Colin Davies

27 July 2024

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

Eleven years after it happened, sentences have finally been handed down in respect of the awful train crash near Santiago de Compostela. No sign that the company ADIF will face a charge of negligence. Only a couple of employees of Renfe and ADIF

The estimable Mac 75 highlights something near Sitges.

As a lover of lamb, I’m all in favour of this initiative. And my favourite chef has today agreed to put it on her menu . . .

A special place in Galicia for, I guess, the more-than-averagely-wealthy.

I suspect that most Spaniards would believe that the rainiest town in Spain is to be found here in Galicia. But it ain’t.

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

France

Should there ever be another city daft enough to take on the Olympics, I rather doubt it will emulate the unfortunate French and have the opening ceremony in the open air. Where the weather gods determine success or failure. Here’s a not-too-sniffy review of the day.

Talking of French folk and rivers, I read today that Monet painted the river Thames even more than he painted his lilies. Over 100 times, in fact. He like the effect of fog and smog. A lot.

The USA

The Trumps – An insight into a dreadful family.

The Way of the World

The world’s introverts are winning, says this writer, though they shouldn’t be. I can’t help thinking that, in Spain, the results of the survey cited therein would be different from those of the UK. But perhaps not.

BTW . . . Our lives might ‘feel’ more dangerous these days, but are they really? I suspect not and, of course, I, too, blame the internet and, above all, social media for the distortion.

I’m reminded of the saying that Life is a body-contact sport. Or used to be, anyway.

English

Chyron: The  caption superimposed over, usually, the lower part of a video image (as during a news broadcast)

Did you know?

The funniest jokes from The Edinburgh Fringe, allegedly . . . I laughed at a couple of them.

Finally . .

Wonder if this is true . . After performing in a revival of George Bernard Shaw’s play Candida, Cornelia Otis Skinner received a telegram from the author: EXCELLENT. GREATEST.

She wired back: UNDESERVING SUCH PRAISE.

He responded: I MEANT THE PLAY.

She replied: SO DID I.

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.

8 comments

  1. No, life is not more dangerous. It’s definitely not more dangerous here, nor in many other places. I remember Boston in my childhood, in the 70’s and 80’s. That was a jungle. There were drive by shootings every week. Arsonists burnt down buildings at an astonishing rate. Muggings were on the order of the day. From what my cousin now tells me, most of that has disappeared. There’s still crime, of course, but nothing like forty or fifty years ago.

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  2. I remember Congleton Park, or rather the neighbourhood, where we often walked our two dogs (Weimaraners) and sometimes had tea in the pavilion (?). John’s mum worked in Hanley for the Potteries Museum and lived nearby. I must hurry now, I have a business appointment

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  4. Juat back from a couple of weeks in the UK Don C, but I read your musings everyday.

    Was in Notts, Derbs, Manchester, Macc, & Birmingham.

    Thoroughly enjoyed it, customer service was brilliant everywhere I went.

    The amount of variety was also great to see, I wish I had checked in a large empty case.

    I asked my clients if Britain was Broken. That was some 30 people. Generally, they were all of the same opinion – the NHS is in a mess, the infrastructure too. Having used a hire car for the 2 weeks, I couldnt agree more on the shocking state of local roads. The motorways were overcrowded, roadworks every 10 minutes, and more speed cameras on the M1, M6 & M42 than possibly in the whole of Spain. I didnt use the NHS, so cant comment.

    oh! And Stansted Airport what an utterly depressing place. Never changes. Far too small for the passenger traffic. Dirty too. Still, if you stay away from every hooligans favourite pub, Wetherspoons, then it is just about survivable.

    Electric cars everywhere, the tax breaks are very good. One chap I spoke to has a Hyundai Ionic. His last car was diesel. He now pays 300gbp less per month.

    The most enjoyable moment was a full English somewhere near Evesham in a Garden Centre restaurant. It had been a while since I ate a plate of cholesterol, and it was lovely.

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