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 Politics:

The leader of the right-of-centre PP party – itself no stranger to massive corruption – is said to have ‘formally requested’ the PSOE PM to resign. I can’t see this happening myself, even though a new name seems to have been added to the list of ministers accused of malfeasance. I suppose the polite request is in lieu of a (doubtless) vain attempt to get a vote of no confidence passed in parliament.

Galicians are not at all happy about Renfe’s train service to and from Madrid, witness this editorial from the VdG. The core problem seems to be underinvestment in the track.

This map shows the 4 sections on the line which are single track only, circled in red. Which won’t be doubled up until ‘2030’.

And the Galician regional government – the Xunta – is not happy about Madrid prioritising alternative Portugal-Spain lines over that of Vigo to Oporto. Again, ‘2030’ seems to be the earliest the latter could be in place. Maybe this is the Spanish equivalent of ‘the 12th of Never.’

I confess I had thought the use of Gallego was increasing – in Galicia, of course. But at dinner with Spanish friends last night, they all agreed it was, in fact, reducing, and they stressed it was the young who were not using it, for one reason and another. I guess my conclusion had been based on the fact that every communication I get from the regional, provincial or municipal authorities is only in Gallego these days.

Amazon Prime has a TV series based on Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I wonder if it features the discovery by The Nautilus of Spanish treasure in what’s usually called Vigo Bay, really St Simon’s Bay. It won’t have much of a climax, if it doesn’t. I can’t help wondering if Verne’s description of the crew matches the foto in this review.

France

Trouble at t’ bodega . . . Bordeaux winemakers claim that: Our land is worthless, our wines are worthless’. Vintners who failed to anticipate the public’s move away from tannin-heavy reds are having to rip out vines that produced clarets for decades’.

The Netherlands

The immigration issue has brought the government close to collapse, said the FT this morning. The latest news is that: The hard-right Dutch government announced unprecedented measures today aimed at reining in migration, including a re-introduction of border checks, making the Netherlands the latest European nation to take a hardline stance against migration as anti-foreigner sentiment surges throughout much of the continent. Among the measures that will be swiftly sent to parliament for approval are a move to restrict family members who can join a person who has been granted asylum in the Netherlands, cutting the length of temporary visas and declaring parts of civil war-ravaged Syria safe so that authorities can reject asylum applications from migrants from those regions. Syrians form the largest national group among migrants arriving in the Netherlands.

The USA

• Trump is too lazy to be the fascist some claim he is. Totalitarian usually have a clear set of ideological objectives. Trump has no discernible ideology nor has he ever articulated a coherent set of political objectives. And: Real fascists tend to be committed zealots, ruthlessly dedicated to the task of bending history their way. Trump has neither the energy nor the commitment. He is rather lazy, with all the energy of a slightly corpulent near-octogenarian. Trump’s only real motivating force is a near limitless appetite for self-aggrandisement. 
• More encouraging noises here . . . We’re witnessing American democracy in all its glory – not the rise of fascism. The US political system is facing challenges, but it is robust enough to overcome them – as it has often before power. Nice bottom line: America, in spite of everything, can still lay on the greatest democratic show on earth. 
• The real threat . . . Trump’s nostalgia for 19th-century tariffs has alarming implications for the world. The former president’s trade team is playing with global fire.

BTW . . This line inevitably put me in mind of Spain . . . The bigger trend is an attempt to shut down debate by calling the other side fascists.

Quote of the Day

A British columnist: I am old enough to remember an age (either halcyon or uptight, depending on your perspective) when neither politics nor religion were ever broached in polite conversation. These days we bang on about politics all the time and it’s quite wearing. I thought that sort of tribal passion was reserved for the young and naive but no. A midlife friend is on a dating site, where po-faced millennials routinely insist they will not fraternise with Right-wingers. A few wines in, she mischievously added to her profile “In the interests of diversity…happy to sleep with a Tory”. She’s been inundated with men a decade and a half younger

English

Your little toe or finger is called the minimus.

Finally . . .

I’m off to renew my acquaintance with Zamora tomorrow, en route to Madrid to see my daughter and my grandson. and then I’ll head south-eastwards on a road trip with an old friend, to at least all 3 provinces in the Valencia region and possibly some of Murcia. It’s a part of Spain I’ve never visited before and was hoping for some drier weather. But the forecast is for rain for at least several days. Sod’s Law, I guess.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts, either after reading on line or in my FB group Thoughts from Galicia.

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.