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 Spanish PM, Pedro Sánchez. has written a ‘Letter to the People’ regarding the charges against his wife, Begoña Gomez. Courtesy of Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas, there’s a translation at the very end of this post.

An interesting look back at forecasts for the Spanish property market and today’s realities.

For those interested in football, the comments on the Euro chances of Spain’s team from a chap who knows about these things:- No surprise these lads are one of the favourites for the competition. With quality players at most positions they can beat the best. They will perform here as they do in every game, Dominate possession win 1-0 until their lack of a quality striker comes to bite them in the arse and they get knocked out. Then they will sack the manager for under-achieving.

The UK

Middle East Eye brings us here an interesting article on the effect of the Muslim vote on the imminent general election

And Richard North gives us this view on Muslim voting intentions: I don’t even begin to understand why the media is so loath to report such an issue of considerable importance to the nation, but then, with the imminent disappearance of the Tories, as Farage sweeps all before him, I suppose the minor issue of the Muslim population subverting the electoral process is of very little significance. Mr N is surely laying himself open to the allegation of at least religionism, if not racism. But that goes with the turf when you try to address such issues. Full article here

re.

Prospect Magazine doesn’t think much of current British politics. But, then, who does?. . . Britain, the puerile polity. Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are complicit in the farcical performance that debases every British election campaign. It is a mode of politics hopelessly inadequate for the challenges that we face—and the victor should break with it.

Ukraine v Russia

The FT reports that: Brussels says that Ukraine ready for EU membership talks and the EU Commission is to recommend the start of accession negotiations this month, with Hungary possibly causing delays. Won’t go down at all well in Moscow, where it will surely be portrayed as conclusive proof that the West wants to wipe Russia off the map. Some of us rather wish it could.

Spanish

• Some English idioms and their Spanish equivalents
• Spanish is known to some – probably older – Spaniards as cristiano. But there’s no evidence in the RAE of, say, German or English being referred to as protestante. Religionism again?

Did you know?

• The secret of Taylor Swift’s humongous success is that she was made in Britain . . .
• The environmental cost of denim. The process of dying jeans their signature blue takes about 100L of water per pair. A ground-breaking new process could change that.

Finally . . .

I went to a good Persian restaurant this week in the nearby village of Gatley. Where I saw this nice-looking pub. But my neighbour tells me it’s pretty tatty inside. Which is a shame.

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.
• Finally, some advice on getting a mortgage.
  
  
  THE PM”S LETTER
  
  Tuesday, June 4th. My wife and I have learned today, through the media, of the summons to Begoña as being investigated on July 5. This decision has been announced just five days before the elections to the European Parliament are held, which is rather peculiar. Unusually, the unwritten rule has been followed of not issuing resolutions that could affect the normal development of an electoral campaign and, therefore, the citizen vote. In this case, it is evident that this practice has not been respected. I leave it to the reader to draw his own conclusions from it. I would like to tell you that we are both absolutely calm. There is nothing behind this accusation, just a crude setup promoted by some right-wing associations. However, there is a political reading that I feel obliged to share with you. As you may remember, in an earlier letter I denounced the drift of the reactionary coalition led by Sr. Feijóo (PP) and Sr. Abascal (Vox), to use all means within their reach in order to break me on both the political and personal level. Their goal is for me to give in, to resign. Even, as we learned yesterday, trying to force my departure from the Presidency of the Government with a motion of censure through an unnatural alliance. For them, everything is worth it. What they did not achieve at the polls, they intend to achieve in a spurious manner. I know that as the frustration and impotence of this reactionary coalition increases, the pace of the fake-news mud machine was not going to stop, but rather accelerate. Faced with this certainty, I asked myself a few weeks back whether or not it was worth continuing in the exercise of my responsibilities. I want to tell you that my decision to continue leading the Presidency of the Government is firmer than ever. That the task of the progressive government coalition is more necessary than ever. Our horizon remains unchanged: to consolidate the strength of economic growth and job creation (as we have just known today), to redistribute the fruits of that growth between the middle class and workers to fight against the great injustice of inequality; to regenerate democratic life demanding fair play above the mud that some try to spread, to make advance in rights and freedoms without taking a single step back; and to contribute to peace in the world, with special attention to both Ukraine and Palestine. These next few days, you will witness a careful choreography designed by the far-right coalition to try to condition the elections and weaken the Government. Begoña and I know perfectly well why they attack her. Neither of us are naive. They do it because she is my partner. She is a hard-working and honest woman who claims her right to work without giving it up for the responsibilities of her husband. A right that I defend in my family life and for which I work as President of the Government of Spain to guarantee that men and women have the same opportunities and the same rights. These days you will read and hear a lot of noise and even more fury in those digital tabloids created to spread fake-news, on the television and radio talk shows in the service of amplifying this misinformation, and in tribunes where Sr. Feijóo and Sr. Abascal will be found. All lies. A big hoax. Once more. As for me, you may rest assured: they won’t break me. And, given that they are trying to interfere in the electoral result of June 9, I hope their promoters – Sr. Feijóo and Sr. Abascal – find the response they deserve at the polls: condemnation and rejection of their machinations. There are a few days of noise left before the elections and a few more to come before the summer. But there are also more than three years of Government, of progress and advances. Sincerely, Pedro