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

• Some sort of fight has been going on around the appointment of a Spanish woman to the post of vice-president of the EU Commission. I think this has been won by the Left and lost by the Right. A member of the latter has ungallantly referred to said woman as egotistical, lazy, intransigent and incompetent. Par for the course in Spanish politics.
• Another head has rolled in the Valencia region, but not that of the president. The latest counsellor sacked by him is the one who had the Justice and Interior remits, with responsibility for emergencies. He possibly can’t find a sword to fall on himself. Will someone else? Unlikely.
• The 3 regions in Spain with a positive birth/death balance rate – saldo vegetativo* in Spanish – are Murcia, Castila La Mancha and Madrid. * Usually translated as ‘natural population balance’.

Cousas de Galicia

• Galicia has only 3 townships with a positive vegetative balance, out of a total of 313. So, we really do need all those South Americans who seem to fill every (junior) position in our cafés, bars. restaurants and hotels. In a sector which is growing rapidly as both Spaniards and foreigners increasingly look Northwards for their holidays.
• Most Spanish folk live in some sort of formal community. In these, meetings are regularly taken on issues which affect them all, such as noise levels. Many of these communities here in Galicia are now seeking to prevent tourist flats being set up in their buildings, raising all sorts of issues. The main one is Can they legally do this? Needless to say, those that are making good money – or hope to do so via their investment(s) – are none too happy about this development. A woman who heads up an association of tourist-flat owners has characterised those trying to ban tourist flats as gossipmongers who don’t appreciate the flat’s contribution to the value of their own properties. Having seen what happens around our community pool these summer days, I think I’d vote for a ban. Unless I can rent out my house for a small fortune.

The USA

• I guess you all know that Trump – true to form – has picked a co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment to lead his fight to reshape America’s schools and colleges, including closing down the Department for Education. She has no experience in the field but is seen as an advocate for parents’ freedom to choose where their children go to school.
• You can read Trump’s statements about his policies on education here. Nothing if not extreme, of course.
• Can this really be true?  Kamala Harris is currently viewed favorably by a substantial portion of Democratic voters for the 2028 nomination. She is favored by42% of likely Democratic voters, placing her well ahead of other contenders like California Governor Gavin Newsom (8%), Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (7%), and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (6%).

Russia v. Ukraine

How Trump’s ‘madman’ approach could scare Putin into a Ukraine peace deal.  As unpredictable and dangerous as his way of doing politics might be, it lends credibility to a Madman Theory approach to negotiation – where Putin believes Trump is capable of something that would be unthinkable for Biden or Harris. 

The Way of the World

Truly silly money.

Spanish

• Felpudo: Doormat
• Felpa: Tejido de seda, algodón, etc., que tiene pelo por el haz. Towelling; Plush
• Chismorreo: Gossip

English

• Plush: 1. A fabric of silk, rayon, cotton, or other material, having a thick deep pile. 2. A fabric with a nap or shag on one side, longer and softer than the nap of velvet. 3. A (type of) child’s toy, usually an animal, filled with soft material.
• Manifest: Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year. This has evolved to be used in the sense of “to imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that doing so will make it more likely to happen”.

Finally . . . You Have to Laugh

Finally, Finally . . .

I don’t know if anyone looks at the Labels at the end of my post. If they do, they might well see duplications. This is because WordPress first gives me the opportunity to select Labels and then suggests more of its own just before I publish. Illogically, these include ones I’ve already selected. But I can’t be arsed to go through them and cancel duplicates. Sorry if this upsets anyone. BTW: Some of their suggestions make no sense at all. Like ‘Food’ for this post . .

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts, either after reading them 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.