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'
Cosas de España/Galiza
Not good news: Spain now has the highest rate of Covid infections in Europe - 436 per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days. Both France and Germany have advised their citizens against taking holidays here this summer.
In Pontevedra's main square last night, we were treated to a Beatles tribute band. Not only was the singer female but so were all other members except the drummer. Although they performed all their songs in English, they made an exception with ‘I Feel Fine’, which was rendered in Gallego, as Síntome ben. I think. As the volume was - as ever - excessive, I had trouble making out anything.
The nearby town of Moraña will this year have its annual lamb spit-roasting fiesta. This is one of my favourites and I've attended it several times but usually eating in a bar or restaurant, a little away form the main marquee/tent. This is because you need 15 people to enter the lottery for a table there. And getting 15 Spanish people to really commit to the event would be like herding sheep. Sure, I could get 14 friends to say they'll come but, in Spain, that amounts to sweet FA. Each of their positive responses would have the unstated rider, unless I have something better to do on the day. Which might well end up with me paying for several no-shows. Or becoming a ticket tout in the town an hour before the event. A confession . . . Years ago, I ordered roast lamb in a restaurant and enjoyed it so much I had it again. . . .
Talking of no shows - there are reports of only 30% of people turning up at one vaccination spot earlier this week. Who knows why. Too young to care? Anti-vaxxer mentality? Still in bed? Or something else? But, whatever, it's not helping to stop the current massive surge in cases.
María's (new) Not So Fast: Day 9: Fairness
The UK
A play on the WW2 government exhortation to Stay Calm and Carry On:-
The EU
There are increasing concerns and differing tactics being adopted across Europe to address the on-going impact of Covid, as it continues to wreak havoc, with the Delta variant taking a dominant role in escalating case numbers. The lifting of restrictions and increasing the rate of vaccinations, particularly among the younger age demographic, are challenges that all countries are facing. There is no easy answer, but the repercussions of getting it drastically wrong could be catastrophic. More here.
France
Wow . . . The discovery of a hoard of 9th-century Frankish silver in a Polish field has prompted speculation that it may be part of a vast ransom - 2 tonnes of gold and silver - paid to save Paris from the Norse Vikings who'd besieged the city in 845AD. Not everyone accepts this theory, of course.
The Way of the World
SUVs: Why is urban Britain, a country once home to ingenious small-car engineering (think of the original Mini), turning to elephantine lumps of gas-guzzling steel and glass at precisely the point in our planet’s history when we realise that weight and size are bad things?
Spanish
Having heard David Rose's ‘The Stripper yesterday’, I checked on the Spanish translation. There are 2 words, in fact - La Desnudista and, inevitably, La Estríper.
Finally . . .
One of my neighbours has had to go into quarantine because 2 kids in her son's playgroup class had tested positive. This has disrupted both her personal and business plans and, in frustration, she wrote last night. Jesús! Estoy harta de este fuck*** virus/año. After I'd stopped laughing, I advised her of the correct use of the asterisks . .
Note: If you’ve arrived here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try this.