A mournful discovery

 This was one of those days when I was wondering if I should brush down the Boys’ Book of Interesting Facts and look at the national consumption of cabbage or how it was possible for Rayo Vallecano to win any match of Association Football with that ownership model.   Then the town of Adamuz appeared from out of nowhere, so we will go there instead.

Adamuz apparently comes from the Arabic word, Damus, meaning cave, corner or reservoir. A nearby cave contained stuff from the early Copper Age.  What the Corner contained History did not report. Roman era headstones have been found and in 1566 Philip II sold the place to the Marquis of El Carpio.

While forgotten in much of the English Speaking World, Adamuz is known in Spain for the derailment of two high-speed passenger trains on 18th January 2026.  At 19.43 the Malaga-Madrid train was passing through when its rear three carriages derailed and fell onto the southbound track.  At which point a four-car Renfe Madrid to Huelva ploughed into the derailed train and two carriages fell down the embankment.

Forty-six people were killed in the crash and 292 injured. 170 were treated for minor injuries and 122, including 15 in a critical condition, were transported to hospital, although 79 were discharged next day.   

The first investigations confirmed that a faulty weld on a rail was the cause. A second report, issued in April, found that issues with track circuit voltage meant that the alert systems did not work.

Three days of national mourning were declared and began on 20th January.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clye22ljxw4o

I think with that it is time to move on reflectively.