Cosas de España 

Those bloody squatters . . . The key to thwarting a squatter extortion, it says here, is reacting quickly to increase the chance that the police will evict them. If you’re an absentee owner, that means you need someone in Spain with a power of attorney to deal with the police on your behalf.

A future challenge? I guess this report is as clear as one can get right now on plans for an EU visa for Brits and others.

It was a very dry spring here in Pv province. So, it’s ironic that a BBQ in my garden last night was called off because of a forecast of rain. Which didn’t actually arrive. Or not much of it, anyway. That said, the Atlantic Blanket has had us in its grip this week and temperatures have been far lower than in other parts of Spain. It doesn’t seem to be keeping ‘pilgrims’ away. Or even Spanish tourists escaping southern heat. 

Look! It’s a myth that we never get any sun in Galicia . . ..

Today is a public holiday in Galicia – the feast day of San Juan. Normally, I see very few folk on Pv’s streets on these. When the sun is shining, they are mostly, I guess, on the beach. But where are they today? Watching the TV??

My visitor last weekend much enjoyed grilled sardines and Galician wine, as I did, in a restaurant in nearby Combarro. This is a quaint village famous for traditional granite grain stores – hórreos – along its seafront. And for its narrow, winding streets. Here’s a couple of German ladies who, a couple days ago, got stuck in the latter when following their satnav’s instructions.:-

Something similar happens in Pv from time to time, on the steps going down to our main square. Providing us with at least minutes of fun, as we watch 3 (bored?)police forces dealing with the problem of a marooned car. And getting in each other’s way.

France

Someone’s analysis of last Sunday’s parliamentary elections . . . France faces political paralysis after a surge in support for hard-Right and hard-Left in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, when Mr Macron lost his ruling majority of the last 5 years. The president fell victim to the monsters his disruptive rise to power created. Both rivals have never looked stronger, while France is facing the kind of chaos he had promised only he could prevent. The honeymoon is over after voters rejected his promise to reunify the country after the presidential election. He is now scrambling to find an ally with which to form a coalition with a ruling majority. The centre-Right Republicains, the most likely prospect, have ruled it out for now. The alternative to coalition is to run a minority government on a bill-by-bill basis, which will mean painful compromises on his agenda. Mr Macron owns the centre ground completely, but must now adapt to woo moderates on the Left and Right. It is an unprecedented challenge for a leader used to ruling with a rubber-stamping parliament.

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Who’s trying hard to unify Europe despite the fact he can’t do this for his own country

The USA

I suspect few outside the USA will understand why the Supreme Court has struck down restrictions on carrying concealed handguns in public. In a 6-3 conservative-liberal split, the court said that the constitution protected a person’s right to carry a handgun for self-defence. It’s hard to see this improving the chances of a solution to the problem of mass killings. Or any killings, for that matter.

Spanish 

El becerro que muge: Literally: The calf who moos. But I’m waiting to know what this idiomatic expression means. María?

English

‘Legacy’: Old. As in planes, tanks and the media. Or anything, really. So, will we soon have ‘legacy age’’

Finally  . . .

To amuse:-

For new readers: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.