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

For early readers of yesterday’s post, here’s the Guy Hedgecoe link that might have been missing.

The New York Post reports that: Archaeologists in Spain have discovered a possible hidden Roman Empire from over 2,000 years ago. A team of researchers from the University of Cádiz started exploring an area of the Sierra de Cádiz region last year hoping to just find a few remnants of ancient life there. Instead, they were stunned to come across 57 Roman Empire-era sites. 

When I was 17 and working as a hotel barman, I met a Spanish waiter who also worked there. He showed me his English text book, in which the first phrase was the less-than-useful: Mi sastro es rico. My tailor is rich. Anyway, around that time I got a book of quotations in which I saw the Quijote sentence: Bien haya el que inventó el sueño, capa que cubre todos los pensamientos humanos. When I came to Spain and quoted this, it produced looks of consternation. Possibly because of bad pronunciation but possibly because it’s 16th century Spanish. This week, I’ve returned to Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy: Life & Opinions of the Gentleman wherein he quotes this Sancho Pança(Panza) comment as: “God’s blessing be upon the man who first invented this self-same thing called sleep – it covers a man all over like a cloak”. Which doesn’t do it justice, in my view, Here’s 3 versions in modern Spanish:-

• AI: Bendito sea el que inventó el sueño, un manto que cubre todos los pensamientos humanos.
• Google: Bendito sea aquel que inventó el sueño, un manto para cubrir todos los pensamientos humanos.
• Deepl: Bendito sea el que inventó el sueño, un manto para cubrir todos los pensamientos humanos

Reader Perry has kindly sent me this video on the new but ‘controversial’ Avril train operating between Madrid and Galicia. Not perfect, says the reviewer. Who, BTW, commits the cardinal Brit error of pronouncing his As long, which never, ever happens in Spanish.

The UK

These are the university qualifications which pay the most 15 months after graduation in the UK:- 1. Dentistry. 2. Medicine 3. Pharmacology and Pharmacy 4. Veterinary medicine 5. Chemical Engineering. The first slot was a great surprise to me, possibly because, when I was young, most if not all dentists worked for the NHS and were not well paid. Now, most of them are private. I wonder if it’s still the profession with the greatest number of suicides. Possibly not. [AI Answer: Yes, dentists in the UK continue to have a high number of suicides, with significant mental health challenges reported within the profession. Male dentists have the highest suicide rate among all professionals at approximately 8%, while female dentists have a rate of about 5%. ]

The USA

I have long thought it would be the Republicans who’d assassinate Trump. If Harris’s lead continues to grow, I guess this becomes ever more possible.

Russia

A couple of possibilities . .

• Putin is worried.
• Ukraine’s invasion of Russia is Putin’s most brutal humiliation. Panic has gripped the Kremlin as Zelensky’s surprise offensive turns the war on its head.

Social Media

The big unanswered question of the moment . . . Can we tame the social media monster without snuffing out free speech?

English

• Daisy Dukes: Very topical . . . US slang for brief denim shorts, named after a character in the TV show The Dukes of Hazard.
• Content creator: If, like me, have no idea what a this is . . . Someone who creates entertaining or educational material to be expressed through any medium or channel. This especially pertains to digital content on social media channels, since that’s where most content is consumed — and where the money is. For businesses, it can mean newsletters, emails, webinars, digital marketing materials, brochures, social media, articles, annual reports, advertorial messaging, editorial materials, company communications, and more. For individuals, it can mean creating livestreams, vlogs, or other photo or video content . Probably employed by that other new career of ‘Influencer.

Spanish

• Casero: Homemade. But also Home-lover, Caretaker and Landlord/lady
• Arrabales: Suburbs. And Slums.

Did you know?

At a site in Turkey, archaeologists have uncovered a clay tablet which contains a number of furniture items. The believe it’s a shopping list and that it proves there was an IKEA equivalent 3,500 years ago.

Finally . . . You have to be brave – or something else – to sport one of these . . .

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. If you do this but don’t read the posts, I will delete your subscription. So perhaps don’t bother if you have other reasons for subscribing . . .
• 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.