Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain: 9.7.21

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'

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Cosas de España/Galiza  

There's a painting in the Prado which used to be by Goya, then wasn’t, but now possibly is again. It’s this one - The Colossus:- 

Officially: There's no consensus and disagreement continues. But there is growing support for it to be returned to Goya.

Sunday's football match: Everyone here in Spain will be supporting Italy on Sunday, says a Spanish football journalist. Because England - being fracasados - always choke in the big games. As England have played most of their matches at Wembley, this wouldn't be Spain if there weren't quite a few conspiracy theories doing the rounds here. And Raheem Sterling’s dubious penalty didn't help things on that front. Said journalist claims most people here will be supporting the Italians, even if though it was they who knocked out Spain in the semi-finals. Most but not all, of course. Not sure what this says about Anglo-Spanish relationships.

Given there are said to be more than 100 (150?) different genders on offer, is there a risk they'll eventually run out of letters? Or window space? 

María's (new) Not So Fast: Days 2,3 & 4. Shocking judicial bias.

The UK

The devil in the details . . . Just as I’d concluded I could travel to the UK in August without being quarantined, I see that: The UK government has said it won't accept any proof of vaccination apart from the NHS app or certificate. Terrific. Bloody Brexit!

With the incidence of Delta cases rapidly rising in Spain - as elsewhere - the question might be: Having gone from Amber to Green, is there a risk of the country going backwards to Red in the relatively near future?

 

Quote of the Day

Even in the 17th century, the nascent popular press could sow confusion in people’s mind. The advent of the internet has greatly magnified the potential for misinformation and disinformation to spread, to the extent that we may speak of twin plagues in 2020: one caused by a biological virus, the other by even more contagious viral misconceptions and falsehoods.

Spanish

HT to Lenox of Business Over Tapas for these examples of Spanish-influenced English terms:-

The cowboy term for prison, hoosgow, from juzgado

canyon, from cañon

vamoose, from vamos

mustang, from mesteño

alligator, from el lagarto, and 

stampede, from estampida

Plus these

Finally  . . .

Another HT to Lenox for this article displaying terrific coloured versions of famous fotos from the Civil War.