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

The Floods

Researchers have revealed that a third of homes flooded were built on land at risk of flooding during the [2002-2007] housing bubble. This is said to be legal in Spain. But very unwise in the south-east regions.

Very good to see an outpouring of unity in Spain. Here’s how to help residents.

In contrast . . . Spain’s politicians, here and here.

This chap says he repeatedly warned the Valencia government about the flooding risk.

The regional PP president who cancelled the Valencian emergency services last year in contrast increased subsidies to the bullfighting industry – both in response to pressure from the far- right Vox party.

The UK

This is a revealing article on the economy of the last decade or more. If you believe that things will improve under the new Labour government, I’d have to categorise you as an optimist. But ya veremos.

The USA

A big day. Possibly the biggliest ever in the country’s history. The hopes of many fell but the dollar and the stock market rose.

This was written on the eve of the election, when it seemed to me to be very apt. Even more so now we know the Orange Loon is to have 4 more – vengeful? – years.

Quote of the Day

Sadly, this might well be true. Kamala Harris ran the worst presidential campaign in modern American history.

The Way of the World

It looks like the columnist I cited yesterday was right to say populism is here to stay, at least for a while.

A propos . . . Donald Trump reveals the unpalatable truth of politics. His contempt for democratic ideals is shared by a worrying proportion of voters on either side of the Pond.

AGW

What is AGW​?

The BBC is accused here of taking a simplistic, unscientific approach to the causes of the recent gota fria and the floods it caused.

Net Zero

Richard North explains here why he thinks the UK’s Energy Secretary is ‘demented’. And a pathological liar.

Did you know?

• The armhole in clothes, where the sleeves are sewn, is called the armscye. Etymology here.
• Just in case you don’t know why yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day in the UK, here’s the Autodidact Professor to tell you. I didn’t know that Fawkes avoided his dreadful fate on the gallows.

BTW . . . It’s also the date on which, if I had been born, my mother would have had me baptised ‘Guy’. . . She was a Catholic, of course.

Finally . . . Travel Notes

As we’re in Toledo for 3 days, there ain’t much travelling to report on.

This is my 4th visit to this remarkable city and, though the crowds are thinner this time of year, the number of shops selling bladed weapons of every sort and size seem to have increased. Inter alia, there are some impressive arrays of Samurai swords in several shop windows. One wonders how many of these are bought per year. And how overseas buyers get them through Customs.

Two of the three restaurants recommended to us last night were closed and we didn’t fancy the third one. We ended up in a small, backstreet place offering venison and pork stews – which were excellent – and a very acceptable red wine. And so, like Pepys, we went to bed happy. To wake to today’s portentous news re the US presidential election.

As we are in this hotel for 3 nights, I left stuff in my room and even made my bed, after a fashion. I later wondered if the maid did what my mother used to do when I stayed in her flat in the UK, viz. re-make my bed. For my mother, this was in case anyone looking in from outside would think she was responsible for my pathetic and shameful efforts. Answer: Yes, the maid did re-make it.

We enjoyed a visit to Toledo’s El Greco museum today, though at one point it was slightly marred by sharing a narrow gallery with a large group of teenagers. Being Spanish, they had no instinctive awareness of others and had to be told by their teacher to move to one side, so that we could move along the walls. But they were very quiet.

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.