Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight.

And, lo, has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light!

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable

 Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’

Covid

Some folk claim to have had foresight and not just hindsight.

Cosas de España y Galicia

It’s reported today that more than 25% of Galician hotels are for sale. As tourism is again booming, I guess I can be forgiven for wondering . . . Money-laundering?

I read this comment yesterday, ironically in an article on California: If you want to get something done in the developing world, you often need to engage the services of a fixer. This is someone who has connections in the bureaucracy. Here in Spain, these are the high-street gestores, who’ve probably been around since Spain was officially part of said ‘developing world’. This, I think, only ended in the 60s or 70s, after tourism had taken off and ‘economically illiterate’ Franco had died. As far as I can see, they still flourish, helping folk who can pay them to do things they don’t have the time or inclination to do themselves. I wonder of the problem of lacking the time to take on the infamous Spanish bureaucracy might has increased alongside a growing incidence of both partners working, to make ends meet.

The ‘new paella’? The Spanish are going crazy for a simple Catalan dish of charred spring onions.

Talking of paella . . . The best isn’t made by Spaniards, it seems . . .

Last night I was reading in a café where 6 young ladies were talking, laughing and even screaming at the same time. Right now, I’m typing this in my favoured ‘quiet’ place, where 4 women in their 60s are doing much the same. About food, naturally. OK, without the screaming. I think I’ll start wearing ear-plugs. Or pray for deafness . . .

The UK

I wrote yesterday that someone had claimed it’s the Age of the Bullshitter, whereas I’ve long said I see it as the Age of the Bureaucrat. Perhaps both claims are true, as we’re talking about big people on one hand and little people on the other. Anyway, here’s a claim which endorses my view. At least as regards the UK. Though that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re both correct, of course: The British state, after 13 years of Tory-led government, remains interventionist, eco-obsessed, euro-compliant, high-spending and woke. This is because it’s run by a standing bureaucracy that pursues its own agenda, more or less regardless of the ministers who are notionally in charge. Interestingly, this claim was in a right-wing newspaper, albeit from someone disappointed with the Conservative government in general and the implementation of Brexit in particular.

‘Dopey Harry’ crosses a line. Is the case for him being executed growing stronger by the month? Anyway, some good advice for the poor misguided chap.

The EU

Brussels at its bureaucratic best? . . . There’s to be an EU-wide registry for holiday-lets, sometime in the future.

Russia

The infamous Foreign Minister gets off to a flying start in his new career as a comedian.

Doubtless he’ll be riffing on Ukrainian war crimes in Russia soon, after his visit to what’s left of Mariupol

Gallego

Reader Paideleo fears that this is, in fact, dying. Which we agree is sad. Ironically, I’m more conscious of it around me than I was 20 years ago. Possibly because I can now easily distinguish it from Castellano/’Cristiano’ . . . Speaking of which . . .

Spanish

1. Moral: The main meanings (of 9) in the RAE dictionary:-

• Belonging or relative to the actions of people, from the point of view of their actions in relation to good or evil and based on their individual and, above all, collective life.
• In accordance with the norms that a person has of good and evil.
• The state of mind, individual or collective. [= ‘morale’]
• The confidence to face up to something. [” “]

So . . . Comer la moral a alguien: To discourage someone, or to cause them to lose confidence.

2. Dar/meter/pasar gato por liebre: To swindle/take for a ride.¡

Finally . . .

The voice-to-text capability of personal computers has come quite a long way in recent years. And the app on my new-ish PC is better than that of my 4 year old Mac. But it made a pig’s ear of Petrushka yesterday and failed to give both Stravinsky and Petrushka capital letters. Which is odd, given that it recognised the composer’s name. As it does with Madrid, London and Washington. On the other hand, my pronunciation of Pontevedra resulted in pontedera, pond the weather, and Pandey bandara. At which point, I gave up.

For new readers:-

1. 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.

2. Should you want to, the easiest way to to get my post routinely is to sign up for email subscription. As opposed to using a Bookmark or entering the URL in your browser. And there’s the Thoughts from Galicia FB group.