Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain: 23.3.21

 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'

Covid 

The UK: Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths plummet. BUT: From the Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine: The idea of ‘zero Covid’ is an illusion. The most likely scenario a year from now is seasonal outbreaks with lower mortality rates

The EU: The EU finds itself in the early stages of a deadly 3rd wave. 

Cosas de España

Here's more on one of the 4 ways for 'non-residents' hit by the post-Brexit 90/180-day rule to legally circumvent it.

And here's Lenox Napier on owning a car in Spain.

Cousas de Galiza

Now I'm allowed to go into Pontevedra city again, I've noticed the first example of something I've waited years to see - an unneeded local(shop space) used as a home:-

This is in a street in which I've seen many small shops open and close over the years. Several have stayed closed, leading me to ask why these aren't converted into dwellings. Maybe Airbnb and the huge growth in camino 'pilgrim' numbers have finally incentivised this, and there'll now be a growing trend. If so, it might end the common (and ugly) sight of a block of flats with the entire ground floor of locales all boarded up.

And now that I'm allowed to sit on the terrace of my watering hole again, I noticed 2 things last weekend:-

1. There seems to be a growing custom/obligation for young women to carry a small, ugly dog. Usually in their hands but sometimes in a handbag,

and

2. Even when I'm sitting shirt-sleeved in the sun, many local folk are still sporting jackets, or even overcoats and scarves. It's always wise in Galicia to anticipate a sudden change in the weather but I do find this a tad extreme. I know the forecast was for a temperature of down to zero in parts of Galicia but, as far as I know, this certainly didn't happen. Not in Poio or Pontevedra at least.

Maria's Tsunami: Days 49&50. For poetry lovers.

The UK 

British hoteliers fear that holidaymakers are “abusing” flexible booking policies to secure breaks at home and abroad for the same period to maximise their chance of a holiday. They fear they'll be hit with a wave of cancellations, if international holidays are given the green light, with people taking advantage of cancellation policies designed to offer peace of mind. Who'd have thought it? Arguably, you'd be daft not to do this.

The EU 

The EU's vaccine nationalism is even more dangerous than it looks. In an age of pandemics, Brussels’ bid to disrupt global supply networks sets a disastrous precedent. So says an ex British PM here.

And another DT columnist sees the Commission's current actions as rather inconsistent with its 'founding myths'. Anyone really surprised? They are myths, after all.

Social media

At  last, something to help deal with scammers.

Finally  . . . 

HT to Lenox for this. . . For political reasons, Spain has never recognised Kosovo, nor even its name. And now refuses to display its flag or play its anthem. The Spanish football federation has caused controversy by referring to Kosovo as a “territory”, as opposed to a country. So, how will an independent Scotland be treated, one wonders.