The privileges of the long distant author

 I remember my first Politics lecture at Poly. It was on Democracy. The whole point of the thing was to take a word we all thought we knew and show us our thinking was sloppy and it could involve freedoms to do things or freedom from things and people could use the word to mean different things without explicitly saying so.  I think the word privilege gets the same treatment. The privilege to do a thing or the privilege to avoid a thing. I suspect we all don’t like to think we are privileged as it doesn’t sound nice - clearly our share is just normal and fair.  All this is a 3.30 thought. A 3.30 thought is the new standard phrase for something that occurs when you - well, me - wake up at 3.30. More to the point it is 3.30, I have a busy day, none of which can be achieved till 5m at the earliest so I am getting done the stuff I didn’t do last night and wishing I had an off switch.  Where was I…

It is a privilege to write for an audience. Maybe it isn’t and you are all locked into some gritty Stockholm syndrome [footnote, yes, I know it has been debunked but the Stockholm Syndrome has been freed to go and play among the worlds of the joke format.]  Am I your captive or you mine? I get the excuse I need to wander round places and look and delight in how they are all the same and different. Google Maps are a joy - especially the Candlemas Eggs, the sudden juxtaposition between two almost identical views separated by time.  Today we will start with a rare night view. It is of Norwich, I know, but I wanted to share it.  Later today we will suddenly get a smattering of Andalucian snow.  We are entering Los Yebenes. The sort of town which has planned and tired grids and crammed ancient streets which are trying to do cars but were never meant for them. It really needs a revisit by Streetview as there are gaps.

Los Verbenes is not well served on the English.  ‘Los Yébenes is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 6,341 inhabitants.’  That’s it.  In Spanish it has more.

The town was two villages that merged so the name comes from the Latin word for twins. Yebenes de Toledo mixed with Yebenes de San Juan - because one village belonged to the city and the other the military order.  Our dear friend the GSH Dictionary has a few things to say in 1850.

YÉBENES: town with town hall in the province and diocese of Toledo…. has a temperate climate , with north, east, and west winds prevailing, and gastric and seasonal fevers are common; it has 600 houses in two neighborhoods separated by a single street, which were two distinct towns until the new constitutional regime, the higher or northern neighborhood being called Yébenes de Toledo , as it corresponds to the jurisdiction of that city, and the lower or southern one Yébenes de San Juan , which belonged to the grand priory of this order, dependent on the governorship and vicarage of Alcázar de San Juan; there are 2 town hall houses, a palace of the commandery of San Juan; A school endowed with 2,200 reales from public funds, attended by 100 children; two parish churches (Santa Maria) with a second-class curacy, appointed by ordinary provision, in what was Yébenes de Toledo, from which the hermitages of La Soledad, San Blas, and La Concepción depend…. The land is arable and of good quality, with a mountain range to the north called Yébenes. There are local roads ; mail is received in Orgaz by a courier three times a week. Products : wheat, barley, rye, oats, chickpeas, vegetables, and oil; sheep, goats, mules, draft animals, and beehives are kept, and all kinds of game are raised. Industry and commerce : bakeries, oil mills, and tanneries; a factory of worsted stockings, the goods of which are taken to Extremadura, and wine is imported. Population. : 901.

The populace was a substantial 3189 in the 1840s and grew to about 5000 in 1920. It jumped over the 6000 by 1930 and has stayed near that ever since with ups in 1960 [6900]  and 2011 [6332] and downs elsetimes.

The first things of note we will pass are a cheese shop and a wine shop and I suspect you will want to go in..   Flor de Yebnes is open 8am to 3pm https://www.flordeyebenes.com/ and Google said it was a wine shop but it appears to be a seller of all drinks, including lurid coloured squash  ‘with vitamins.;  A week ago Alfonos siad ‘It charges very well and quickly, and the people are very nice. ‘  Two weeks before that Hamzen opined ‘A quick and easy charge. I parked right in front of the docks and it took me 9 hours. Everything was fine and safe. Cheers! ‘

Lordi Quesos appears to be more what we were looking for.  https://lordi.es/  The website has nice pictures of manchego.  Toni was happy. ‘The wonderful loaders were able to correct a labeling mistake in time; they were excellent at their job, a 10 out of 10 for them. ‘   So was Manuel ‘Fabrica de quesos que el 2016 fue galardonada con el mejor queso del mundo en Nueva York en Madison Skuar Gardenia es empresa familiar formada por 4 hermanos exportan a América del sur y Europa así como a Japón ,poco , son formales en sus pagos y no tiene precios altos ‘

Up the hill we go, near a five star cake shop.  Pasteleria Tolemancha is much liked. Angel reckoned The shortbread cookies are amazing! A friend brought me a box and I can't wait to go back there again to get more. ‘  Ruben’s views were of the same kidney ‘Pastry shop with a variety of treats... they have homemade cakes 🥧 and chocolate Manchego pastries from their own factory. I recommend you stop by... open Sunday mornings … ‘

Soon we are snaking out of town and once more on the N401a as we move ever closer to Toledo.