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’

Cosas de España

Serious water issues.

In case you missed this amusing video. Changing Spain . . . Opening an account in the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s and these days.

Cousas de Galicia

I read today that the new Pv city bypass I mentioned the other day – the A-57 – is now 30 years late. And that the first stage is only 6km long, not the 15 I suggested. For a bypass of which this first stage might be the only one every constructed, it’s a tad ironic that it ends just short of the city. The whitest of white elephants, then.

Our mayor has been in the position for almost 25 years, He’s a member of the Galician Nationalist Block but I doubt this has anything to do with the fact that he never appears in any of his (many) official fotos other than tie-less and in jeans. He’s a doctor, by the way, not a horny-handed son of the soil. Clearly doesn’t affect his popularity.

Portugal

Lisbon eating. Best tasca places.

The UK

• Renewed class warfare? Labour’s confected culture war is class conflict for a new age.
• This might be true. Will check with Spanish friends this week . . . Britain’s liberal reputation has been trampled by the bleak reality of our DEI police state. The world was already forming an unflattering view of Britain. We are seen as a country run by student union activists, a place where violent criminals are released from prison to free up space for people who have posted nasty comments online. 

The USA

For me, the most telling aspect of the presidential election is these popular vote numbers:-

• 2020: Biden c.81.3m(51%), Trump c.74.2m(47%). Biden won by c.7 million votes.
• 2024: Trump c.76.6m (50%), Harris c.72m votes (48%). Trump won by c.4.6m votes

So, Trump gained 2.4m votes for himself, while Harris lost 9.3m for the Democrats. Perhaps a lot of (ex)Democrats held their noses and obeyed the counsel of the pundit who suggested folk should vote for the party which would leave them alone the most. And maybe not treat them as racist, transphobic scum. If so, a candidate far better than Harris could probably win them all back in 2028 – assuming, of course, that the Democrats revise their entire approach towards the working class.

Russia v. Ukraine

• An under-reported serious escalation?
• What will a Trump-led peace deal with Russia look like? [No mention of my fear that Trump will offer to leave NATO. Perhaps it’s too unconscionable].

Quotes of the Day

• Everywhere one looks, the post-Cold War liberal project appears to be running out of steam, short of answers to the profound questions being posed by mass migration, war and global instability, and the fragmentation of the media and information landscape.
• Trump is as much a cultural phenomenon as a political one, and he has ridden back to power on a countercultural wave,
• There’s been a shattering of the cultural status quo. 

Source.

English

Shrieval: Of or relating to a sheriff, in the UK if not in the USA.

Spanish

• Cupo: One of the strangest of the irregular past participles. Of Caber, To fit. Hence, No me cupó. It didn’t fit me. Overheard in the street today.
• Tocar todos los palos: Significa diversificarse o tener habilidades en diferentes áreas. Se utiliza para describir a una persona que sabe hacer muchas cosas bien o que domina varios estilos, especialmente en el contexto artístico. Su origen se relaciona con el lenguaje del jazz y el flamenco, donde implica no limitarse a un solo estilo, sino explorar diversas posibilidades

Did you know?

• How to minimise or even eliminate spam calls. I failed twice to register, by the way, and gave up, secure in the knowledge my phone has Hiya already installed.
• My bank has sent me advice on secure online shopping. The only way to get them into this post is via 4 screenshots, all of which are below.

Finally . . .

When I opened my front door at 6.30 this morning, I was met by a surprise blast of warm air, reflecting the fact it was 20 degrees outside, compared with 17 in my salón. Unusually warm for November, though not unprecedented. But the temperature dropped 7 degrees during the day.

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.