Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts
the stars to flight.
And, lo, the hunter of the east 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’

Early post today, as I have things to do in Madrid and will be leaving mid-afternoon on my latest road trip. Let’s see if this affects readership numbers, recently well below the multi-year average. Possibly because I’ve pissed off Trump supporters. Harris supporters too . .

Cosas de España/Galicia

I have wondered what he was up to . . . Says an FT columnist of the Spanish PM: The trouble with Pedro Sánchez’s ‘maverick’ foreign policy – His swerves on the international stage yield dividends in domestic politics.

As you’d expect, Mark Stücklin has a few words to say about the now disgraced champion of, inter alia, rent controls. MS foresees problems for the government’s housing strategy, given that Errejón’s ‘disastrous’ policies have worsened the country’s housing crisis over the last few years.

On a wider front, MS opines that: The Errejón scandal threatens the integrity of Sumar, an uneasy coalition of radical-left parties that hate each other more than anyone, as they compete for the same voters and access to public funds. If Sumar falls apart, the government’s majority is in doubt, along with its ability to pursue its disastrous housing policies.

For the tourist/traveller in you – Something ‘extraordinary’ to see in Jerez.

Madrid, too, has many attractive flat blocks. For me, the best are in Mudéjar style, though this nice one – near to Tribunal metro station – isn’t. Again. Very possibly dismissed as ‘wedding cake’ architecture by modernists.

The UK

A (rather colourful) slice of English history, when – in a famous battle – one set of settled immigrants defeated another and so ensured modern Brits – and their cousins – would end up speaking a descendant of (Teutonic) Old English, not Welsh. Shame no one really knows where it took place. While Edington in Wiltshire is the most widely accepted site, others are 1. Alternative “Edington” sites: There are several places named Edington in England. 2. An unknown location and some scholars argue that the site remains uncertain. The primary sources only mention “Eðandun” or “Ethandun” without providing precise geographical details. [Incidentally, the word burhs became boroughs]

The EU

The Swiss “right’’ – in the form of a Protestant fundamentalist party – has secured a referendum on funding for the ‘satanic’ Eurovision. And who can blame them?

France

• The trial of Gérard Depardieu trial will test French tolerance of sexual violence, says this columnist. It’s reported that 21 women have made claims of assault against Depardieu. Which possibly surprised absolutely no one in France.
• Macron’s biggest (French) critic has another go at him, accusing him of damaging French democracy.

The USA

• The overview of a British political commentator: America’s rigid, duopolistic political system has produced (from a nation boasting oodles of talent) perhaps the direst candidates in the history of the presidency: one who seems (to me) psychopathic and one who struggles to complete normal English sentences. Never in history has there been such a vivid contrast between the brilliance of so many and the utter uselessness of so few. Rationale here.
• Trump at his very best/worst. If he wins, his supporters will never be able to claim they didn’t know what was coming. [Rather different from the British PM, Keir Starmer, who remained an enigma until after he was voted into power.]
• Something on Dominion’s continuing war against Trump’s mad acolytes

Russia v. Ukraine

Grinding murderously towards the inevitable Russian ‘victory’. One wonders how long Russia will remain an ‘outcast state’ for Western investors and businessfolk.

The Way of the World/Social Media

I guess it’s not very surprising that: Our civilisation is too carelessly abandoning the art of handwriting.

Social Media

My daughter’s Madrid barrio of Malasaña has always – since 1978 – been very ‘lively’. But it’s now been re-vitalised by the Gen Z idiots who blithely follow the dictates of influencers. So, it is that, in a street of many half-empty cafés – such as the one below – a favoured place last evening had a queue at the front of it and round into the side street. My guess is that – as with travel writers – the relevant influencer has never been near the place. And has been paid for their endorsement.

By the way, my daughter tells me that influencers now have ghost-writers. So, 2 useless professions capitalising on the innocence and gullibility of the young. Quite normal since ‘teenagers’ were invented in the USA in the 1950s

English

Agraffe: The wired cage that holds the cork on a bottle of champagne. Here’s more than you ever needed to know about the word . . It comes from the French “agrafe” which has its roots in Middle French “agraffe”. This was a hook or clasp, particularly one used for fastening armor or clothing. Interestingly, the French “grafe” (hook) was borrowed from the Old High German word “khrapfo which itself goes back to the West Germanic “krappō”. This Germanic root is also related to the English word “grape”. [I doubted this but got this from an AI search: Grape comes from Old French “grape” or “grappe”. The latter is believed to be derived from “graper” or “craper”, meaning “to pick grapes” or literally “to hook”. From the Old High German “khrapfo” etc.]

Spanish

Parteaguas: Watershed; Turning point

Finally . . .

If you’re a football fan, you’ll enjoy this article on Saturday’s Clásico in Madrid – A startling defeat for the La Liga and European champions. And this next morning report.

Finally, Finally . . .

Off soon to Chinchón, to see the Plaza Mayor featured in this daft (skinny, young bull) scene from Around the World in 80 Days. I would say it was a vaquilla but it’s clearly a young male.

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.