any more. Likewise, old-fashioned adjectival reticence has gone by the board. So it is that someone can ask: Will paper tissues soon be marketed for your “snottiest cold”, or toilet roll for your “runniest poos”? I think we can answer Yes to that.

I mentioned that there are now ludicrous trigger warnings for the TV crimes series Midsomer Murders – for example, advising of “crime scene images” and “violent moments”. But one episode has gone way beyond parody with the statement that “traditional dancing might offend some viewers”. Especially if accompanied by a bagpipe, in my case.

English

A British columnist says she’s motivated to list Americanisms she doesn’t like by a complaint from a (North) American about British English, viz:-

• Bangs for fringe.
• Pissed, which should only mean drunk.
• Mad when they mean angry.
• Airplane. Deplane.
• Math without the “s”.
• Ride, when they mean lift.
• ‘Two times’ for twice, which is shorter.
• Chips for crisps.
• Period.
• Normalcy.
• ‘Mirror’ pronounced “mee yah”?

But she does like ‘fanny pack, saying it has a very special place in her heart.

Did You Know . . . ?

Rather to my surprise, not everyone in the world is a Swiftie. . . .

Very hard to believe but there was a time in professional football when, in a gesture of sportsmanship, a goalkeeper would walk out of his goal and stand to one side when a penalty was awarded against his team. He’d surely be lynched now.

Finally . . .

Time Out has one British and one Spanish city in its list of the 20 best places to eat in around the world. Quite hard to believe that the former is Liverpool and the latter is Sevilla. Even harder to believe Liverpool comes in at 11 and Sevilla at 13. But Time Out does make Liverpool sound enticing here. I suspect the methodology has a lot to do with these strange findings.

Finally, Finally . . .

The latest phishing scam to come my way . . . An authentic-looking email from X which began: We noticed an attempt to log in to your account @ColinDa12342589 that seems suspicious. Was this you? I might have been willing to believe this if I had such an account. Here’s something on this type of scam.

Welcome to new subscriber Smithee.

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.