Tavira

After a long, deep sleep early Tavira ritual resumes at French Bakery nearby; good coffee and pain au raisin ... joined by Diana on her way in for the early shift ... conversation on perils of world for our children ... WiFi, smartphone addiction and so on ... then off to market for fresh vegetables for next couple of days as this chapter moves towards England again ... timing and route depending on imminent dentistry, already taking much longer than anticipated ...

Camino arises in discussion with Diana too ... her observation of different kinds of pilgrims passing through, claiming the 10% pilgrim discount, or in a recent case asking for a free bed ... which works in some church and private hostels along the Way, but not at the government run ones ... price already cheap enough ...

Interesting TED talk suggests poverty and intelligence are linked, but not in expected way ... sugar cane farmers in a research study demonstrated a 14% increase in IQ test scores in the harvest period, when they experienced abundance and a corresponding reduction as the year went on and they had reduced incomes until the next harvest. The speaker uses the results to argue for Basic Income, a system currently being promoted across usual political boundaries ... Poverty Thinking and Abundance Thinking an interesting and delicate topic to consider ... Basic Income looking like a useful tool towards an escape from extreme poverty and its knock-on effects ....

Exercise in patience continues dentally as extended wait enables catching up with world news according to FT Weekend, including very large glossy supplement called, without any sense of shame, How to Spend It! Christmas posing particular problems for folks who already have everything they want and lots they don't. ... the mag propping up the whole FT stable with huge profits from advertising ...

Friendly implantologist, between discussing Carl Sagan, reveals two more appointments required over ten more days ... and visit to charity shop unearths five more books for a bargain €1 ... and learning Portuguese online with local practice still an obvious and neglected opportunity ... a few more days in Tavira, then 6 day opportunity before next and hopefully final appointment ... city breaks not appealing ... let's see what arises ...