Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops
Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable
- Christopher Howse: 'A Pilgrim in Spain'
Detailed info on Galicia and Pontevedra city here.
Covid
As (easily) predicted . . . The Delta variant is beginning to spread, threatening the EU’s progress against the virus.
Cosas de España/Galiza
Another year, another couple of 'authentic' caminos. One from A Orixe and another Of the River Muros. And those are just the latest ones here in Galicia. I'm pretty sure there'll be more in the rest of Spain. All looking forward to seeing the pilgrims of last year's Holy Year. Which is now this year, of course.
Was El Cid given that epithet during his lifetime or was he just called plain old El Campeador or Expert in Pitched Battles? Research suggesting that the 11th-century warlord was only dubbed El Cid 50 years after his death has excited fierce academic debate in Spain. Click here and keep your fingers crossed the link works for you.
Which reminds me. . . Do we yet have the results of the DNA analysis which will establish beyond doubt(?) whether Crístóbal Colón was Spanish, Galician, Portuguese or Italian? And possibly Jewish?
María's Final Stretch: Days 15 & 16
The EU
The EU has introduced a new ‘digital’ ID. Here’s what it means for us residents. Well, the official ones anyway.
Europe - West and East
If it works, this link will take you to an interesting article on the 'fractious' nature of the current Euro football tournament. In that old phrase - War minus the shooting. But, so far at least, the writer's got it wrong on 'the thrill of watching Harry Kane'. Or, indeed, the entire England team . . .
The Way of the World
This week a petition was launched to prevent Amazon's Jeff Bezos from returning to Earth after his maiden flight. So far, 6,000 people have signed it, because he's "an evil overlord, hellbent on global domination” and is actually Lex Luther in disguise”.
The Way of the World
Camilla Long: What happens at the end of this, when we've finally cleansed all of culture? When we've removed all the artists, silenced all the musicians, sentenced all the light entertainers to death? How will books look after we've made novelists remove every slightly irreverent mention of, say, Anne Frank? I’ll tell you how it will look: an endless stream of beige non-books by people like the “wife, mother” and global activator of “compassion” Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The cultural equivalent of tofu.
Quotes of the Day
If we start cancelling artists for causing offence, the walls of galleries will soon be bare.
What is needed is a dating app for people who don't want to meet people who use apps.
Finally . . .
It seems I'm not the only one to notice how excitable/exaggerated British football commentators have become: It was not that long ago that we used to happily laugh at the commentators from Latin America for their complete lack of objectivity.