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

Spain has a much greater problem than the UK with illegal immigrants arriving by sea. The Prime Minister today began a tour of 3 west African countries in an effort to stem the tide of irregular migrants who attempt to reach the Canary Islands, widely regarded as the world’s most dangerous migration route. More here.

The VdG today:-

1. Pensions 2, salaries 0: The average pay of new Spanish retirees now exceeds €1,500. However, salaries have not been so lucky in the last 10 years. In fact, pensions have increased twice as much. This gap between pensions and salaries explains the serious sustainability problem facing the Social Security system.
2. The weak points of the Galician railway system: In the mid-twentieth century, it took 18 hours for people from Vigo and A Coruña to reach Madrid. Today, they normally do so in less than 4 hours. But there are still shortcomings, problems and bottlenecks in Galician high-speed trains, and there are deficiencies in medium-distance trains, in a dispersed territory. As I take the train to Madrid several times a year, I’ve been concerned to read just how many breakdowns and delays there are on the new AVRIL trains.

However you pronounce it, it’s today was tomato time in Buñol, down in the Valencia region. During the Tomatina festival there, as many as 120,000 kilos of tomatoes are hurled in all directions. Said to be one of Spain’s bizarre festivals. Surely correctly.

Galicia is one of Spain’s poorest regions. Its population is 2.7m, so it was a surprise to see a headline this morning advising that more than 5f00,000 folk here have more than 3 properties. And 800 have 50. Possibly a reflection of multiple inheritances from much larger families of previous decades. These days, given the tax implications, it’s not at all unusual for beneficiaries to forfeit an inheritance. Especially if you already have 50. Or even just 3.

More on the incident off our coast involving orcas and a Belgian yacht.

I saw something the other day about supermarket dating in the UK and the significance of a pineapple in your trolley. It seems that Mercadona is the shop of choice here in Spain. And that you need to turn the pineapple upside down. I’ll lay mine on its side and see what happens.

There’s a shop in Plaza de Verdura in Pv city which has been holding a sale every single day of the 24 years I’ve been here. Like a certain sofa company in the UK. Anyway, the owners are now retiring and my guess it’ll soon be another tapas bar. Offering much the same as every other.

The UK

Ancient history now but it might be of interest – and a cause of much amusement – to some . . . ‘Truss at 10′ by Anthony Seldon — a fair but funny guide to how not to be PM. The political chronicler has 10 tests for what makes a good prime minister. Liz Truss failed them all. Nice final para.

The USA

Time to Section him? . . .

• Trump suggests that God has given him a purpose – ‘to save the world’. The former president also claimed that, if Jesus was in charge of voting in California, he would win. Article here and video here.
• Donald Trump is selling a new collection of digital trading cards that depict the former president in a variety of poses including “Supertrump” and “Crypto President”. The cards, which are part of the ‘America First’ collection, are non-fungible tokens that supporters can buy for $99 (£75) each.

As for Kamala Harris . . .

• You can take the girl out of California but you can’t take California out of the girl. And this might well be a problem for her.
• The Messiah . . . To save us from the Devilish/Godgiven Trump.

Did you know?

Michael O’Leary says he’s concerned about aggression on his Ryanair flights and suggests passengers should be restricted to 2 drinks at airports. I guess only a cynic would point out this would probably mean more purchases of expensive booze once in the air.

Finally . . .

I feel the need to record that the major UK media item I’m least of all interested in at the moment is Oasis getting back together after decades of a family feud. I saw this article in the Guardian but didn’t even bother to read it: Stop the celebrations – Oasis are the most damaging pop-cultural force in recent British history.

Finally, Finally . . .

Reader David W says he’s frustrated with the Comments system to this blog and that he keeps having to post as Anonymous, when he doesn’t want to me. My Settings say that anyone can post without registering, so I don’t know why this is happening. Anyone else having problems?

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. If you do this but don’t read the posts, I will delete your subscription. So perhaps don’t bother if you have other reasons for subscribing . . .
• 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.