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’

Cosas de Galicia/España

The left-wing PSOE government is trying to bring in a law against prostitution but its far-left wing is trying to stop it. Says the VdG this morning: La ley abolicionista, sin apoyoEl PSOE se ha quedado solo por primera vez en el Congreso en una votación. Intentaba aprobar la reforma del Código Penal para «prohibir el proxenetismo en todas sus formas». Su socio de Gobierno, Sumar, rechazó rotundamente el texto. En el debate sobre la abolición de la prostitución, entre las voces en contra se escucharon sentencias como «es un electoralismo con los cuerpos y las vidas» de las afectadas, «un abandono absoluto» de las prostituidas o «van a mandar a mujeres vulnerables a la clandestinidad». The Left always its internal disputes over who’s the most pure.

The police have said that the wife of the PM has got no case to answer but this probably won’t stop the (right-wing) investigating judge in his tracks. He has a tribe to work for.

The FT reports that Spain has ‘permanently’ recalled its ambassador from Argentina.  The worsening diplomatic dispute raises the potential for turbulence for investment and the economy. Spanish businesses are the second-largest investors in Argentina after US companies.

These are the 10 ‘most popular’ uni courses around the country. The marks required are in the pre-uni exams, colloquially known as La Selectividad. They used to be the PAU but are now the EvAU or the EBAU. The highest mark required is 13.6/14.0, or 97%. This is for Fisioterapia y Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte in Sevilla. God knows how one achieves that. Unless all the questions are just multiple choice.

Another list . . . The 10 poorest towns in Spain. I’m surprised not to see any in the ‘poor’ regions of Galicia and Extremadura. All in the South or offshore:-
El Ejido (Almeria) – annual average income €13,066
Sanlucar de Barrameda (Cadiz) – €13,587
Santa Lucía de Tirajana (Gran Canaria) – €14,246
Arona (Gran Canaria) – €14,275
Elda (Alicante) – €14,314
Lorca (Murcia) – €14,626
Torrevieja (Alicante) – €15.041
Orihuela (Alicante) – €15,813
Utrera (Sevilla) – €15,832
Motril (Granada) – €15,942

Madrid, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca lead the ranking of the richest cities in Spain, followed by Valencia and Sevilla.

It’s long been traditional for right-wing politicians to claim that Gibraltar is a tax haven and a nest of drug smugglers and money-launderers. So, very unlike the Costa del Sol. These accusations are being made again as a deal with the UK draws close. Naturally, the allegations are annoying the Gib government which says that it stopped being a tax haven years ago and that much money flows from Gib into the local Spanish economy. It also points out that the model of narco boats used by the smugglers was outlawed in Gibraltar in 1995, yet is still in use in Spain. It has also banned the storage of petrol in containers meant for the supply of the narco launches – ‘something which remains legal across the border’. More here

Argentina

Said the FT above . . .Spain’s decision is the most serious diplomatic consequence yet of the eccentric foreign policy that Milei has pursued since taking office in December. The leader has regularly met and praised hard-right former leaders, while snubbing leftist incumbents in countries that have been Argentina’s traditional allies.

The UK

I discovered this years ago and have just re-discovered it. . . . A 100gm jar of Vicks Vapor-rub costs c. 1.70 euros here in the UK but between 8 and 13 euros in Spain. Ever seen a poor pharmacist in Spain? I recall paying 12.80 4 years or so ago. These things stick in the mind . . .

Germany

In the ‘Dictionary of Spies’, a Catalan historian has examined over 25,000 documents to produce a 400-page insight into the shady lives of over a thousand Nazi agents, informers, Francoists, Fascists and French collaborationists who spied on behalf of Adolf Hitler. More here. A nice bottom line: Reflecting on his work, the historian said: “With the information and addresses I provide, a tourist route through Nazi Germany in Barcelona could soon be organised”.

China

Europe must defend itself or be crushed by China’s export tsunami, says AEP here. Other world powers are protecting their industrial cores – the Continent is a sitting duck. The EU will be forced to follow Joe Biden’s tariffs against China whether it likes it or not, otherwise Europe will alone face the concentrated trade shock from Xi Jinping’s predatory mercantilism. It will become the primary dumping ground for China’s exorbitant overproduction of industrial goods, with a flood cars, batteries, and cleantech components together posing an existential threat to the European social market model.  Same goes for the UK.

The Way of the World

If anyone should be paying slavery reparations, it’s West Africa. The logic behind British reparations is deeply flawed. Responsibility for slavery cannot be reduced to a single country. Why not start with the Africans and the Arabs? The latter certainly have money. Or, if it has to be Europeans, the Portuguese and the Dutch, who were the first in the field. Not self-hating enough? Lost their empires much earlier?

Quote of the Day

Outdoor kitchens: is there anything more pointless to buy for your garden? Why on earth would you want to cook outside in the British weather?

Spanish

Baladí: A multi-purpose word meaning:- Insustancial, insignificante, fútil, intrascendente, nimio, pueril, superficial, trivial, despreciable, vano.
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Did you know?

Two hundred kilometers west of Pretoria is a farm called Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein. The name, the longest place name in South Africa, means “the spring where two buffaloes were shot stone dead with one shot.” As a daughter language of Dutch, Afrikaans is capable of almost endless compounding, at least in principle. In his 1982 Total Book of South African Records, Eric Rosenthal claims that the longest word in the language is Tweedehandse­motor­verkoops­manne­vakbond­stakings­vergadering­sameroepers­toespraak­skrywers­pers­verklaring­uitreikings­media­konferensie­aankondiging, “issuable media conference’s announcement at a press release regarding the convener’s speech at a secondhand car dealership union’s strike meeting.” But, as with many such records, the word was contrived expressly and is not in common use. Which is a bit of a surprise.

Finally . . .

Although not obsessed with them, I do look at readershop numbers and have noted a slight fall-off recently. But I gave up long ago to understand why. Likewise what caused yesterday’s to be the highest number for weeks, if not months, even though it was published late – after a very busy day with my family here in the UK – and this usually means fewer hits. Maybe the reference to Iran. I rather hope not.

Finally, Finally . .

A very old joke . . .  Did you hear that scientists have discovered a food that completely kills the female sex drive? It’s called “wedding cake”. Not my experience, I have to say.

The Usual Links . . .

You can get my posts by email as soon as they’re published. With the added bonus that they’ll contain the typos I’ll discover later. I believe there’s a box for this at the bottom of each post. I guess it’s logical that this doesn’t appear on the version given to me . . .

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.

For those thinking of moving to Spain:- This is an extremely comprehensive and accurate guide to the challenge, written by a Brit who lives in both the North and the South and who’s very involved in helping Camino walkers. And this is something on the so-called Beckham Rule, which is beneficial – tax-wise – for folk who want to work here.