Santiago de Compostela 11 August 2026

Walking towards the market and back through Santiago de Compostela, Spain, eventually ending up beside the Cathedral, where St James’s remains are traditionally said to be buried. I got quite a number of hits leaving the market which you can see for yourselves. Unfortunately, the Cathedral square had been photobombed by a Palestinian flag, and the sheer incongruity of it reminded me rather too much of Banksy, so I decided to briefly make fun off it in the video. I have never understood why anyone should be expected to tolerate Banksy’s political art simply because others have decided that it is fashionable or worthy of protection. I particularly object to the apparent double standard: an artist who is openly hostile to the state and the police can apparently break the rules, have his work treated as something culturally valuable, and enjoy the protection of the very authorities he attacks. To me, that looks less like a principled application of the rule of law and rather more like a rather cosy case of “jobs for the boys” — especially when the same indulgence would presumably not be extended to everyone who decided to spray their political opinions onto someone else’s property.