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

The economy: Spain in now forecast to be the fastest growing European country this year. Thanks largely to ‘breakneck’ growth in the [increasingly troublesome] tourism sector. Can’t go on.

Politics: The more one reads of the shenanigans of the right-of-centre PP party, the more one concludes it’s a pretty nasty – and corrupt – organisation, possibly run by neo-fascists, assisted by judges of the same ilk. Who possibly qualified before Franco died in 1976. But maybe the PP is less evil now under the Galician Mr Nice Guy, Alberto Feijoo. Here’s Lenox Napier on some of the PP’s nefarious activities of the last decade. Which will probably end up being brushed under the carpet by the ‘right’ judge. [Or just left not under but on the ‘carpeta’ – Spanish for ‘file’.]

The weather: Some parts of Spain face ‘The hottest day in 74 years.’ Though not up here in Galicia, where the temperature won’t rise above 28. Or even 24 here on the coast. BTW . . . I recall that 50 years ago the alarmist warnings were of a looming minor ice-age*. Wonder what happened to that.

*Starting in the 1920s and peaking during the 1970s, there were indeed warnings about a potential ice age, primarily characterized by the concept of global cooling. This notion gained traction due to a combination of observed climatic trends and media sensationalism. Hard to believe now . . . But talking of alarming/alarmist predictions . . . Here’s one re parts of Spain 25 years from now. None in Galicia.

There are certainly some living things which have enjoyed the warm but wet weather of spring and early summer here in Galicia – the bloody weeds in my garden. Which grow in tremendous profusion and take a lot of work to stay on top of. So, thank god for chemicals which, in large part, do the work for me. The worst is the trumpet flower – bindweed – whose life’s mission is to strangle the life out of my ivy hedges. Leaving these weeds to flourish when I was 2 months in Madrid last summer and in England for the first 6 months of this year was not a wise move. The good news is that the smaller of the 2 nascent palm trees mown down by the gardener commissioned by my neighbour in my absence has survived and is sprouting. But will take at least 5 years to get back to the tiny thing it was. And 20 to resemble a small tree.

Pv city has 5,000 more ‘foreigners’ than it did not so long ago. I’m guessing that most of these are South American and employed in the hostelry sector. Which raises the question – Where are the Spanish young folk who used to do these jobs? Do they actually exist or does the low birth rate of the last few decades mean there just aren’t enough – or any – potential waiters/waitresses?

It’s odd how small things can force big changes. My current down-town morning routine is 30+ minutes at 11 in a quiet café, then tiffin on a terrace, then picking up my grandson from tennis at 2. But every day this week a couple have got to the café before 11 and commandeered both of the local papers I need. They each read one – word for word – and then exchange them, taking a lot more than 30 minutes for the entire process. They have every right to do this, of course, but it throws me off my schedule. So I’m thinking of putting something in their coffee. Maybe only a sedative . . .

En passant . . the bottle of olive oil I bought last night cost as much – just under 10 euros – as the bottles of Galician Godello white wine I buy. No wonder thieves are now making off with whole trees.

The Camino de Santiago . . . Below, there’s some advice for pilgrims leaving Pv city across O Burgo bridge.

The UK

Scotland: You can see here why Scottish nationalists hate Effie Deans, whom their in-house newspaper – The National – characterises as a ‘Unionist troll’. She’s far too logical for their liking. I’m guessing that calling someone a troll simply because they disagree with you is the equivalent of the Spanish habit of calling such a person a fascista, regardless of whether they’re to the left or right of you.

Certainly seems to be the sick man of Europe right now. But is this illness temporary or permanent, asks the FT here.

Relevant comments from AEP here, on both Germany and the EU at large.

France

The Paris mayoress has finally swum in the Seine to prove it’s safe to do so, ahead of the Olympics. Let’s hope she doesn’t now do a Keats, who’s alleged to have died of typhoid fever after swimming in the Bay of Naples in 1820.

The French Macron-hater is still at it here. Would have been a great tricoteuse, I guess.

The USA

A nice cartoon

English

Braw: Well, Scottish really. 1. Fine, splendid, 2. Dressed in a fine or showy manner, 3. Handsome, 4. Smart, 5. Brave. It appeared in a line I uttered in a scout Gang Show some decades ago: It’s a braw, bricht, moonlicht night, the noo. Got quite a laugh but, until today, I had no idea what ‘braw’ meant . .

Spanish

Ceñirse: A versatile verb: To stick to; To limit oneself; To keep to; To put on(don).

Did you know?

Viruses could kill you – but they could also save your life. We are only just beginning to understand the enormous significance of the human virome.

Finally . .

One of life’s minor irritations is being conned by Amazon into signing up for Prime. And now I’ve discovered that this has happened with Skype, as regards a continuing monthly subscription. Which I’ve just cancelled after receiving what I thought was a phishing email headed Your subscription has been successfully extended. Largely because it was addressed to me as Daqvid. In fact, I’d somehow unwittingly signed up for 10 euros a month of 400 minutes of UK calls/messages, despite the ‘Auto-recharge’ being off. Money down the drain now.

Finally, Finally . . .

Strange . . . My normal 6 hours of sleep a night has increased to 7 since I started – 4 nights ago – to have a small snack of salty biscuits – Saladitas – before retiring. So, now I have to research this phenomenon. Initial AI result: Quite the opposite. Eating salty snacks before bedtime is generally not recommended for promoting better sleep. Try bananas/tart cherries, nuts, or complex carbohydrate such as oatmeal.

To amuse . . .

Advice for pilgrims leaving Pv city via O Burgo bridge.

At the moment, the main route up through the barrio of Lérez is closed and you’re advised to turn left and take the first right, just after the petrol/gas station. My advice is not to do this but to keep walking a minute or two until you arrive at a zebra crossing, where you’ll see a path to your right, alongside a tributary of the main river. This is flat and far more shaded. After a few hundred metres, you’ll arrive at a tarmac road, with a small, narrow bridge to your left. Here you can either carry straight on across the road or turn right onto the road and then join the main route after 200m. If you take the first option – my recommendation – you’ll follow a path as it bends to the right and comes out on the main route, further along than with the 2nd option.

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.