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

Yesterday was Santiago Apostle Day in Spain. And also Galicia Day in guess where. This article addresses why and where the religious holiday is celebrated today. And reveals that a centuries-old mantra has been adopted by far right ‘movements’.

Hat tip to Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas for this incongruous foto:

Well, I’ve had my first 3 euro glass of godello, which would be cheap, I guess, in Madrid but not here, where 2.60 is about average. Or was until today.

This is a shop in the centre of Pv city’s old quarter. To my certain knowledge, it’s been having a sale every day for at least the last 24 years. . .

Excess street furniture is a real problem in UK cities and, to some extent, here in Pv city. But in my street, the only example of something not needed is this sign to a property development built between 2004 and 2008 and ending in the bankruptcy of both the construction company and the promoter. I suspect it’ll still be there for archaeologists to find it in a few hundred years time.

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

Portugal

If you want an example of what greedy mass tourism does to a place, you’d struggle to find a better example than Sintra. I was lucky enough to first visit it in 2001, when it was still delightful. I’ve been back 4 or 5 times since, taking friends to see it. My final visit was in November last year and it was truly horrendous. So, I have no problem agreeing with the description of Sintra as a congested amusement park. Just driving through it is a nightmare, apparently any time of the year.

The UK

Suddenly, it’s no longer fashionable to be relentlessly negative about the UK. A good example.

And here’s another, from AEP.

On the other hand, and looking further ahead, Richard North provides here a window on what’s happening – and likely to happen – with the UK energy mix and its component prices. I’m possibly not the only reader who’s less able than RN to fully understand the picture. But I suspect he’s right about Energy UK, the government’s expensive new ’catalyst’ for private investment.

France

A comment from this morning: A flotilla of almost 100 boats carrying 10,500 athletes will sail down the River Seine during today’s Olympics opening ceremony, which is set to either outshine London’s 2012 Games or become an organisational disaster. By the time you read this, you’ll probably know which it was . . .

The USA

Oh, dear . . Two US columnists write:-

• 1. [North]American politics can only get worse.
• 2. When will the establishment stop lying to us?

Iran

Two nice quotes from this article:-

• The fundamentals of Khamenei’s regime (an Islamic society with enforced hijab, a desire to fight the US and destroy Israel) could hardly be more unpopular with the populace. Privately, the more far-sighted elements of the Iranian establishment also admit the status quo to be untenable and in need of change. 
• The Islamic Revolution of 1979 came to the world with a bang. It boldly claimed it would bring about an alternative to both capitalism and communism, a new spiritual form of governance that would improve people’s earthly and heavenly lives. Forty-five years later, it is clear how miserably it has failed on those lofty goals. Sturdy as it may seem, it is dying a slow death. 

The Way of the World

• Why the bad guys are winning – A historian and journalist warns of the growing power of the international coalition of autocracies, from theocratic Iran to kleptocratic Russia.
• Everything you need to know about La Niña, the climate phenomenon behind this year’s extreme weather.

AI

• Good to see that there’s a real challenge to Google in the form of the SearchGPT app. Hopefully no sponsored answers.

With Google in its sights, OpenAI unveils SearchGPT

• Less appealing is an ‘AI Assistant’ in WordPress which highlights words which it thinks are either ‘complex’ – such as ‘accurate’ – or uncofident(sic) – such as ‘might’, ‘maybe’ or ‘probably’ – and then makes truly stupid suggestions for alternative text. It took me an annoying 30 minutes this morning to find out how to disable this modern equivalent of the irritating paper-clip (‘Clippie’) of Microsoft of years ago.
  
  English

• We have no academy, so the people rule. And the dictionaries reflect their neologisms, as here.
• Muckety-muck: ‘An important and often arrogant person’. It came into English from Chinook Jargon, a language that originated as a pidgin language of the Pacific Northwest in the 19th century, originally in what is now Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, but eventually spreading as far as Alaska, California, and Montana.

Spanish

• Magulladura: Bruise
• Picheleiro: Someone who makes or sells pitch. An inhabitant of Santiago de Compostela.

Finally . .

I first heard this catchy little number only a year or two ago but it seems to have suddenly become very popular on classical music stations. Worth a listen, as it tends to bring a smile.

Finally, Finally . . .

I’ve had my first almost-complaint about my over-zealous cancellation of subscriptions that I suspected weren’t genuine. But only one .

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. And this article ‘debunks claims re wealth and residency taxes’. Probably only relevant if you’re a HNWI. In which case, you’ll surely know what that stands for.