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 España/Galicia

My first winter in Galicia 2020-2021 was so wet and miserable that the following winter I spent 3 months in Andalucía looking for an alternative place to live. I was very much attracted to Almuñecar but finally decided against moving there. Or anywhere else. The fact that it’s just been adjudicated the best place in Spain for Brits to retire to, indicates I was right to do this . . .

Welcome ways to get away from the heat in blistering Madrid.

A reader in Almería – the estimable Lenox Napier? – points out that the Spanish don’t seem to mind the graffiti that blights some/all of their cities.

No real surprise to read that, while nearly all regions in Spain saw a fall in property purchases in the last year, Galicia’s rose by 10%. Folk are moving North. At the very least to their August vacation homes.

This advice might or might not be helpful in dealing with the menace of Plaza de Leña in Pv city’s old quarter.

The UK

Richard North fears that the new Labour Prime Minister is ‘sewing the wind’ of popular revolt, and counter-revolt. As I said yesterday, this doesn’t bode well. But I can’t imagine that The Guardian shares his views and fears, being of the identitarian/‘progressive’ Left. Time will tell who’s right. :

But one son of immigrants believes/hopes the British dream of of integration can survive: The world’s most tolerant country can heal its undeniable tensions, if it focuses on common ground. But time is short, he stresses. Let’s hope he’s right. But I’ll know he’s wrong if unrest ever comes to Heald Green, on the Cheshire-Manchester border, where my younger daughter lives and where there’s a large Muslim presence – including a mosque in her road – but, to date, no tensions whatsoever. [The mosque turns out to be on the first floor, above a dry-cleaners. No wonder I never noticed it in the 6 months December to June.]

Here’s an interesting take from a right-of-centre columnist on how the PM should address the challenge facing the UK.

The EU

Despite the British PM being nice about a better relationship with the EU, there’s no sign of the latter softening up in this area.

Russia

Reader Perry thinks China is more interested in invading Siberia than Taiwan, for its untapped mineral wealth. He might well be right. I’m guessing that Putin is equally aware of this.

The USA

The polls are said to be displaying a swing back to Trump. A nail-biting 3 months awaits us

Spanish

My 5 year old grandson has English as his maternal tongue but is now bilingual. It’s interesting to hear Spanish-isms in his English. Such as ‘He was going running’ (Iba corriendo), instead of just ‘He was running’. Here’s something on this.

Did you know?

Epicurus wasn’t Epicurean the way this word is defined these days . . . viz: Getting pleasure from food and drink of high quality. This is the book to read if you want to find out what he was really all about. 

Finally . .

This is something which will mean nothing at all to almost all readers . . . The Tale of Clever Gretchen is about a chap called Godlef and his eponymous daughter, Gretchen. She is depicted as a clever and beautiful daughter of a lord who insists that only the finest huntsman can marry her. The narrative follows a poor widow’s son named Hans, who wishes to marry Gretchen despite his mother’s concerns about his simplicity. He encounters a mysterious stranger who offers to make him the best huntsman in exchange for a signed agreement. Hans impresses Gretchen and her father with his newfound skills, but as the end of the agreement approaches, he becomes despondent. Gretchen devises a plan to outsmart the stranger, ultimately leading to Hans’s victory and their happy union. The story emphasizes themes of cleverness, love, and overcoming challenges through wit and determination.

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. And this article ‘debunks claims re wealth and residency taxes’. Probably only relevant if you’re a HNWI. In which case, you’ll surely know what that stands for.